On Saturday afternoon, we lost a hard-fought match 2-1 to VfB Stuttgart in a pre-season friendly on tour in Germany.

Bryan Mbeumo scored in the first half, on the end of a neat counter-attack, before Thomas Kastanaras levelled things up in the second. Tanguy Coulibaly then scored a late penalty to snatch a victory at the death.

It was a blazing hot day in the city of Friedrichshafen as the game got underway in front of a bumper crowd at the Zeppelinstadion. What could have easily been a slow start in the heat, was far from it as Stuttgart created an early chance.

Former Arsenal man Konstantinos Mavrapanos clattered a header off the crossbar with a few minutes on the clock. He rose through a crowd of players to get the better of Matthew Cox and nod one off the woodwork.

Brentford opened their account after 11 minutes, a sweeping move from back to front that was started by Saman Ghoddos. His pass out of the box was flicked on by Shandon Baptiste, right into the path of Mathias Jensen. The Danish international skipped beyond his marker, drove into the final third and played a sweet pass for Mbeumo to run onto and finish.

The Frenchman’s second goal of pre-season in as many games was tucked beneath Florian Müller’s onrushing figure. It nestled into the bottom left corner.

Stuttgart almost hit back quickly, Tiago Tomás had a chance when a deep cross found him at the far post. He slashed at it and the ball fizzed over the crossbar, Cox diving after it.

The water break in the first half slowed things down considerably, with the teams settling into a lower rhythm as the sunshine intensified.

Halil Dervisoglu fashioned a chance from a long ball across the pitch, running to keep it in play before beating two men inside. His ball across the area found Mbeumo in space but this time the finish was tame. It rolled nicely into Müller’s hands.

The home team continued to push on and created several opportunities as the half drew to a close. Cox was never really in trouble, especially with efforts like the one from Tomás that was smashed over the bar from distance. He had space to run into but chose to strike it from long range.

Right at the end of the half, Dervisoglu crossed into the box for Mbeumo to head at the target. It was powerful but Müller got both hands up to parry it over the bar.

At the break, Thomas Frank followed his first match with eleven changes to the lineup, including German midfielder Vitaly Janelt. Opposite Head Coach Pellegrino Matazarro made three changes of his own.

It was just a few minutes into the second half when fans caught a glimpse of Ivan Toney’s confidence. Collecting the ball in the middle, he turned and shot at goal. Sub keeper Fabian Bredlow had to race backwards to parry the ball away from goal.

Then, a quick counter-attack saw Rico Henry sweep a cross low into the box for Yoane Wissa. The offside flag saved the DR Congo player as he couldn’t quite get his feet right to clip the ball home.

Stuttgart were back in the game after 72 minutes. A corner was whipped in, struck through a crowd of players by Lilian Egloff and poked beyond David Raya by Thomas Kastanaras.

The Bees nearly went straight back into the lead. Henry picked up the ball on the left wing, crossed towards the near post and Wissa stole in to head his chance against the woodwork. Toney tried to follow it up but couldn’t keep his header down.

The action continued as the German side raced to the other end. Kastanaras played a one-two with Juan José Perea, before Fin Stevens got between the ball and the striker, clearing it away.

At the other end, Janelt made space for himself on the wing before playing a pass that cut between two players to find Wissa on the edge of the box. His strike clipped the top of the crossbar as keeper Bredlow was relieved to see it go off target.

Stuttgart almost had a second with two minutes to go. Darko Churlinov raced clear down the right to shoot low. Raya made a tremendous stop, getting low to tip the ball on to the post and away.

Then Coulibaly crossed into the box with seconds left on the clock and referee Robert Hartmann gave a penalty for a handball by Stevens at the near post. The number seven got up to score the spot-kick himself, confirming a narrow win for Die Roten.

Brentford First Half: Cox (GK), Crama, Trevitt, Jensen, Hickey, Ghoddos, Jansson, Mbeumo, Dervisoglu, Baptiste, Maghoma

Stuttgart First Half: Muller (GK), Anton, Endo, Vagnoman, Mavrapanos, Kalajdzic, Tomas, Mvumpa, Ito, Fuhrich, Ahamada

Brentford Second Half: Raya (GK), Henry, Dasilva, Wissa, Onyeka, Toney, Zanka, Peart-Harris, Janelt, Bech, Oyegoke, Stevens

Stuttgart Second Half: Bredlow (GK), Anton, Endo, Vagnoman, Stenzel, Kalajdzic, Tomas, Mvumpa, Ito, Fuhrich, Nartey