Thomas Frank felt that Brentford deserved a goalless stalemate as they suffered defeat at the hands of Everton.
The Toffees’ 1-0 win at Goodison Park secured Premier League survival with three games remaining this season. Idrissa Gana Gueye netted the only goal of the game on the hour mark in a largely uneventful affair.
But Sean Dyche’s side secured a third successive triumph in seven days to move 11 points clear of Luton Town and avoid the drop – despite being deducted eight points for financial breaches.
Brentford are also safe from demotion and are now preparing for a third straight year in the top flight. And while that has pleased Frank, he was ‘irritated’ that the Bees lost a ‘boring’ encounter.
“Very even game, I think,” said Brentford boss Frank. “Two teams cancelling each other out throughout. Quite boring, actually.
“A game where one of the teams had to take that one moment. We had the big chance with Ivan, probably the biggest chance of the game at 0-0. We knew they were very good at set-pieces, we were completely on top of that and gave nothing away on top of the goal. That was the second phase and unfortunately it dropped [to Gueye].
“We played an average game, I would say. Credit to Everton, they are very difficult to play against. Credit to the way Sean set his team up, we knew that it would be difficult and when we faced that, we need to be better. It’s irritating we lost that game, it’s a 0-0 game. Let’s get a draw and we keep the unbeaten run.”
Frank expressed frustration at the outcome, believing Brentford deserved at least a draw from a game he described as evenly contested and, at times, dull.
Despite controlling set-pieces well, Brentford couldn’t capitalize on their chances, with Everton ultimately securing victory through Gueye’s goal. While acknowledging Everton’s defensive prowess and Dyche’s astute tactics, Frank emphasized the need for improvement from his side to secure results in tight encounters like this one.
Nevertheless, with Premier League safety assured and an unbeaten run to maintain, Frank remains optimistic about Brentford’s prospects going forward.