Brentford vs Wigan match report: Bees sneak into Championship play-offs as Derby slip-up against Reading
Brentford 3 Wigan 0: Manager Mark Warburton won't leave the club just yet thanks to goals from Alex Pritchard, Jota and Andre Gray
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Your support makes all the difference.Mark Warburton, Brentford’s departing manager, will remain in charge for at least two more games after the Londoners’ 3-0 win over Wigan earned them a place in the Premier League play-offs. They finished fifth on goal difference above Ipswich and Wolves, who also ended on 78 points, and now face Middlesbrough.
Warburton, who decided to leave at the end of the season after failing to agree future strategy with the owner, Matthew Benham, said: “It is belief, that is the key thing here. The team play with hunger and passion – they’re fearless as well. They tasted success and wanted more of it.
“I didn’t want my programme notes to say thank you to everyone, but if you don’t take the opportunity you don’t thank them. Hopefully the notes in the play-offs will be more buoyant.”
Despite having already been relegated, Wigan started well, and Marc-Antoine Fortuné forced the home keeper, David Button, into an early save. Brentford found it difficult to get going before Alex Pritchard put them ahead after 26 minutes with a free-kick from over 30 yards, helped by a slight deflection off the Wigan wall.
Before the break, a Pritchard cross found Andre Gray, who prodded the ball past the visiting keeper, Lee Nicholls, but just wide of the post. A minute after the restart, though, Jota made no mistake after he had been fed through by Moses Odubajo, sliding his shot past Nicholls.
Nerves for the home fans could have been frayed when Billy Mckay’s 48th-minute effort had to be blocked by Jake Bidwell, although James Tarkowski hit the bar for Brentford just after the hour mark.
As promising news continued to filter through from the other key matches, there was a continued sense of purpose from Brentford, and the crowd’s cheers were further amplified when Jota found Gray, who drove home from close range. As the realisation that their season had been extended by Derby’s shock defeat at home by Reading sank in, a missed penalty from James Tarkowski on 89 minutes did little to dampen their joy.
The defeat was a sour end to a sour season for Wigan, and their manager, Gary Caldwell, hinted at big changes for the League One campaign next season.
“I don’t think it will be the same squad next season, I think there will be a turnaround of players – it needs that,” he said. “We need people who want be at the club, who want to work hard for success. I’m certainly committed to do that.”
Line-ups:
Brentford: (4-2-3-1) Button; Odubajo, Dean, Tarkowski, Bidwell; Diagouraga (McCormack, 83), Douglas; Jota, Pritchard (Dallas, 71), Judge; Gray (Smith, 83)
Wigan: (4-2-3-1) Nicholls; Boyce, Maguire, Pearce, Bong; Perch, Chow (Flores, 64); Cowie, Mckay, Bo-kyung (Pennant, 46); Fortuné (Robles, 64)
Referee: Andy Woolmer.
Man of the match: Pritchard (Brentford)
Match rating: 7/10
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