Soccer
Thomas Frank cited a lack of creativity within his Tottenham side as the key to their goalless draw with Brentford on his return to Gtech Community Stadium on Thursday.
Frank watched on as his team struggled to breach the Bees’ stern defensive rearguard, with Richarlison’s tame effort in the closing stages their best chance of the match.
Brentford thought they had taken the lead inside the opening 10 minutes when Kevin Schade scored in the fifth minute, but his goal was ruled out for offside.
Further chances fell to Keane Lewis-Potter, Vitaly Janelt and Igor Thiago, but it was an encounter that failed to whet the appetite of those in attendance.
Indeed, this was just the fourth Premier League game this season not to see a single big chance created, after Liverpool versus Arsenal (August), Bournemouth against Newcastle United (September) and Bournemouth against Nottingham Forest (October).
And though Frank was thrilled with the reception he received on his return to his former club, he was left wanting more from his players, particularly in the final third.
“It was very nice and very special in many, many ways. Very happy with that,” Frank said of his return to Brentford.
“It was nice to be back and nice to acknowledge things both ways, and then the whistle goes, and it’s business, and you want to win the game.
“However, we don’t create enough. I think we dealt with half of the challenge here because they are very strong at home.
“They only gave seven shots away in the whole game, so we were very happy with that, but we didn’t create enough. The amount of unforced errors today was too big.”
One player who could have helped solve that problem was Brennan Johnson, but the Wales international was not involved in Spurs’ matchday squad.
That is because he is reportedly closing in on a switch to London rivals Crystal Palace, with Johnson set to link up with Oliver Glasner’s team in a deal worth around £35m.
Johnson made 107 appearances in all competitions for Tottenham, netting 27 goals, including the winner in their Europa League final success, as well as 14 assists.
“Obviously, there is probably something close, but that is it,” Frank said about how the deal was materialising.
Brentford, meanwhile, were forced to share the spoils, though Keith Andrew’s team were able to extend their unbeaten league run to four matches.
The Bees did, however, play out their 12th goalless draw in the top-flight, with only Palace (17), Everton (14) and Brighton (13) having more since they joined the division in 2021.
Brentford have also now failed to score in their previous four Premier League London derbies (D1 L3), winning just one of their last 10 (D4 L5), a 2-0 win at West Ham last October.
It was a match of few opportunities for the hosts, who registered an expected goals (xG) total of 0.83 from their seven shots, though only two of those tested Guglielmo Vicario.
But Brentford boss Andrews believed his side were worthy of all three points, a result that, if it had transpired, would have seen them go within a point of fifth-placed Chelsea.
“Lovely to see Thomas [Frank], as always. [He’s] somebody who I respect hugely. I enjoyed working with him last season,” Andrews said.
“I thought we edged it, and if anybody was going to win the game, it was probably us. They beat us twice last season; they deserved to beat us 26 days ago at Spurs.
“Today was a completely different performance. We wanted it quick in the tempo in the second half, and they tried to slow it down.
“Thomas is very aware of what this home crowd can do and how dangerous we can be. Their goalkeeper got booked for time-wasting, which pretty much says it all.”
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