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Neil Lennon made no apologies for “going direct” at Brentford, insisting he nearly pulled off a perfect victory.
Wanderers played in a significantly different style at Griffin Park, looking to get the ball forward quickly towards target man Emile Heskey and allow Adam Le Fondre and Liam Feeney to pick up the pieces around him.
Lennon revealed it had been a deliberate ploy, which but for a flag-happy assistant referee could have worked a treat in the first half.
“I felt they were playing a high line and I thought there was a chance to get in behind them,” he said.
“I couldn’t understand some of the decisions I was seeing from the linesman, though.
“He always seemed to have his flag in the air – and then when one of their lads went through and he was two yards offside, I asked why the flag hadn’t gone up. The fourth official said he’d made the run from an onside position – but I think he’d have to be Usain Bolt to have got there that quickly.”
Lennon had affectionately dubbed veteran strikers Emile Heskey and Eidur Gudjohnsen “a pair of OAPs” in the build-up to the game – but paid tribute to his golden oldies for getting Wanderers back into the game in the second half.
“Emile is such a fantastic outlet home or away and I think people are really starting to appreciate what he does for the team now,” he said.
“At 37 he’s gone the distance again for us and though he probably should have put away his chance, he’s then gone and made one for Adam.
“Gudjohnsen came on in the second half and added that bit of composure as well. Both of them are playing really well for us at the moment.”
With a better final ball, Lennon believes Wanderers would have left West London with all three points on Saturday.
“I thought the game was there for us,” he said. “Feeney was a good outlet for us in the first half and we just needed to take a bit more care with the ball in the final third.
“We were the better team and could have had a couple more goals – Emile has gone clean through and Alfie has had one off the line.
“We looked a threat, I was really pleased with us. Defensively at times we were a little bit soft but other than that I was delighted with the performance. It’s not an easy place to come but we played our part and towards the end we looked strong.
“We got there in the end and Mark Davies deserved his break for pressing the keeper.
“They are a good side Brentford but I think we looked a good side as well so it gives me a lot of encouragement going forward. It shows the potential we’ve got.”
One slight blemish on the day was the early withdrawal of Dean Moxey and Paddy McCarthy through injury. For once, however, Lennon was able to offer some good news after the final whistle.
“I don’t think either of them are bad injuries and they’ll both be okay for Monday at Bournemouth,” he said. “It was a crunching tackle that Paddy got and Deano got a whack on the knee – I was very pleased with him before he came off as well.”
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Wanderers played in a significantly different style at Griffin Park, looking to get the ball forward quickly towards target man Emile Heskey and allow Adam Le Fondre and Liam Feeney to pick up the pieces around him.
Lennon revealed it had been a deliberate ploy, which but for a flag-happy assistant referee could have worked a treat in the first half.
“I felt they were playing a high line and I thought there was a chance to get in behind them,” he said.
“I couldn’t understand some of the decisions I was seeing from the linesman, though.
“He always seemed to have his flag in the air – and then when one of their lads went through and he was two yards offside, I asked why the flag hadn’t gone up. The fourth official said he’d made the run from an onside position – but I think he’d have to be Usain Bolt to have got there that quickly.”
Lennon had affectionately dubbed veteran strikers Emile Heskey and Eidur Gudjohnsen “a pair of OAPs” in the build-up to the game – but paid tribute to his golden oldies for getting Wanderers back into the game in the second half.
“Emile is such a fantastic outlet home or away and I think people are really starting to appreciate what he does for the team now,” he said.
“At 37 he’s gone the distance again for us and though he probably should have put away his chance, he’s then gone and made one for Adam.
“Gudjohnsen came on in the second half and added that bit of composure as well. Both of them are playing really well for us at the moment.”
With a better final ball, Lennon believes Wanderers would have left West London with all three points on Saturday.
“I thought the game was there for us,” he said. “Feeney was a good outlet for us in the first half and we just needed to take a bit more care with the ball in the final third.
“We were the better team and could have had a couple more goals – Emile has gone clean through and Alfie has had one off the line.
“We looked a threat, I was really pleased with us. Defensively at times we were a little bit soft but other than that I was delighted with the performance. It’s not an easy place to come but we played our part and towards the end we looked strong.
“We got there in the end and Mark Davies deserved his break for pressing the keeper.
“They are a good side Brentford but I think we looked a good side as well so it gives me a lot of encouragement going forward. It shows the potential we’ve got.”
One slight blemish on the day was the early withdrawal of Dean Moxey and Paddy McCarthy through injury. For once, however, Lennon was able to offer some good news after the final whistle.
“I don’t think either of them are bad injuries and they’ll both be okay for Monday at Bournemouth,” he said. “It was a crunching tackle that Paddy got and Deano got a whack on the knee – I was very pleased with him before he came off as well.”
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