O WAT AT A CIRCUS
| Published date | 07 April 2024 |
| Publication title | Daily Star (England) |
Villa were one goal to the good at the interval when Watkins glanced home his first of the afternoon from John McGinn's cross.
And when Morgan Rogers netted his first for the club just 37 seconds after the restart, it looked as though the Bees would be pushed deeper into trouble.
The ex-WBA youngster took Youri Tielemans' ball into his feet and a neat roll-over flummoxed Kristoffer Ajer before firing home a low, left-foot shot to give Villa a two-goal cushion.
By that stage Brentford had not had a single shot on target and as the hour approached, the game appeared to be heading towards a routine home win.
But instead what took place was a few moments of chaos in the home ranks that allowed the Bees to grab the lead and the initiative as they went in search of a famous comeback triumph.
It was a scrappy effort that sparked their staggering revival.
Sergio Reguilon's cross skimmed off the head of Yoane Wissa and was retrieved by Mikkel Damsgaard who fed the ball into the danger zone where Zanka tried to make contact with his right foot - but instead it hit his left and bounced past Emi Martinez.
That goal knocked the stuffing out of the hosts and within two minutes Brentford were level. Reguilon crossed from the left and Mbeumo pulled away from Pau Torres and met the ball on the volley.
While a sell-out Villa Park crowd was rubbing its eyes in disbelief, the Bees grabbed a third. Yoane Wissa found Reguilon on the left with a crossfield pass. The defender centred and Mbeumo tapped home.
It was nine minutes of sheer chaos from Emery's side... and nine of pure joy for Frank's.
It took time for Villa to regroup but they eventually worked an opening that saw them level with the game entering its last 10 minutes.
Leon Bailey had been a thorn in the Bees' side all afternoon and it was his deflected cross that gave Watkins the chance to claim his 18th goal of the season.
Keeper Mark Flekken came to claim the centre but misjudged it and Watkins was on hand at the far post to nod home. Emery threw on late substitutes to try to force a winner but
Brentford held firm.
Frank will be the happier of...
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