Championship play-offs: Brentford 3-1 Bournemouth (3-2 agg) - Bees come from behind to return to Wembley
- Published
- comments
Marcus Forss scored the decisive third goal for Brentford after coming off the bench
Brentford head coach Thomas Frank will allow his players 24 hours to celebrate their play-off semi-final win against Bournemouth with "a few glasses of red" before focusing on a return to Wembley.
Brentford, beaten by Fulham in last season's play-off final, came from 2-0 down on aggregate against 10-man Bournemouth after an emotionally charged and high-energy second leg.
Marcus Forss scored the decisive goal 10 minutes from time to seal a 3-2 aggregate victory for the Bees.
"I told the players I needed a top performance from them and if we delivered that, I had no doubt we would get through to the final," Frank told BBC Radio London.
"I also asked for a top performance from the crowd and they definitely delivered on theirs.
"Four thousand fans felt like 20,000 and had it been a full stadium, they would've raised the roof."
Already trailing 1-0 from the first leg, Brentford made a terrible start, allowing Arnaut Danjuma to score from an early counter-attack for Bournemouth and add to his first-leg goal.
Championship golden boot winner Ivan Toney levelled the leg at 1-1 with a penalty after Lloyd Kelly was adjudged to have handled an Emiliano Marcondes cross.
But the tie arguably turned on a red card for Bournemouth centre-back Chris Mepham, who brought down Bryan Mbeumo with the winger clean through on goal.
Brentford went 2-1 ahead in the game and drew level on aggregate early in the second half when Vitaly Janelt looped an effort in from outside the box, before substitute Forss poked in a near-post Marcondes cross from close range to complete the comeback.
Brentford will face either Swansea City or Barnsley at Wembley next Saturday as they hope for a happier outcome than last August's defeat by Fulham and a first appearance in the Premier League.
Bournemouth, who finished sixth, were denied a return to the top flight at the first attempt.
"It's one more game to go, no doubt about it," Frank said. "Of course we are pleased, it's not easy to reach a play-off final.
"I always say we have a 24-hour rule and I'm not saying we can't celebrate tonight with a few glasses of red, because we're fighting for so many things right at the moment. It's important to celebrate your small wins.
"But it's a maximum of 24 hours and we need to move on again.
"We all know we want to win and go up and I'm pretty sure whoever we face will want to do the same.
"So we will be well prepared, come flying out and give everything and we pray and hope it's enough this time."
Feisty first half shapes thrilling second leg
As Frank highlighted after the match, the presence of the biggest crowd seen so far at the Brentford Community Stadium - around 4,000 - inspired the hosts in a lively first half.
The opening half-hour saw two goals and a red card along with other good chances at both ends.
Bournemouth had to play more than an hour with 10 men after Chris Mepham was sent off
Bournemouth forward Danjuma added to his breakaway goal from Monday's first leg as he went unchallenged from inside his own half when the Cherries broke from a Brentford corner.
Toney's 32nd goal of the season, from the spot, made it 1-1 after a controversial decision by referee Jarred Gillett to penalise Bournemouth centre-back Kelly for handball.
Toney and Bournemouth goalkeeper Begovic were both booked in the aftermath as they tried to wrestle the ball out of each other's hands, and former Bees centre-back Mepham's dismissal then cranked the atmosphere up even further.
He had misjudged a ball over the top and lost possession to the pacy Mbeumo and, as he tripped, he clipped the forward's heels and brought him down just outside the box.
Substitute Forss proves match-winner
Even with the numerical advantage for more than an hour, it took until the closing stages before Brentford finally went ahead for the first time in the tie.
Brentford brought the tie level on aggregate at 2-2 with Vitaly Janelt's second-half goal
They took the lead in the game and levelled on aggregate early in the second half.
Midfielder Janelt, who had to make a late positional switch when sweeper Christian Norgaard was injured in the warm-up, managed to arrive as Bournemouth's Jefferson Lerma tried to win the ball and his momentum saw a left-footed effort balloon over Begovic and into the net.
Toney then had a shot blocked by Begovic and fired a volley over the crossbar from Mbeumo's cross, while Marcondes also missed the chance to sweep in a cross at the back post.
However, Marcondes would eventually be the provider for Forss to meet his cross at pace and find the roof of the net for his eighth - and so far most significant - league goal of the season.
Reaction: 'It's the worst feeling right now'
Bournemouth head coach Jonathan Woodgate told BBC Radio Solent:
"In the changing room just now, I've told the players to bottle that feeling. It's the worst feeling in the world, but you have to try and channel it and the emotions and use them as positives in the future.
"It's difficult to come out and talk after a defeat of that magnitude, especially with the decision the referee gives early on with the penalty after the ball rolls up Lloyd's leg and on to his arm.
"It's extraordinary and some of the ones he made in the first half, I couldn't understand. I think the crowd, the occasion and their manager got to him.
"OK, we did get a man sent off and that is a game-changer. It was difficult from then on in as they've got good players and we had to keep players on to try and be a threat still.
"It's frustrating and I'm gutted for the fans and club really. It's a learning lesson for every single one of the players."
On his possible future as head coach next season: "I haven't thought about what happens next, to be honest. I've been fully concentrating on this game and that's not my decision.
"We'll deal with it in the coming days and weeks."
Why do we love wrestling?: Mark Andrews talks to some of the biggest names in the sport about what it means to them
Five healthy habits to start today: Dr Alex's top tips to making long-term meaningful change
