Football

Brentford boss Frank irritated after late 4-3 win but praises players

LONDON: Brentford might have shown fortitude and resolve in coming from two goals down to edge Ipswich Town 4-3 in an action-packed Premier League clash on Saturday but the performance left manager Thomas Frank in a cranky mood.

The home side, who now have four wins from five home games this season and moved up to ninth, were 2-0 down to the newly-promoted team but fought back to level at halftime.

Bryan Mbeumo then scored twice in the second period as they won a thriller, securing the points in stoppage time at the end of a seven-goal encounter.

"Being completely honest, I am still irritated. In many ways we did not do well enough, so big respect and praise to Ipswich," said Frank.

"They were by far the better team for the first 40 minutes, it was one of our worst ever (performances) in the Premier League.

"At halftime I was angry, it is not often that I'm that irritated but we were so poor. In football and the Premier League we take nothing for granted, so we need to enjoy the win.

"The last five (minutes of the first half) was better and then second half we were clearly the better team and got back to 3-2 up and then lacked the killer instinct to finish it off.

"And then for the 4-3 we had some margins go with us. We put a lot of crosses in and if you keep doing that then maybe there is a mistake at the end of one. Let's put it this way, when we play it is exciting."

But Frank hailed the victory as important and praised his players' fortitude.

"It's a fantastic mentality to come back from 2-0 down, and then in the end to win the game right at the last moment. Last year we had a long spell of games that we could not win but this season we finally managed to win these sorts of games."

Mbeumo, who now has six league goals this season, said: "They (Ipswich) gave it their all in defence so it was really hard to find the gaps, but I think we showed big character today."

Brentford's Yoane Wissa, who scored their first goal, added: "Craziness is part of football, part of Brentford, part of the Gtech Stadium, part of the fans. We love it.

"This game means a lot for us because last year we would not win this kind of game, so we are very happy with the win today." - REUTERS

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