Having been turned away from a “sports bar” in Valencia because my driving license was insufficient (that venue, called Luckia, was more of a gaming space than a football venue), I missed the first 20 minutes.
A much friendlier cafe on the Avenida des Port rescued me from purgatory just in time to see Botman’s deft/looking/mistimed (delete where applicable) header bounce down and up into the roof of the Brentford net after a series of corners.
Wissa had a close range shot from another corner, which deflected off the line as we looked for a second.
There was nothing happy about Janelt’s equalizer, who was eight yards clear to meet a cross on the left. His powerful header gave Pope no chance.
Jacob Murphy was in the right place to block a shot on goal as Brentford pulled us apart again with a fast break. Unfortunately for Newcastle, the ball hit his arm, he was shown a yellow card and Thiago coolly put the penalty away after the inevitable VAR stoppage.
Thoughts I would have had better luck if I had stayed at the Luckia.
A header from Botman and a penalty from Bruno G were not enough in a match in which Newcastle again squandered opportunities to take three or even one point.
A one-nil lead became a 2-1 deficit by half-time as Brentford cut through our midfield and defense with alarming ease. Most of Newcastle’s attacks took place along our left flank, while the visitors seemed to find space almost everywhere in the final fifteen minutes before the break.
Eddie Howe brought on Woltemade and Elanga for Jacob Murphy and Willock in the 46th minute. The changes gave us some much-needed momentum on the right, but no breakthrough, despite a VAR check for a handball in the box and a Barnes header bouncing narrowly wide of the far post.
Ex-Mackem Henderson departed after 55 minutes and Brentford regained their attacking intent in a match that was high in energy but short on control. Passes were over, under or misplaced far too often by the hosts.
After 64 minutes, Osula replaced Wissa as the search continued for an attacking player who could score.
Tellingly, Thiaw and Botman came closest in the following minutes.
Thiago threw his considerable weight around and was eventually shown a yellow card.
The game mainly took place in Brentford’s half. When they won a corner we broke quickly, Osula put Elanga in on the right and Bruno G stumbled as he tried to reach the precise low cross. Why it took five minutes for the referee to see it and need help from VAR has been the biggest mystery since Agatha Christie’s disappearance.
Brentford wasted time but still looked dangerous at half-time. And that was evident when Ouattara nutmegged Pope after 85 minutes to give them the lead again.
Ramsey and Burn replaced Tonali and Trippier. The right back struggled to defend all evening and Tonali was again well below his best level.
More tactical errors and rough refereeing prevented any momentum in stoppage time. The game was over in more ways than one. Just four attempts on target, with Thiaw’s shot producing the only notable save in the second half, were not enough.
Newcastle 2 Brentford 3 – Saturday 7 February 2026 5.30pm
Match statistics
Goals:
Newcastle United:
Botman 24, Bruno pen 79
Brentford:
Janelt 37, Thiago 45+2 pens, Ouattara 85
Possess was Newcastle 54% Brentford 46%
Total shots were Newcastle 16 Brentford 11
Shots on target were Newcastle 4 Brentford 5
Corners were Newcastle 9 Brentford 3
Touches in the opposition box Newcastle 24 Brentford 21
Newcastle team vs Brentford:
Pope, Trippier (Burn 87), Thiaw, Botman, Hall, Tonali (Ramsey 87), Bruno, Willock (Elanga 46), Barnes, Jacob Murphy (Woltemade 46), Wissa (Osula 65)
subtitles:
Ramsdale, Alex Murphy, Neave, Shahar
#Newcastle #Brentford #game #ways