Frank bemoans late equaliser but praises players

Brentford boss Thomas Frank said if he had to see his side concede a goal, he would rather it was a world-class effort rather than the deflected strike which cost his side victory against Norwich.

The Bees were close to wrapping up victory when Kenny McLean’s deflected shot wrong-footed David Raya to earn the Canaries a point in a 1-1 draw.

And Frank said: “Football is a random game when you concede a goal like that.

“I would prefer that they had scored a top shot into the top corner – you can accept that.

“But that’s football and maybe even if we had got closer to him, we could have blocked the shot completely.”

However, despite the two dropped points, Frank was happy with his side’s performance.

“We performed well and played a very good game,” he said.

“I was very pleased with how we pressed Norwich, especially in the second half, when for the first 15-20 minutes we were on top.

“We had some opportunities and should have got more out of those situations, but couldn’t make it 2-0.

“I think we came out slightly on top, but unfortunately didn’t take the three points.

“However, the performance is the positive thing we take from this game, and we need to take that into the Luton game on Saturday.”

The Bees are in a hectic schedule of games, with three more in the week-and-a-half before the next international break.

Consistent midfielder Josh Dasilva was one of the players substituted during the second half, sparking fears that he may be another casualty to add to the club’s injury list.

But Frank said: “We are playing a lot of games. Josh played a good game, but we wanted another fresh player on the pitch.

“Josh played 90 minutes on Saturday and 90 minutes last Wednesday so we thought that was the right decision to take him off.

“He played a good game again and is very important for us.”