The sweet smell of success came at a cost on Tuesday night as the Latics fought hard to move into 2nd place to mount pressure on rivals Crewe, Bristol City and Cardiff. Unfortunately though, in a season riddled by injuries and suspensions, the 3pts came at a costly price for the Latics who have recently endured a frustrating time at Boundary Park.
As always, Brentford came north with a plan of being tough whilst passing the ball around in a purposeful manner. For the hosts, enforced changes meant Dowie had to make changes to his plans in order to patch up a squad missing no less than 7 players. Armstrong moved into suspended Eyres left wing slot, whilst man-of-the-match and winning goalscorer Lee Duxbury deputised for John Eyre leaving a question mark over who will start at Wycombe. Upfront, Killen replaced operation-recovering Corazzin whilst new signing Ben Burgess debutised for suspended Andrews. Leaving even more questions over Saturdays line up.
The switches almost came as a blessing in some ways. Especially as the front pairing gelled together with finesse, whilst Duxbury was a threat throughout. Armstrong battered the left wing and supplied an awesome cross for the winner, whilst Sheridan and Baudet protected the defence.
This game as a footballing contest soon paled into significance though, by full-time. When you look at the facts that a) Pogliacomi had little to do, b) the hosts witnessed the most bizarre goal against them, c) it was a very hard fought and worthy victory and d) it was the first home victory since November the 2nd, it is a crying shame that this victory will be remembered for one thing and one thing only (as is often becoming the case) – the referee Mr Clattenburg.
Writing a match report without involving comments on the referee is something I try to avoid. I avoid looking to blame the referee for us losing or playing badly. However, the Latics neither played badly or lost yet Mr Clattenburg was the only thing on furious home fans minds as they headed for the gates – that being after 5 minutes of injury time which his scandalous performance created.
Ironically, my early thoughts of the season had been that standards looked to have improved, but for some reason it drastically altered by about 7 games in and is now hurtling towards the ridiculous. In this match, well, this was the pinnacle of all errors in awarding refereeing licenses. Avoiding commenting on this referee would be something of an art. I call a spade, a spade and this referee, well he couldn’t cope with a 2yrs old tea party. Expletives wouldn’t go near to describing this morons pathetic attempts to control this game. Infact he should be charged by Greater Manchester police for attempting to incite a riot – and all this was before he sent Pogliacomi off in spectacular fashion with just 30 seconds on the clock.
Moving onto footballing matters though, the Latics did well at controlling the play in the areas they needed to and that ultimately helped to undo Brentford. The visitors did enjoy some possession but a mix of high quality defending by the Blues (as per usual) and Brentford without the missing punch of suspended topscorer Rowan Vine, meant that the hosts had the formula to feel comfortable in victory.
The scene could have been set early though – and could have been very different. The defence looked slightly nervous in the opening minutes and with just 6 on the clock, a ball along the Latics defence put Hall into trouble. He hurriedly passed onto Murray leaving the midfielder stranded and that resulted in Hunt skipping through with a free rein. Passing Hall, cutting into the box from the left and hurdling over Sheridan’s risqué tackle, Hunt had a clear sight at goal but marginally placed it wide of the far top corner. It was a real let off for the hosts.
After this the Blues began to take a bit more of a hold on the game and many avenues were exploited in attack. Diagonal balls allowed Killen and Burgess space to bring players into the attack and more purpose was evident – something fans have missed for a while at Ice Station Zebra.
However, it wasn’t until the 18th minute until the Latics had their first glimpse of goal as Killen nodded Armstrong’s back post cross marginally over the bar. Eventually, the breakthrough came as Sheridan placed a corner ball to the penalty spot and Hall ghosted in for a free header at goal. Brentford’s keeper dived to save and looked to have fingertipped the ball away but could only push it into the inside-netting of the goal. 1-0.
That lead last just six minutes though as the visitors pulled level on 29, in bizarre fashion. Appearing in real-time as though Haining had thrashed the ball at O’Connor (who has been credited with the goal), the fortune of having hindsight & several slow-mo’s shows that the ball actually appears to infact hit Berahall’s raised knee-cap in order for the ball to react in the way it did. Have been lashed forward as a clearance, the ball blasted off Berahall’s and flew directly into the far corner at full pace, leaving Pogliacomi stranded and the two defenders looking on in disbelief. As did every Latics fan. 1-1.
