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Thomas Frank watched on as his Brentford team lost 4-2 at home to Newcastle United on the final day of the season.
The opening 10 or 15 minutes saw the home side make a bright start, but as soon as Eddie Howe’s side shifted up through the gears, United were by far the better side.
Some great attacking play saw Newcastle three up at the break and it should have been more.
Thomas Frank declaring ‘It was entertaining but…’ as his side pulled two goals back after half-time, only for the visitors to step it up again and restore a two goal advantage and cruise through to the final whistle.
Thomas Frank speaking to official Brentford media after Brentford 2 Newcastle 4:
“It was entertaining but it’s more fun to end on the right end of the result.
“Until the first goal I thought we were the better side. Then they scored and momentum changed a tiny bit.
“Then they scored two goals. It was two mistakes from us; that happens unfortunately.
“During the second half the players showed a character and mentality that was impressive in many ways.
“We managed to come back into the game, and we were very close to getting something out of it.
“It’s very rare to have 90 perfect minutes, but the theme of the season is that we’ve given too many soft goals away. Before the last six games it has been less, but we had a little setback.
“But overall, this season has been a success.
“We are ambitious, we want more and we are dreaming of more, but the foundation we are standing on is good. I am excited about the future.”
Thomas Frank speaking to BBC Match of the Day:
“We know goals can change the momentum but we made two big mistakes that basically gave them two goals.
“I’ve said before, these players are fantastic characters and they showed fantastic mentality to come back into the game.
“We were close to getting something, but we didn’t.
“It’s putting things into perspective this season.
“For a club of our stature, every season in the Premier League is a success.
“We had a good first season, an even better second season and an OK third season.
“We’ve learned a lot and hopefully we have the foundation to elevate us to more success.”
Stats via BBC Sport:
Brentford 2 Newcastle 4 – Sunday 19 May 4pm
Goals:
Newcastle United:
Barnes 21, Murphy 36, Isak 38, Bruno 77
Brentford:
Janelt 48, Wissa 70
(Half-time stats in brackets)
Possession was Brentford 53% (54%) Newcastle 47% (46%)
Total shots were Brentford 10 (3) Newcastle 12 (8)
Shots on target were Brentford 5 (1) Newcastle 7 (5)
Corners were Brentford 3 (1) Newcastle 0 (0)
Touches in the box Brentford 12 (5) Newcastle 29 (19)
Newcastle team v Brentford:
Pope; Krafth, Schar (Dummett 90+2), Burn, Hall; Longstaff, Guimaraes, Joelinton (Trippier 81); J Murphy (Almiron 68), Isak (Wilson 81), Barnes (Anderson 68)
Unused subs:
Dubravka, Ritchie, White, A Murphy
(Brentford 2 Newcastle 4 – Instant Newcastle United fan / writer reaction – Read HERE)
(Match Report : Brentford 2 Newcastle 4 – Brazilliance in the sunshine – Read HERE)