The Media Review: Brentford

When a striker hotly tipped to play for England scores both goals in a 2-0 victory, as Ivan Toney did on Friday evening, it is no surprise whatsoever that all the headlines and intros concentrate on him.

So the reader’s eye had to travel quite a long way down most reports of Albion’s match at Brentford before finding any mentions of the complete dominance of Roberto De Zerbi’s side in every statistical category except a rather important one - goals. Or the fact that the busiest Brentford player on the field was goalkeeper David Raya.

Jacob Murtagh of The Daily Mirror admitted as much. “The striker will take the plaudits, and deservedly so, but Bees keeper David Raya was also in superb form for the hosts,” he wrote. “The Spanish shot-stopper made a string of fine saves to ensure he heads home with a clean sheet. It is Toney, though, who everyone will be talking about.” Alyson Rudd of The Times also noted that “Brentford defended with discipline and occasional desperation to keep a clean sheet.”

But almost as important as the match in Albion eyes was the desire to pay a fitting tribute to Enock Mwepu on his sad retirement from the game. In The i, Jon West wrote that “all the background noise was supplied by the away fans. They sang, non-stop for more than ten minutes, the name of Enock Mwepu.”

Daniel Matthews of The Daily Mail worked it neatly into his report, writing that “Toney’s finish, shortly before the half-hour, stirred this place. Until then, most of the noise and the colour had come from the pocket of travelling support.

“‘Oh, Enock Mwepu,’ went up from kick-off. It went on and on. For nearly 15 minutes, all told. They did stop, briefly, as Leandro Trossard threatened down the other end, before picking up where they left off. It was one of a number of tributes to the 24-year-old midfielder, who was forced to retire this week due to a hereditary heart condition.

“Earlier, Brighton’s players had warmed-up in Mwepu T-shirts before both sets of supporters applauded, lamenting the tragic end to such a promising career.

“By kick-off, the away end was littered with Zambia flags. Among those holding one? Brighton owner Tony Bloom. He had a decent view for Brighton’s first two openings, both of which fell to Danny Welbeck.

“The first was well blocked by Ethan Pinnock. The second, a header, was easily saved by David Raya. Those half-chances came at the start of a sustained spell of pressure from Brighton. And soon, Raya had to be sharp to keep Brentford on terms. Twice.

“He tipped over a rocket from Moises Caicedo and then, when a loose ball fell to Joel Veltman on the six-yard line, Raya stayed big to save.

“Brentford had created precious little until, out of nowhere, Mbeumo shifted the course of this match, almost on his own.”

Ed Aarons of The Guardian also spotted Albion chairman Tony Bloom among the visiting fans and wrote that he “will have been delighted to see Brighton take the initiative here, with Danny Welbeck forcing David Raya into the first save of any real note following a Pervis Estupinan cross. The Brentford goalkeeper then did well to reach a dipping, swerving effort from Moisés Caicedo before denying Joël Veltman from the resulting corner.

“Despite falling behind, Brighton continued to dominate possession and could have found an equaliser had Ben Mee not been in exactly the right place to block Solly March’s goalbound shot.

“De Zerbi introduced Kaoru Mitoma for Estupinan after the break in an attempt to find a way back into the game and Brighton came close when Welbeck headed just over after the Japan winger earned a corner.

“Yet a moment of madness that saw Veltman bring down Brentford’s talisman Toney right in front of Salisbury left the visitors with a mountain to climb. Aside from a powerful effort from distance by Alexis Mac Allister that was saved by Raya, Brighton struggled to create any meaningful chances as they chased the game. Head bowed and hands clasped in his pockets as the clock ticked down, a frustrated De Zerbi – and Bloom – will hope that his moment comes sooner rather than later.”

John Aizlewood of The Daily Telegraph wrote that “Brighton were more adept going forward. Nominally a left back as De Zerbi too switched to a back four for the first half, Pervis Estupinan’s overlaps were a constant source anguish for Rico Henry and David Raya twice distinguished himself early on, first with a flying tip over from Moises Caicedo’s piledriver and, better still from the subsequent corner, a block from Joel Veltman’s close range swivel and shot.

“The let-offs galvanised Brentford, Toney sublimely backheeling through Adam Webster’s legs and past Sanchez for his 50th Brentford league goal.

“Back came Brighton. Ben Mee exquisitely blocked Solly March’s netbound strike from ten yards and there was even time before the break for pitchside shenanigans, which ended with both head coaches being booked.

“Kaoru Mitoma brought Brighton more attacking vim after the break as de Zerbi returned to Brighton’s customary back three, but there was rather less blood and thunder in the second period than the first as Brentford battened down the defensive hatches.”

In The Sun, Isabelle Barker wrote that “after 18 sleepy minutes Moises Caicedo spiced things up by cracking a rocket strike at David Raya - who did brilliantly to tip it over.

“There was a desperate scramble from the resulting corner which fell to Leandro Trossard who knocked it to Joel Veltman, but Raya kept a cool head again to deny the Dutch defender.

“Tempers flared as Thomas Frank tried to grab the ball from Veltman as the ball went out and it was Brentford’s throw-in.

“It sparked a scuffle on the touchline and fuming Roberto De Zerbi piled in as well as players and coaching staff from both teams.

“Both managers were booked and if the Gtech Stadium was like a nightclub yesterday then Thomas Frank and Roberto De Zerbi were doing their best impressions of the drunks outside the kebab shop fighting over the last doner.

“The handbags continued and one minute later Mathias Jensen was booked for an off the ball nudge on Veltman.”

But the upshot was that the Albion lost for the first time when wearing the popular Hyperturq kit, and had nothing to show for their hard work, as Steve Sutcliffe wrote on the BBC website.

“There was an absence of the spark that saw them score three at Anfield earlier this month. To underline the point, the Seagulls had more than 70% possession and had registered 21 shots by the full-time whistle, but aside from Adam Lallana's late header, rarely looked like making the breakthrough. Brentford and Toney made the most of their opportunities, scoring twice from just three efforts on target.”