Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall’s late equaliser ensured the points were shared to leave both sides European aspirations finely poised after a bruising 2-2 draw
This fixture always felt big. Locked on 46 points and occupying seventh and eighth place respectively at kick-off, both Brentford and Everton arrived at the Gtech Community Stadium with the glittering prospect of European football at the forefront of their designs.
The confirmation earlier this week that fifth place will suffice for Champions League qualification, coupled with the patchy form of Liverpool and Chelsea, means a place at European football’s most prestigious table is more than just a pipe dream for both sides.
Bournemouth’s shock early victory at the Emirates had only heightened the tension, dragging them into the chasing pack, alongside an assortment of others making up the most congested and competitive upper mid table in years.
The Bees burst out the blocks. Kevin Schade, infuriatingly inconsistent but electric when at his best, had one of his good days, and after just 80 seconds broke free to find himself one-on-one with Jordan Pickford.
England’s number one led with his feet but caught the German winger with a trailing leg. Igor Thiago, fresh from his debut goal for Brazil in March, stepped up in the third minute to tuck the penalty into the bottom left corner.
It was his 20th of the campaign, equaling the Brentford single-season Premier League record held by Ivan Toney and Bryan Mbeumo.
Brentford initially looked the sharper side, but the game soon settled into a more frenetic, physical exertion that mirrored the stakes. As the half progressed, Idrissa Gueye and James Garner began to exert a control on the midfield that had prior been missing for both sides.
Everton’s recovery was punctuated by a sequence of warnings in the 22nd minute: Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall whipped a venomous cross across the face of goal that just eluded Beto, before Gueye drew a brilliant save from Caoimhín Kelleher.
Beto pounced on the follow-up, and Kelleher was immediately forced into action again to bundle the ball behind.
A reprieve for the Bees only granted after the striker was adjudged offside in a decision that replays suggested was generous.
The equalizer arrived in the 26th minute after a lapse in a fashion sure to infuriate Keith Andrews. Keane Lewis-Potter was far too casual in possession in an area of the pitch when there’s rarely an excuse to be.
He was dispossessed by Jake O’Brien; the ball was fed to Gueye, whose looping delivery found Beto on the penalty spot.
The striker, making amends for his earlier squandered opportunities, rose highest to nod past Kelleher.
Despite Everton’s growing control, Brentford remained dangerous on the break, utilizing the verticality that has seen them record the highest number of fast transitions in the league.
They twice threatened before the break. Schade rising highest to meet a Jensen corner, his header clipping the bar, shortly after Dango Outattara got a shot off from close range but couldn’t penetrate the mass of Everton bodies protecting the goal line.
The second half began with a tactical shift as Reiss Nelson replaced Mikkel Damsgaard, and Brentford immediately resumed their assault.
In the 48th minute, a lovely dead-ball delivery from Mathias Jensen found Nathan Collins, whose header frustratingly found the Everton cross bar for a second time.
A minute later, Schade went close again with another flicked header, before Jarrad Branthwaite was forced into a desperate 55th-minute block to deny the German once more.
But Everton had their own chances to lead, notably when a long ball from Pickford was diverted toward his own goal by Jensen’s bicep, leaving Dewsbury-Hall one-on-one.
The midfielder overcomplicated the chance, attempting to turn out for space and allowing retreating defenders to block his eventual shot.
No side ever had a sustained period of dominance in the game, and it was the home side who re-established the 76th minute through a moment of record-breaking fortune.
Michael Kayode surged past two Everton defenders in a trademark mazy run from the right touchline before striking from the edge of the box.
The ball took a heavy deflection off Thiago’s right thigh – the striker seemingly trying to get out of the way of the shot – and wrong-footed Pickford.
It was Thiago’s 21st league goal of the season, officially breaking the club record; such is his penchant for scoring that he is now bagging them even when not intending to, marking his fifth goal against the Toffees this term.
But in such an unsettled and high intensity game, the lead never felt safe. A calamitous defensive melee in the 77th minute saw the ball caught under the feet of three Brentford players, with the home side fortunate not to concede one of the more embarrassing goals in Premier League history.
The Bees retreated deeper, and a chaotic finally was accompanied by appropriately dramatic weather, sunlight piercing through a lashing downpour. In the 91st minute, the pressure told.
Iliman Ndiaye, who worked relentlessly out of possession all afternoon, saw a shot blocked, and then another, with the ball eventually falling to Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall. The midfielder drilled it past Kelleher in the 91st minute to the delight of the ecstatic away end.
There was almost a final twist in the 93rd minute as Lewis-Potter’s looped cross missed the heads of both Schade and Thiago by millimeters, but the points were shared.
As the rain stopped at the final whistle, both Keith Andrews and David Moyes were left to reflect on a physical encounter that epitomized two teams built in their managers’ images.
For Brentford, it is a fourth consecutive draw for the first time in their Premier League history, a result that leaves both sides more or less where they started the day.
Andrews will be delighted with the physical intensity and grit his side displayed, but equally disappointed at the costly defensive errors.
It will feel like another opportunity missed for Brentford, but in a season where no team seems able to put together a sustained and consistent charge, the European dream is still intact.