DANGO OUATTARA struck late to rescue Brentford and keep their hopes of European football alive after a dramatic 2-2 draw with Crystal Palace.
The Bees looDANGO OUATTARA’S late header gave Brentford hope that they can still play European football for the first time in club history next season.
The winger’s double kept the Bees in control of their own destiny heading into the final week of the season after they scraped a late 2-2 draw with London rivals Crystal Palace.
Keith Andrews’ Brentford have been surprise contenders for a place in Europe next term for most of the campaign, but faltering form when it matters most has meant they now face a battle to earn that spot.
A crucial draw, however, means they are still in charge of their own fate despite winning just once in their last 10 games across all competitions.
In front of a home crowd for the final time this season, Brentford gave their fans optimism that a first ever European campaign could stil be on the horizon next term.
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Up against a Crystal Palace side, who themselves are stuck in domestic limbo with a Conference League final on the horizon, it took some late fight to earn a point.
Crystal Palace may not have anything to play for in the Premier League, but they certainly didn’t look like it.
Just seconds had passed when Ismaila Sarr slipped on the edge of the Brentford box as he was trying to get a shot away.
And just two minutes had gone by when he hit the deck again, this time inside the box to win a penalty for the visitors.
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The forward was steaming through on Caoimhin Kelleher’s goal when the Irish stopper clipped him to the floor with an outstretched paw as he desperately tried to deny Palace an opener.
Referee Sam Barrott initially awarded a corner, but after VAR intervention and a lengthy look at the pitchside screen, he pointed to the spot.
It was Sarr who slotted it home, tucking away confidently for his 22nd goal of the season – the joint-most by any Palace player in a single campaign as a Premier League club.
What followed was a barrage from the Eagles, who looked like they were going to blow away Brentford on their own patch.
The woodwork took a beating as both Sarr and Jorgen Strand Larsen struck the post, while Kelleher was forced into a few strong saves as Palace took 13 shots before the break.
The home crowd was stunned into silence as their European dreams slipped out of sight.
That was until the most bizarre of equalisers came out of nowhere to gift the Bees a route back into the game.
A whipped cross from Yehor Yarmoliuk looked like it was going to be handled with ease by Jaydee Canvot, but his headed clearance landed straight on Dango Ouattara’s nut.
Ouattara didn’t know much about it, but the ball had ricocheted off his head and into the back of the net – sparking the crowd, and the game, into life before the break.
However, The Eagles were back ahead just seven minutes after the restart when Adam Wharton drilled home his first goal for the club from the edge of the box.
It has taken the England international 94 GAMES to finally find the back of the net for the club, but this left-footed fizzer from the edge of the box was some way to do it.
And the 22-year-old gave the goal the acrobatic celebration it deserved.
Brentford weren’t going to let all their hard work this season be undone by that moment, though, and kept pushing forward to fight for an equaliser.
That finally came when Ouattara found the net with his noggin for the second time in the game, this time getting on the end of Sepp Van Den berg flick from a long Michael Kayode throw-in in the 88th minute.
The stadium gained much-needed hope and the Bees even came close to snatching all three points, but Kevin Schade and Igor Thiago both fired wayward efforts in 10 minutes of added time.
A draw isn’t enough to mean Brentford can secure European football with a win against Liverpool next season, but it is certainly enough to keep the dream alive for their fans.
