Brentford complete second-half comeback over Watford thanks to Bryan Mbeumo's stoppage-time penalty

A hop, skip and jump and Bryan Mbeumo broke Watford hearts. Five minutes of stoppage time was all but up when his penalty sent Daniel Bachmann the wrong way. 

Who would be the hero with Ivan Toney missing his first Brentford home league fixture with Covid-19? West London had its answer. Three points that had looked so unlikely just ten minutes previously, secured.  

Watford have been nothing if not entertaining since Claudio Ranieri’s installation. But defensively they have been woeful, conceding more than any of their peers in that period. Equilibrium, a sense of calm, is what they craved following a bruising run of fixtures that has left them loitering dangerously close to the bottom  

Their season was supposed to start here. And it almost did. Emmanuel Dennis – a leading candidate for signing of the summer - had put them ahead midway through the opening half. For an hour, it looked set to be the perfect ‘smash and grab’. A battling, soak-it-up style performance to bring a much-needed win.  

Then it fell apart. With six minutes remaining Pontus Jansson grabbed a deserved leveller, in doing so becoming Brentford’s ninth different Premier League home scorer. Then came Mbeumo's hero moment.

Having suffered late heart-ache himself at Elland Road on Sunday, Thomas Frank was understandably purring: “An amazing feeling. We fought back, stayed in the game, scored in the 84th minute and never settled for a draw. We kept pushing forward and got the winner. Everything is unbelievable. Well deserved. I must say there are going to be two big glasses of red wine tonight.”

This was the first top-flight meeting of these two clubs, Watford nipping in ahead of their hosts to seal automatic promotion last season. Perhaps a little added bite? Certainly, the celebrations afterwards - ‘Hey Jude’ belting out from all corners - suggested so. But it was a precious victory for Brentford too, who have stuttered after their flying start.  

Despite an enforced reshuffle – Ethan Pinnock also returned a positive test on the eve of the game – Frank’s side made the early running. But for Bachmann’s acrobatic stop to deny Shandon Baptiste’s dipping volley, they would have been ahead inside minutes. The Austrian was at full stretch again later in the half to deny Mbeumo who had broken rapidly from a corner and let fly.  

Watford’s goal came from one of their few meaningful attacks. Josh King’s curled 20-yard effort crashed into the post and was put behind for a corner. Brentford switched off, allowing Dennis to rise unmarked and nod in his seventh of the campaign.  

From there it was a familiar tale for Brentford. They controlled the tempo, but clear-cut openings were at a premium. As the cold set in, the intensity increased and the visitors sat back; a dangerous ploy for a team without a Premier League clean sheet in their previous 25 attempts.  

But still Brentford, for all their possession, lacked incision. The frustration from the stands grew audible, spilling onto the pitch through a succession of bookings. Bachmann denied Janelt, before seconds later King wasted the chance to double Watford’s lead. Alvaro Fernandez saved comfortably.  

It was a moment King would live to regret. Marcus Forss flicked on Janelt’s cross and Jansson headed home. Var was consulted but the Brentford captain was level. Then came the error-prone Troost-Ekong’s clumsy lunge at substitute Saman Ghoddos.  

“The second half we went too deep,” said Ranieri, whose side now have picked up just six points in 27. “I don’t want this. If we go too deep, we have to stay close together. We must be more dangerous, focus, concentrate on every ball. We lost the first battle, but there are other battles.”