City deliver goal extravaganza

6:37pm Sunday 13th April 2008

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Brentford 2 City 2

End of season games between middling sides can be curious affairs.

Some can be played out with all the ferocity of a beach kick-about on the holidays the players are all starting to plan.

Others can serve up an entertainment free-for-all as both sides cast off any inhibitions caused by the league table.

But Griffin Park on Saturday decided to host its own private goal-of-the-month contest.

As the first-half goals went flying in, there seemed to be an air of "anything you can do...". Each spectacular effort was trumped by the next.

Three of the four goals were absolute belters - and the one from Brentford's Glenn Poole which got the fun started was no tap-in either.

Talking of tap-ins, Kyle Nix was delighted to wipe out the painful memory of that goal-line gaffe at Rotherham a few weeks back.

His cracking left-foot volley from just outside the box showed perfect timing. And not just in terms of his sweet connection which flew into the top corner.

Three weeks from now, Stuart McCall has to make his mind up on Nix and the legion of other out-of-contract names. It was a hefty nudge in the midfielder's favour.

Second-guessing McCall is as difficult a pastime for reporters as players. The line-up which braved the pre-match monsoon of hail for their warm-up again showed several changes from four days before.

The four missing from the 11 which faced Barnet included injured duo Barry Conlon and Paul Heckingbottom.

Conlon was given the breather he needed after carrying a knee problem he suffered a fortnight ago at Rochdale. Heckingbottom lost his ever-present league mantle after his calf tightened up in training on Friday.

His absence meant a league debut for Luke O'Brien, whose only previous senior experience was the FA Cup loss to Tranmere in December.

The 19-year-old is expected to be handed another contract in the summer and certainly did his chances no harm at all.

"I had no worries about putting him in," said McCall. "Luke plays and trains ever so well and hopefully he's got a good future in the game."

O'Brien showed few nerves against on-loan Fulham winger Wayne Brown or late substitute Ricky Shakes. And he topped off a good day in the capital with a clearance off the line to thwart Nathan Elder's header.

City defended well as a whole after a dodgy start.

Alan Connell had already gone close when Brentford grabbed the lead on six minutes after Nix had undersold Tom Penford midway inside his own half.

Gary Smith nicked the pass away and teed up Poole, whose low shot through David Wetherall's legs beat Scott Loach's left hand. Maybe the keeper could have done a bit better but he only saw the ball very late after the skipper's attempts to close Poole down.

But City did not have long to dwell on their misfortune. Within 13 minutes, they had not only levelled but taken the lead.

The Bantams struck with their first effort at goal - and what a beauty it was.

Mark Bower pumped a long free-kick forward, where Wetherall won possession with a commanding knock-down to Peter Thorne. The leading scorer let it run across his body as he swivelled and crashed an unstoppable half-volley into the roof of the net.

It was a stunning strike and prompted yet more "if only" sighs from the away supporters, pondering those lost three months at the start of the campaign before Thorne was fit and firing.

Getting him tied down for next season already could prove to be McCall's best signing of the summer.

Brentford were further rocking three minutes later after another superb blast from the edge of the penalty area.

Thorne again had a part in it with a flick-on header and Nix's lethal left foot did the rest, with the aid of a slight Brentford deflection.

This was getting fun - so much for Ian Ormondroyd's pre-match prediction of a 0-0 banker... City could and should have gone further in front as Eddie Johnson, again playing up front, cleverly anticipated Ryan Dickson's back pass for centre half Matt Heywood.

Johnson timed his run perfectly to whisk the ball off the defender's foot and suddenly found himself bearing down on goal. But with only keeper Simon Brown to beat, he seemed to lose conviction as the goal approached and drove an unconvincing shot straight at the opponent.

As so often happens, a miss like that swiftly becomes a key turning-point.

And instead of going 3-1 down, Brentford were back on equal terms just two minutes later. Of course, it was another pearler of a strike.

Wetherall cleared out a cross as far as Wayne Brown before Alan Bennett took over with the sort of goal that no centre half has the right to score.

Seizing possession on the angle of the City penalty area, he launched a looping effort - with a hint of a touch off Thorne's outstretched boot - which flew over Loach and crashed into the far corner of the net off the bar.

Twenty six minutes gone, four goals, all crackers. Of course it couldn't last.

But there were still further murmurs before half-time as Penford's hit-and-hope cross bounced on the bar and Alex Rhodes, trying so hard but failing to make a real impact against his old club, snatched at a shot after a dreadful miscontrol by right back Craig Pead.

Brentford thought they were back in front right on the break when Elder thumped a header goalwards from Smith's corner but O'Brien was perfectly positioned to guard the back post and make sure of a personal moment to savour.

After such a first-half feast, the second was inevitably going to run out of steam. City's efforts weren't helped by a fresh deluge that was blowing into their faces.

Joe Colbeck made a couple of trademark charges deep into enemy territory but his decision-making let him down; once in particular he kept on going and going deep into the box before wrongly looking to cut back to Johnson instead of having a dig himself.

Loach made a good save after Elder found room to turn and shoot and Connell wastefully volleyed over the bar from close range.

But City should have had a penalty with five minutes left. Wetherall has hardly got the reputation as a serial diver but referee Paul Armstrong was unmoved when he appeared to be thrown to the ground by Heywood.

The big defender was furious at the official's non-committal response to what seemed a blatant foul.

City finished the game on the attack with Luke Medley sending fellow sub Omar Daley away on the left. But he didn't spot the well-placed Thorne and cut inside instead, only to lose out before he could get off a shot.

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