Brentford won 2-1 at Griffin Park on Saturday, bringing Leyton Orient's recent unbeaten league run to a halt.
The Bees were superb in the first half and took an early lead when the recalled Marcus Bean latched on to Alexander's flicked header and thumped a left footed shot past keeeper Jamie Jones.
Orient's early play was littered with errors and Brentford almost doubled their lead when Myles Weston looped the ball over the bar at full stretch following a double save from Jones. It was Weston's quick turn and centre that saw Brentford go 2-0 up with Alexander hammering home from close range.
Shortly before the interval Richard Lee saved well but collided with Karleigh Osborne and left the pitch with a shoulder injury to be replaced by youngster Simon Moore. Let's hope he is fit for Wembley.
Orient pulled a goal back in the 55th minute when veteran McGleish stole in between the defence and Moore to score. This sparked a nervous fifteen minutes or so as Leyton pushed forward but Moore made a couple of good stops as Brentford fought their way back into the game - Adam Reed forcing a terrific save after a neat one-two with Alexander.
Brentford really should have made the points safe when substitute Schlupp used pace and power to head for goal before stabbing the ball under Jones. With the goal beckoning, however, the dynamic rookie hooked the ball up onto the crossbar - frankly a shocking miss.
Fortunately The Bees did enough to see out the game and we were also able to witness a hilarious bust up between hotheaded sub Terrell Forbes and his goalkeeper in front of the Ealing Road.
It was also good to see Sam Wood take to the pitch late in the game following his recovery from a broken arm.
The win takes Brentford to 49 points and 11th place in the table.
Bees - Lee (Moore), Neilsen, Osborne, Legge, O'Connor, Reed, Bean, Dave, Weston (Wood), Grabban (Schlupp), Alexander
Unused Subs - Spillane, Byrne, Wright, Bignall
With thanks to
beesotted for their match report
March 30, 2011
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