A stunned side reeled from its mis-fortune and on 31, the evidence was clear to see that all concentration had gone momentarily. Brentford won a corner and with the Latics defence partially asleep, Sonko had a free header which fortunately lacked direction or pace, allowing Pogi to claim without a worry.
The Latics responded and good work from Killen presented Burgess with a glaring opportunity just 4 yards out, but he managed glance his header wide of the far post. Then on the stroke of half-time, with Clattenburg slowly losing control of the game, Baudet hit a swirling 30yd drive which the visiting keeper saw late before eventually parrying the ball away.
Starting the 2nd period as they left the 1st, the hosts looked to strike early. And the best move at Boundary Park all season carved open the Bees defence as fast movement, accuracy and anticipation all came together to create a stunning team-worked goal. Heading the wrong way on the half-way line, Burgess volley-flicked the ball to send it shooting down the left for Armstrong to chase. With marker beaten for pace, the youngster curled a sweet pin-point ball around the defensive line which was aplomb for a diving Duxbury to bury home from close range. The Latics have applauded opposition teams for goals as sweet as that against – this time we could celebrate one ourselves. 2-1.
From this point on though the game went fast from the sublime to the utterly ridiculous. The football went out of the window as the game became very scrappy and heated. But rather than dampening the passion and spirits, "good ol’" Clattenburg weighed in to pour petrol on a burning flame. Handing out 6 bookings in 15 minutes (4 of which were truly ridiculous) the Northumberland official not only created anger but then began getting the basics wrong. Both sides were denied a most blatant corner each (sides where no linesman covered) and this set the home crowd off even further. Then Hall received a booking for questioning a foul where the Brentford player had clearly stood and slipped on the ball. Shortly after this, Sonko, on a yellow, amazingly escaped a red as he elbowed Haining in the face. The referee saw it, blew for the foul, realised it was Sonko who had been booked and pulled him aside for a quick chat.
In the remains of a nothing half, both sets of fans became more intrigued in watching the referee for his next blind-mans act than watching the midfield battle being played out. By the 85th minute, fans were chanting for Dowie to smack the ref. Little did we know what he was about to cook up next!!!
Before Clattenburg’s final act, the Latics almost pushed the game out of reach on 86 as Killen nodded a ball over the back line for Duxbury to chase. The fans favourite raced clear with just the keeper to beat, but the angle proved too great as his passing shot flew agonisingly wide of the far post.
Into injury-time the game went as the referee signalled for there to be 5 minutes – all of which he had made up through his actions in the 45 minutes before it. And 4 minutes into those 5, Clattenburg embarked on his final act of menace. As Brentford attacked with a throw-in midway inside the Latics half, jostling took place in the penalty area. Clattenburg ran over to show a bemused Pogliacomi a red card, leaving Boundary Park furious. A chorus of boos, the likes of which I’ve rarely heard as so loud, rang around the ground. Almost immediately after this Clattenburg blew for full-time, sparking Dowie to race onto the pitch to be confronted by Brentford players. A policeman followed close by as Dowie & Tony Philliskirk justifiably displayed anger at the referee. Now the Latics must wait on appeal for justice to finally prevail.
All in all though, despite inept refereeing which marred this victory, the Latics had weathered another storm and finally gained that vital, long-awaited home victory. Hopefully, previous nightmares involving Wycombe, Luton, Wigan, Cheltenham and Burton Albion can all be forgotten now and the home form can be put right. Let’s not forget though, we have lost only 1 in 13 league games and therefore it isn’t too late to mount a chase for Wigan. That’s a dream though – the Latics need to concentrate on securing number 2 first and that begins with revenge against Wycombe. We hate Lawrie Sanchez, we lost to them at home this season and we’ve never won at Adams Park. Plus some have painful memories of our 3-0 defeat there just 3 years ago. It really is time we set the record straight!