Match day at the Gtech Premier League Brentford (0) 0 Brighton (2) 2 Gomez 30, Welbeck 45+1 Brentford’s European hopes have been dented by a home defeat against Brighton & Hove Albion. Two first half goals gave the Seagulls their second win in sixteen games. The visitors were led by the 40-year-old James Milner, who played his 654th Premier League game, a record. After the game, the Brighton midfielder was embraced by former Liverpool teammate Jordan Henderson, Trying to stop

Stamford Bridge Chelsea 1 Burnley 1 Liam Rosenior is beginning to discover the margins for error apply not just to players but for head coaches. Even those who have made a reasonably good start to life at Chelsea. Failure to see off relegation-threatened Burnley has revealed lapses in concentration around his squad. An early goal by Joao Pedro should have been the precursor to a satisfactory afternoon all round in west London. Basic sustenance. Instead, for all Chelsea’s poss

Wolverhampton Wanderers (0) 2 v Arsenal (1) 2 Premier League Matchweek 27 Talking Points By Kaz Mochlinski at Molineux This time there was no positivity from Mikel Arteta. Unlike previous draws recently, Arsenal being held 2-2 at Wolverhampton Wanderers was not viewed as one point gained but unequivocally two points dropped. “Extremely disappointed, obviously, with the result, with the way the game ended” admitted the Arsenal manager after his side surrendered a two-goal lead

Lining up in Bosnia : Picture by Pennie Turrell Europa Conference League play-off first leg Zrinjski Mostar (0) 1 Abramovic 55 Crystal Palace (1) 1 Sarr 43 If Crystal Palace were doing their utmost to prevent a formality of a Europa Conference playoff second leg at Selhurst Park next Thursday, they have managed a pretty fair job of keeping the tie alive. Palace's performance in the first leg against Zrinjski Mostar last night was hardly worthy of the alleged favourites to w

Arsenal had to beware the yellow peril : Picture by @YTJourno Premier League Wolverhampton Wanderers (0) 2 Hugo Bueno 61, Edozie 94 Arsenal (1) 2 Saka 5, Hincapie 58 It was a calamity you just knew was coming. Arsenal, 2-0 up, contrived to surrender two precious points after allowing rock-bottom Wolves to score an injury time equaliser. They flirted with danger after allowing Wolves back into it soon after doubling their lead and it felt almost inevitable that the hosts would

Bees boss after Tuesday night's match at the Hive : Picture by @YTJourno Dean Brennan says he is proud of what his players are doing this season and believes that they are showing the character needed to compete with clubs boasting much bigger budgets. The Bees lost a highly entertaining clash against one of League Two's fancied sides on Tuesday night - but the Bees showed again in the defeat to Swindon Town at the Hive that they can mix it with the best and remain in with a

Staying in the mix: Picture by @YTJourno League Two Barnet (1) 1 Shelton 9 Swindon Town (0) 2 Clarke 50, 63 Boss Dean Brennan was at pains to point out that 'nobody had died' when a reporter offered commiserations for his side's defeat to high-flying Swindon. He was eager to stress that we had all witnessed a fine game at a freezing Hive on Tuesday night that was a 'a fine advert for the division.' But alongside the mature, adult reflections, there are also regrets that the

A result that did not match the rousing sentiment : Picture by Patrick van Ijzendoorn Championship Charlton Athletic (0) 1  Fevrier 64 Portsmouth (2) 3  Devlin 22, 55, Bishop 34 After three clean sheets on the spin, with two victories, the Addicks suffered a well-deserved defeat against Portsmouth on Tuesday evening. ‘Goals we normally don’t concede,’ muttered a deflated Addicks-manager Nathan Jones after this relegation battle on a cold evening in Southeast-London. Charlton

Macclesfield (0) 0 v Brentford (0) 1 Heathcote (og) 70 By Kaz Mochlinski at Moss Rose FA Cup Fourth Round Brentford escaped an extremely embarrassing FA Cup upset by Macclesfield at Moss Rose but it needed a heart-breaking late own-goal to prevent the non-league team from adding to their previous giant-killing heroics. Having unforgettably knocked-out Crystal Palace in the third round last month to create one of the biggest shocks ever in the FA Cup, the sixth-tier side came

Picture: Wikimedia Commons March 7/8: FA Cup 5th Round Fulham v Southampton Mansfield Town v Arsenal Wrexham v Chelsea West Ham v Brentford Other ties: Port Vale/Bristol City v Sunderland Newcastle v Man City Leeds v Norwich City Wolves v Liverpool Brentford's slender Monday night win at non-league giant killers Macclesfield has earned them a fifth round tie at West Ham - a clash which will leave the winners one game away from a semi-final at Wembley. The teams met in the th

Brentford (0) 1 v Arsenal (0) 1 Premier League Matchweek 26 Talking Points By Kaz Mochlinski at the Brentford Community Stadium Mikel Arteta admitted that “you have to pray” when you play against Brentford, and he revealed that he informed his players of the need to defend with their lives before securing a 1-1 away draw which keeps Arsenal clear at the top of the Premier League. Two throw-ins produced the two second half goals from two fine headers, with Arsenal scoring on t

By Alessandro Schiavone at epet Arena, Prague Andy Irving should have walked into his new stadium as if he owned the place. With Premier League experience under his belt, the man West Ham thought could be no useful in their relegation dogfight should have taken to the Chance Liga like a duck to water. Instead Irving looked like a Czech top-flight player finding his feet in England's top-tier. And not the other way round. Slow, sloppy, predictable and inefficient in both trans

