Scores of relieved fans watched as Brentford largely dominated the game and came away with a two goal victory. Helped along the way by a Darren Jupp own goal, Marcus Gayle scored his first goal since returning to the Bees.
Owning large amounts of posession Brentford created several chances and limited Southend to only a couple of efforts. The best of which fell to Freddy Eastwood but the Shrimpers striker hit the post from a narrow angle. The bees also hit the woodwork with a well worked free kick from Darren Pratley striking the bar.
What the manager said?
Martin Allen was happy but instantly played down any talk of Brentford claiming a top two spot,
"Tonight was what Brentford were all about"
"We showed exactly what we can do and hopefully gave other teams something to think about"
Ensuring the fans and players dont get ahead of themselves he said,
"Of course we have games in hand, but I would rather have the points in the bank."
"We've got a chance to get away from the league schedule this weekend but it is still our priority, anything we achieve in the FA Cup is a bonus and we won't let that distract us from achieving what we deserve"
What the players said?
Captain Ricky Newman spoke first saying,
"It was a team performance tonight, we did everything that could be expected of us. Both up the front and at the back we were dominant."
Kevin O'Connor echoed his thoughts,
"The team played very well tonight, hopefully this can give us confidence ahead of the Charlton game"
Goal scorer Marcus Gayle also added his thoughts,
"It was nice to get a win but also a clean sheet, we worked hard and got what we deserved."
What the fans said?
Speaking to some supporters during the game they believed Brentford were something near their best tonight. Rob said,
"We were great to watch tonight, we worked hard off the ball and created plenty of chances"
George another delighted Bees fan said,
"We played very similarily to how we've played at home recently but tonight there was an end product and some goals to celebrate."
Disapointed Southend fan Colin said,
"We caught Brentford on a hot steak and they were impressive tonight, we did alright but didnt really offer anything going forward and Freddy didnt get the service he needs to score goals."