Brentford 3 Sheffield Wednesday 0 - ‘We have to be more ruthless at both ends of the pitch’ - urges Neil Thompson

The Owls slumped to a third successive league defeat at Brentford last night – thanks to goals from Bryan Mbeumo, Saman Ghoddos and Mads Bech Sorensen – to leave Wednesday languishing next to bottom in the table.

It leaves the Owls three points from safety, ahead of Saturday’s trip to Luton Town and the visit of fellow strugglers Rotherham United next Wednesday.

But Owls caretaker manager Thompson knows his side have to start improving – at both ends of the pitch – if they are to stave off the drop.

Thompson said: “They were three really disappointing goals.

“The first one has to be cleared. The second, we were down to 10, but you’ve got to deal with it. They were all poor goals to concede.

“We didn’t create enough chances, we more than matched them for large periods in terms of having the ball, but it doesn’t matter how you play when you’re in our situation, we need to win games.

“We had the ball but they are a good team, so when you start pressing they are very quick to open you up as a lot of teams have found out this year.

“We have to be more ruthless at both ends of the pitch. We haven’t scored enough goals, we know that.

“There’s a third of the season left so we have to look positively. We’re disappointed but we have to find it from within to lift ourselves and go on a run.”

Makeshift centre-forward Mbeumo gave the hosts the lead midway through the first half when he redirected Sergi Canos’s wayward shot past the goalkeeper from close range.

He turned provider late in the second half when he slipped a ball into the path of Ghoddos who angled a first-time shot across the keeper and inside the far post.

The second goal was not without controversy as the Owls were down to 10 men following a calculated Henrik Dalsgaard foul on Fisayo Dele-Bashiru that later forced him off injured.

Iranian midfielder Ghoddos added an assist seven minutes from time with a pinpoint free-kick which Sorensen guided back across goal and in off the far post with his head.

The Bees shaded a scrappy first half dominated by some strange refereeing decisions from official Jeremy Simpson that left both sides infuriated.

Owls midfielder Barry Bannan was the first to get a shot away, stinging Bees keeper David Raya’s fingers with a 25-yard strike.

At the other end Mbeumo’s ambitious over the shoulder volley from a diagonal Ghoddos cross was feet away from being a goal-of-the-season candidate.

Wednesday managed very little going forward with playmaker Bannan forced to drop deeper and deeper in a stop-start opening 45 minutes.

Canos reacted to a quickly taken throw-in minutes after the restart but could only angle a speculative first-time effort across goal.

But the Bees should have stretched their lead in the 53rd minute when Dalsgaard cut a pass back from the byline into the path of Ghoddos who rolled his shot inches wide with just the keeper to beat.

Liam Palmer almost made Brentford pay minutes later when he barged his way through three challenges only to slice well wide from the edge of the area.

Two second-half goals gave the Bees confidence and they looked far more like the side that went 21 games unbeaten.

They should have been out of sight four minutes after their controversial second when Mbeumo raced clear only to be thwarted by a smart Joe Wildsmith stop.

Brentford centre-back Ethan Pinnock came even closer to making it three but toe-poked a scrambled effort just wide.

Brentford: Raya, Dalsgaard (Roerslev 85), Reid,Pinnock, Sorensen, Jensen, Janelt, Ghoddos (Zamburek 85), Fosu (Da Silva 75), Mbeumo (Marcondes 85), Canos (Toney 66). Unused substitutes: Daniels, Pressley, Gilbert, Bidstrup.

Sheffield Wednesday: Wildsmith, Palmer, Lees, Urhoghide, Harris, Hutchinson (Pelupessy 88), Bannan, Penney, Reach (Dele-Bashiru 55), Rhodes, Kachunga (Paterson 76), Dele-Bashiru (Brown 77). Unused substitutes: Borner, Windass, Dunkley, Hunt, Jackson.

Referee: J Simpson (Lancashire).

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