Feisty second leg sees Brentford comeback & beat Cherries

Hoping to atone for last season’s play-off final loss, Brentford travelled back home in front of their supporters hoping to give them a performance against Bournemouth by overturning a 1-0 first-leg deficit.

The Action: After a slightly low key first leg, the first half of the second 90 couldn’t have possibly been any more different, with both sides going in hard from the off.

Bournemouth looked to be on their way to Wembley with just four minutes played as some of the worst defence of a counter-attack ever seen left Brentford without a single man back to intercept a clearance that fell to an all-alone Arnaut Danjuma. The Dutchman couldn’t believe his luck, carrying the ball the length of the pitch before slotting past David Raya.

It didn’t take long for Brentford to get back in the tie though, with Lloyd Kelly’s hands all over the place as they stopped an Emiliano Marcondes cross in the box, allowing Ivan Toney to bag his 31st league goal of the season from the spot.

And soon after, Bournemouth’s collapse was in full flow as Chris Mepham completely miss controlled a harmless launch upfield, allowing Bryan Mbeumo to latch on, with Mepham grabbing his ankle for a stone-wall red card.

Toney twice failed to add to his tally with a goal-line clearance from Diego Rico keeping the Cherries level at the break, but the onslaught continued in the second period as Vitaly Janelt brilliantly smashed home from distance to level the tie.

Jonathan Woodgate’s men would have had little hope in extra time as the extra man continued to stand out, and with 10 to go, super-sub Marcus Forss ended the tie when he turned in a Marcondes pass.

The Big Picture: Brentford will be full of confidence heading towards Wembley, while Bournemouth have squandered a chance for instant promotion, and really need to nail their next coaching appointment.

Man of the Match: Marcondes took the game by the scruff of the neck, and didn’t let up, leading the charge as his side piled on the pressure.

Expected Goals: Brentford (3.13) 3-1 (0.46) Bournemouth

Stat of the Day: Ivan Toney has eclipsed the Championship single-season scoring record with his 31st of the campaign.