Brentford 1 Wolves 2: Late Neves strike nabs points for visitors in action-packed game delayed by drone & head injuries
WELL, that was bloody bizarre. Never has a first half without a single shot on target been so eventful. A goalkeeper going down like he had been shot after one of his own defenders had accidentally trod on his toes at a long throw. A sickening clash of heads which KO’d two Brentford stars and […]
WELL, that was bloody bizarre.
Never has a first half without a single shot on target been so eventful.
A goalkeeper going down like he had been shot after one of his own defenders had accidentally trod on his toes at a long throw.
A sickening clash of heads which KO’d two Brentford stars and forced the hosts to send on two concussion subs.
And then in a sensational twist the game had to be halted when both teams were taken off the field due to an ‘unofficial drone’ flying over the stadium.
The game eventually resumed after the unidentified flying object – dubbed Ivan Droney after the Bees striker – buzzed off.
The start of the second half was then delayed while we waited for referee Peter Bankes to have his faulty communication equipment fixed.
This led to the Bees’ stadium announcer quipping over tannoy: “Remember the date – the 22nd of January, 2022.”
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We are lucky the match is still not going on into the night.
As we waited for the second half to resume, the 1,800 travelling Wolves fans chanted: “We want our money back.”
While the home supporters chipped in with: “This is embarrassing.”
Quite what the members of the Afghanistan Women’s Development Squad – special guests at the game – thought of it all is anybody’s guess.
But the irony of their first Premier League match being halted by a drone attack will surely not be lost on those brave young women.
Thankfully the second half was far more entertaining – and shorter – Ruben Neves earned Wolves a win that ended with Brentford boss being sent off as he confronted ref Bankes on the pitch after the final whistle.
Perhaps he was droning on!
Nobody could have foreseen the drama ahead after such a dull start.
The only dive Wanderers keeper Jose Sa made in the opening 20 minutes was when he theatrically threw himself to the floor after his team-mate Leander Dendoncker accidentally trod on his toes as players jostled in the box ahead of Ethan Pinnock’s long throw into the mixer.
There was certainly no play-acting when Bees’ pair Rico Henry and Mathias Jensen suffered a sickening clash of heads as they both went to clear Sa’s quick punt upfield.
The stricken duo required lengthy treatment on the field from both sets of physios before leaving the field with blood streaming down their faces.
With two Bees concussion subs sent on as replacements, the game resumed after a six-minute delay, only to be halted again in bizarre circumstances when an unofficial drone was spotted flying over the stadium.
With the Premier League rulebook no doubt tucked in his socks, ref Bankes ordered both teams back to the dressing rooms ‘for player safety’ in the 33rd minute.
Although, frankly, the pilots of the planes coming into the land at nearby Heathrow Airport were the ones they should have been more concerned about.
After a 15-minute stoppage and few choruses from the stands of ‘Who’s the w***** with the drone?’ The players and officials returned to the field and the game resumed.
Strangely, though, Bankes only played 19 minutes of stoppage time at the end of the first half, when the delays were clearly longer.
But it was not his watch that needed fixing before the second half could start, it was his radio link to Stockley Park.
After finally getting back underway, Joao Moutinho broke the deadlock in the 48th minute with a fine curling shot after playing a one-two with Nelson Semedo.
We then had the Metropolitan Police helicopter circling overhead in the hunt for the drone pilot.
And it is a good job ref Bankes had his radio equipment fixed as VAR correctly advised him to rescind a ridiculous red card given to Toti for a foul on Kristoffer Ajer.
Brentford felt justice had been done, though, when from Bryan Mbeumo’s resulting free kick, Toney volleyed home a 71st minute equaliser.
But parity lasted just seven minutes as Neves netted with a shot from the edge of the box after being teed up by Moutinho.
Brentford boss Frank subbed both of his concussion subs as he tried to halt their dreadful run which has seen them lose six of their last seven top-flight matches.
But he saw red at the end after Wolves sub Adama Traore had a goal chalked off by VAR.
Bruno Lage’s boys have now won four out of their last five in the Prem.
And they were not the only ones flying high in Hounslow.
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