Smith claims Brentford deserved more against Norwich

Posted Sunday, January 28, 2018 by PA

Frustrated Brentford head coach Dean Smith felt the best team lost after seeing his side’s 14-game unbeaten home run ended by Norwich.

His in-form side dominated possession but lacked a cutting edge, with striker Neal Maupay coming in for criticism from sections of the Griffin Park crowd.

Instead, the game was settled by a superb 25-yard strike from James Maddison, who has attracted Premier League interest.

A clearly aggrieved Smith said: “We lacked a bit of quality in the final part of the pitch but my biggest disappointment was the support Neal got. He was on his sick bed on Thursday and only found out he was playing yesterday.

“He’s a good young player new to this league and he’s got goals this season. He gave it his all as he always does, so I think some of our fans could be more supportive.

“I’m disappointed because the best team got beat but saying that, the difference between the sides was a 25-yard shot into the top corner.”

Smith’s plans were rocked by leading scorer Lasse Vibe’s absence as he negotiates a rumoured move to China and playmaker Romaine Sawyers falling ill on the morning of the game.

But Smith said: “To be honest every time we’ve sold someone, the squad knits together and we’ve got better each time. I looked over my shoulder at our bench and we have Alan Judge, Emiliano Marcondes and Sergi Canos, but today we just lacked that final ball.

“We were camped in their half for long spells and they defended deep like many teams have here this season. They have pace on the counter so we had to be mindful of that but I thought we handled them very well defensively.”

Norwich boss Daniel Farke hailed his side’s win at a Brentford side unbeaten in the league at home since the opening day as “outstanding”.

He added: “This was their first home defeat since August so this win and clean sheet are simply outstanding especially when you consider it’s been a pretty difficult week for us with people leaving and coming in.

“We had problems with injuries so to come here to Brentford, a side who have been on fire, and win with such good defensive behaviour deserves compliments.

“James’ goal was a quality strike and a sign of his quality.”

Farke admitted he was hoping for a quiet four days to quell the ongoing interest in Maddison, a target for West Ham and Spurs.

He said: “It would be nice but I’m not going to lock him away.

“It was a shame we couldn’t get the second to calm the game down. It was a long second half for us, I would like us to win by greater margins because we seem to have lot of these 1-0 wins.

“This was important for us because now we can start planning for next season without fear of relegation.”