Holloway the lads : Picture by @YTJourno FA Cup Fourth Round Arsenal (4) 4 Madueke 11, Martinelli 18, Hunt og 23, Jesus 27 Wigan Athletic (0) 0 It all felt so low-key - and after all the recent nervous anxiety of chasing Premier League points, that suited the Gunners just fine. Four goals in the opening half an hour put the tie well and truly to bed, meaning no needless excess energy was expended. It felt like a relaxing break from the relentless heavy-duty stuff where vital

Hammers got the better of Burton - just It needed the continuing great form of Crysencio Summerville to dig West Ham out of a hole at the Pirelli Stadium as they just about overcame their League One hosts in Saturday's FA Cup Fourth Round tie. But it needed extra-time for the east Londoners to prevail. It took until the 95th minute to make the breakthrough, with a superb strike making it six goals in seven games for the Irons' man in form. Underlining just how difficult a lu

Matrade musings. The QPR boss post match : Picture by Julian Taylor Julien Stephan accused his players of mentally 'throwing in the towel' after conceding the third goal in Saturday's deflating 3-1 home defeat to Blackburn Rovers. And he suggested that the play-offs may not be a realistic target - even though his side are still only four points adrift of sixth place. Rangers started impressively enough, causing Rovers problems, but were hit with three sucker-punches - the thi

W12 offering for today Championship QPR (1) 1 Saito 35 Blackburn Rovers (2) 3 Jorgensen 21, 39, Morishita 50 The Hoops missed the chance to edge closer to the coveted top six places as they fell to a disappointing home defeat to a Blackburn side who started the day in the bottom three. Having defeated long-time Championship league leaders Coventry City in their previous outing at Loftus Road, hopes were high that Julien Stephan's men could ride the wave and keep the momentum

The programme for tonight Premier League Brentford (0) 1 Lewis-Potter 71 Arsenal (0) 1 Madueke 61 Brentford's ever-increasing belief in the possibility of reaching Europe got another massive boost as they recovered after trailing to put a severe dent in the Arsenal title bid. The Gunners saw their lead at the top of the Premier League whittled down to three points after Man City's dramatic late win at Liverpool and badly wanted to reassert their six-point lead with three poin

Chelsea (1) 2 v Leeds United (0) 2 João Pedro 24 Palmer (pen) 58 Nmecha (pen) 67 Okafor 73 By Kaz Mochlinski at Stamford Bridge Premier League Matchweek 26 Cole Palmer incredibly missed an open goal to win the game in stoppage time as Chelsea threw away a two-goal lead and squandered two points against Leeds United to end their Premier League winning run under Liam Rosenior. Having been victorious in seven of the new head coach’s opening nine matches, among them all four in t

Grand Larseny: The new signing was the face on the matchday programme - Picture by @capitalfootball Premier League Crystal Palace (2) 2 Strand Larsen 17, 33 Burnley (3) 3 Hannibal 40, Anthony 44, Lerma og 45+2 This was a game that should have been all about a dream home debut for Jorgen Strand Larsen but turned into a chaotic evening as the Eagles shipped three goals in seven minutes before the break to fritter away the two goal lead he had given them. Seeking a first home wi

End of the road for Thomas : Picture by @capitalfootball Tuesday night's 2-1 home defeat to Newcastle United proved to be the final straw for Thomas Frank, whose eight month reign at Tottenham has been brought to an end. The writing has been on the wall for a while as the former Bees boss struggled to cope with a glut of injuries and a horrific home record that prompted discontent among Spurs fans. Despite guiding the club to the Champions League knockout stages, he oversaw o

Glory hunters on the High Road : Picture by Patrick van Ijzendoorn Premier League Tottenham Hotspur (0) 1 Gray 64 Newcastle United (1) 2 Thiaw 45+5, Ramsey 68 Are Tottenham ready for a relegation battle? That's a serious question after another miserable night in N17. A 1-2 defeat against fellow-strugglers Newcastle United meant that Spurs dropped to the 16th place in the Premier League. More bad news arrived from five miles down the River Lee Navigation, where bitter rivals W

Rainy night in Stratford : Picture by @YTJourno Premier League West Ham United (0) 1 Soucek 50 Manchester United (0) 1 Sesko 90+6 Agonising. The Irons came within a whisker of beating Man United at the London Stadium for a fourth season in a row - only to be denied by a last-gasp equaliser from a largely outfought United. West Ham were so impressive in their work-rate and desire to protect a lead they eked out just after the interval through Tomas Soucek. Newcomer Axel Disasi

Picture by @YTJourno A first win at Newcastle since 1934 has given a huge boost to Brentford 's growing ambition to qualify for Europe. They moved up to seventh in the Premier League table after their brilliant 3-2 victory at St James' Park which was sealed with a late strike from Dango Ouattara. Vitaly Janelt had a great game, clearing off the line before heading home an equaliser to cancel Sven Botman's opener at a corner. Igor Thiago then put the Bees ahead from the spot a

Fulham (1) 1 Mykolenko OG 18’ Everton (0) 2 Dewsbury-Hall 75’, Leno OG 83’   Fulham’s European ambitions took a hit as they surrendered a lead to lose against Everton. A Vitali Mykolenko own goal gave Marco Silva’s side the lead amid a flurry of chances, but a flat second-half showing allowed the visitors to turn the game around. One-time Chelsea midfielder Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall swept home to level the scores before Jake O’Brien got the better of Bernd Leno at a corner and fo