Brentford 2-1 Charlton: Said Benrahma scores as Bees fight back to boost Championship promotion hopes

Brentford produced a terrific late comeback to keep their automatic promotion hopes alive as goals from Said Benrahma and Ethan Pinnock earned a 2-1 win over Charlton Athletic.

The Addicks took an early lead through Macauley Bonne and defended resolutely throughout, with Brentford looking set to slip to fourth following Fulham’s 1-0 win over Nottingham Forest.

However, Benrahma’s penalty gave them hope 15 minutes from time before Pinnock’s late header won it to send Thomas Frank’s men within two points of the automatic promotion spots.

Frank restored Josh Dasilva and Mathias Jensen to midfield and brought Mads Roerslev in for Henrik Dalsgaard at right-back, while Lee Bowyer made five changes to the Charlton side that had suffered their first defeat of the restart at home to Millwall on Friday.

Alfie Doughty and Jake Forster-Caskey were two of those brought into the line-up and they combined to tee-up the opener inside ten minutes, the latter heading the former’s delivery back across goal for Bonne to nod home.

The goal was the first Brentford had conceded since February, but they were almost two-down soon after as Josh Cullen hit the bar direct from a corner before Jason Pearce also grazed the top of the woodwork with the follow-up.

Prior to that, Dillon Phillips had had to be alert to tip Jensen’s header over the bar, while Said Benrahma twice went close to finding a leveller with efforts cutting in from the left and Brentford piled on the pressure before the break.

Dasilva curled just over soon after the restart as Charlton sank deeper and deeper into their own half, but the defence held firm, with Naby Sarr, in particular, immense.

Benrahma lifted over the bar following a loose first-touch before Phillips denied Dasilva from a tight angle after a smart one-two with Ollie Watkins.

But when Cullen was harshly penalised for a block on Benrahma as the Algerian met substitute Dalsgaard’s cut-back, the resistance was finally broken, the Bees star dusting himself off the send Phillips the wrong way from the spot.

With a point not much good, Brentford went for the jugular. Dasilva clattered the post with another terrific strike, and when Benrahma’s low effort took a wicked deflection but still didn’t beat Phillips you thought a winner might not come.

Then came Pinnock, outstanding in defence since the restart, to make a vital contribution at the other end, glancing in Dasilva’s cross under close attention from Jason Pearce.

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