Going into the second-half of October, Brentford were perched precariously on the edge of the relegation zone but all that was to change as The Bees strung together a four game winning run that catapulted them up the table and, in the process, ended a 50 year wait for a win over Queens Park Rangers.
First to be put to the sword in October were Rotherham United. Alan Judge’s sublime volley put The Bees in front inside two minutes only for an equally fine strike from Joe Mattock to level things up a minute after the break. Judge had the final say however, sneaking in to head home an inch perfect Jake Bidwell cross. Four days later and The Bees had another three points, and a first clean sheet of the season, to celebrate after a comfortable 2-0 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers. It was a performance full of attacking intent from Lee Carsley’s side who took the lead through Marco Djuricin’s deflected effort and then wrapped up the points late on as Philipp Hofmann grabbed his second of the season.
Two wins in a week became three as Charlton Athletic were swept aside at The Valley, Irish midfielder Judge again at the heart of the action. After weathering an early onslaught from the hosts, Brentford took the lead as John Swift headed home his first goal for the club from Judge’s perfect cross. Alan McCormack rattled the bar with a long-range strike before Judge got himself on the scoresheet after a flowing counter-attack. Carsley’s side wrapped up the points late on thanks to a neat Lasse Vibe finish from Judge’s crossfield ball. After netting his first goal for Brentford in the win over The Addicks, John Swift extended his loan deal at Griffin Park until the New Year.
Nothing quite beats a night under the lights at Griffin Park and so it proved as Queens Park Rangers made the short trip to Griffin Park with the Sky TV Cameras there to capture all the action. No Brentford team had beaten Queens Park Rangers in the league for 50 years but that all changed as Marco Djuricin wrote himself into Brentford folklore with the only goal of the game early on in the second-half. Not only did the win end a half-century long wait but it also propelled The Bees above their local rivals and into tenth place.
Josh Bohui was on target again for the Under-18s as they came out on top in their London derby against Millwall. The attacking player gave Jon De Souza’s side the lead late on in the first-half with a neat lob before Tony Guppy doubled that advantage shortly after the break. Despite conceding to late Callum Kiely goal Brentford held on for the victory. There was promising news on the recovery of Sam Saunders as he scored twice in injury time to secure an unlikely win for the Development Squad over Crystal Palace. Trailing 2-0 with 20 minutes to play it looked like it would be a first defeat in charge for Kevin O’Connor. However Montell Moore pulled one back before Saunders took centre-stage, curling home a trademark free in injury time and then finishing left footed in the dying stages to wrap up the win. Saunders was at it again under the floodlights at Griffin Park later that week as he helped The Bees to another comeback victory, this time against Bristol City. Shawn McCoulsky’s neat finish had The Robins ahead after just 11 minutes but the experienced midfielder curled home a fine free-kick to level before Lewis Macleod’s thunderbolt settled matters. The month ended on a disappointing note for the Youth Team as they were beaten 3-1 by league new-boys Watford at their UCL Training ground, Zach Birse’s thunderbolt the only consolation.
In other news, Brentford youngster Ian Carlo Poveda netted his first goal for England’s Under-16s in their 4-3 defeat to Japan in the Tournoi International while Mark Smith rejoined Hampton and Richmond Borough on loan.