Brentford Week in Review, Monday 2nd November: Thiago and a First-Half Own Goal Sink Forest After Carabao Cup Heartbreak at Sunderland
It's been a week of two halves for Brentford, with cup disappointment at Sunderland followed by a welcome Premier League win over Nottingham Forest. BrentfordFC.com's own analysis had already flagged Ouattara as a constant threat in the goalless draw with Hull before all this unfolded, with Oli McBurnie's scare over coughing up blood during that game making headlines away from Griffin Park matters too (BrentfordFC.com) (BBC Sport).
The Carabao Cup trip to the Stadium of Light ended in a 3-2 defeat, with Sunderland reporters previewing the tie before Keith Andrews gave his own press conference thoughts on the visit (BrentfordFC.com) (BrentfordFC.com) (BrentfordFC.com). Brentford were already without Henry through injury, but named a strong side with Thiago and Wilson both starting (BrentfordFC.com) (BrentfordFC.com). Sunderland raced into a big lead through Talbi, Tuterov and Fofana before Wilson and Thiago gave the Bees a late fightback that fell just short, with Jocelin Ta Bi picked out as the architect of all three home goals (Sky Sports) (Sky Sports) (Sky Sports) (Sky Sports) (BrentfordFC.com) (Sky Sports) (Sky Sports) (Sky Sports). The Guardian's roundup noted the Wearsiders held on despite that Brentford comeback (The Guardian). Andrews was honest afterwards, blaming "12 minutes of madness" for the damage done, as reported by West London Sport (West London Sport). There was also some pointed fan criticism picked up by the BBC, with one supporter suggesting a £40million player "cannot defend" in reference to Malick Diouf's display that night (BBC Sport).
Thankfully the mood lifted quickly in the Premier League. Brentford made one change for the visit of Nottingham Forest, with Janelt returning from suspension in place of Hickey, as confirmed by both the club and West London Sport (Sports Mole) (BrentfordFC.com) (West London Sport). Forest's correspondent Sarah Clapson offered some pre-match insight, while a West London Sport podcast weighed up Delap against Thiago ahead of the game (BrentfordFC.com) (West London Sport). The Bees marked their 100th Premier League game at the Gtech Community Stadium in style, winning 2-0 thanks to a first-half Milenkovic own goal and a second-half finish from Igor Thiago (West London Sport) (BrentfordFC.com) (The Guardian) (BBC Sport). BBC Sport highlighted Thiago's goal as his second in three days, a timely return to form (BBC Sport). Keith Andrews was delighted, calling it the "best win of the season" and praising his side's maturity, while Sky Sports noted it continued some concerning attacking struggles for Oliver Glasner's Forest side (Sky Sports) (BBC Sport) (West London Sport). West London Sport's player ratings had plenty of praise to go round, and the result kept Brentford sixth in the table (West London Sport).
Off the pitch, West London Sport took a look at why Brentford's habit of drawing games - five from their opening eight league matches this season - isn't yet a cause for concern (West London Sport). There was fresh injury news too, with Fábio Carvalho ruled out until after the November international break, confirmed by both the club and West London Sport (Sports Mole) (BrentfordFC.com) (West London Sport). Looking ahead, attention turns to Saturday's trip to face Nottingham Forest... sorry, hosting duties continue with build-up already under way for the next Premier League assignment (Sports Mole).
On the transfer front, Sky Sports continues to track the usual swirl of Brentford gossip, while Sports Mole reports interest alongside Bournemouth in Serie A loanee Eddy Kouadio ahead of the January window (Sky Sports) (Sports Mole).
In the women's game, it was a fine week for Carly Williams' side. Brentford Women preserved their unbeaten league record with a 3-1 win over Ashford Town, Kiszkis, Cheatley and Gilligan all on the scoresheet (BrentfordFC.com) (BrentfordFC.com). They followed that up with an even more emphatic 3-0 win away at Millwall Lionesses, Kiszkis grabbing a double and Gilligan adding another as the Bees kept their place at the top of the London & South East Regional Premier Division, three points clear (BrentfordFC.com) (West London Sport). Williams spoke warmly about the Millwall performance afterwards (BrentfordFC.com), and the team now prepare for a trip to face Millwall Lionesses again in cup action (BrentfordFC.com).
This round-up is written with the help of AI, using only the day's headlines from the publishers credited above. Each point links to the original report — tap the source name to read it in full.
