Wycombe Wanderers vs Brentford. Sky Bet Championship.
Adams Park.
Report and highlights from the Championship clash between Wycombe Wanderers and Brentford at Adams Park as the Chairboys remain in the bottom three after an entertaining goalless draw on Saturday afternoon
Saturday 21 November 2020 19:04, UK
Bryan Mbeumo came closest to breaking the deadlock as Wycombe and Brentford played out a lively 0-0 draw at Adams Park.
Neither side were able to advance their Championship ambitions, with the home side still in the bottom three and the promotion-chasing Bees in mid-table.
The biggest chance of the match fell to Brentford's Mbeumo, whose low shot was touched on to a post by Ryan Allsop, ensuring Wanderers kept just their second clean sheet of the season.
Both sides made two changes from their last fixtures, with Brentford only able to name eight substitutes on the bench.
Wycombe's Dominic Gape came into the side, making his first appearance since being sent off in his team's Carabao Cup match against the Bees in September.
Within the first five minutes, Mbeumo had volleyed over for the visitors before Curtis Thompson's cross was palmed away by Brentford goalkeeper David Raya.
Bees skipper Pontus Jansson, back in the team, met two corners in the space of two minutes but was unable to trouble Allsop.
Mbeumo continued to look dangerous and he came the closest to a goal when he met Josh Dasilva's low cross. His scuffed shot was heading into the bottom corner before Allsop flung himself to his right and turned the ball on to a post with his fingertips.
Ivan Toney was kept quiet in the first half but found an opening shortly before half-time, feeding the ball through to Mbeumo, whose curling shot went behind for a corner, before beating the offside trap himself only to see his shot blocked.
The visitors started the second half with renewed purpose.
Henrik Dalsgaard dispossessed Daryl Horgan in midfield and blasted over, while Mbeumo had another chance as he headed wide from a Sergi Canos cross.
Wycombe soon sparked back into life, David Wheeler heading wide from a free-kick and Adebayo Akinfenwa heading straight at the keeper.
Horgan played over three hours of football for the Republic of Ireland during the international break but showed little sign of fatigue, driving into the Brentford half before being cynically tripped by Canos.
His volley from outside the area then went behind for a corner.
Wycombe dominated the closing stages, with substitute Fred Onyedinma's cross almost met by the outstretched boot of Akinfenwa and fellow substitute Alex Samuel dragging a shot wide.
But the last chance went to Brentford, Dasilva picking his spot with Allsop looking beaten only to see his shot bounce past a post.
Wycombe's Gareth Ainsworth: "Thomas Frank has a fantastic team which makes that point really special for us, against a team that will be in that top six or thereabouts come the end of the season. Once we got going we broke really well on them, the subs gave us some fresh energy and I think some clinical tackles from Brentford really stopped us with goal-scoring opportunities.
"It's harsh, I don't want bookings, but they were real counter-attack stopping tackles. Brentford were the better side in the first half and we made a fantastic save with Ryan tipping it on to the post that kept us in the first half. There were signs, Scott Kashket had a couple of chances when we did get in that box. We knew they would come with a very possession-based system and we had to control that and come up with a plan that made them take a few risks."
Brentford's Thomas Frank: "I think Wycombe deserve some praise. They made it very difficult for us. I think that they pressed us very well and played with a big intensity and they managed to do it throughout the game. We didn't manage to create enough dangerous situations that could have created more chances. We created three big chances and if we take one of them we win.
"We did enough to win the game, but not enough to make 100 per cent sure of that. In the final third I think we lacked that composure, and I just think on the day we just simply didn't have that flair. I think Mbeumo was unlucky today."
