Lucky 13 for Ollie Watkins after his goal ensures Brentford beat Cardiff City

Brentford 2 Cardiff City 1

Brentford were never going to match the seven goals they knocked past Luton Town in their previous home game, but they still produced some sparkling attacking football in handing Neil Harris his first defeat as Cardiff City manager.

Cardiff were looking for a fourth successive win to keep them in touch with the top six, but instead it was Brentford who moved up to seventh place, overtaking the Welshmen.

Brentford’s Algerian livewire Said Benrahma was the outstanding attacker in the opening stages. He fired a foot wide in the first minute, and smacked a free-kick into the defensive wall two minutes later. At one point he slipped to the turf during an exchange of passes with Ollie Watkins, but was still first to the return pass.

Cardiff were struggling to find any fluency although Lee Tomlin found space for an angled shot that was deflected wide.

Brentford found it easier to make chances and after 23 minutes Mathias Jensen ran onto a pass by Josh Dasilva only to shoot straight at Neil Etheridge, the Cardiff goalkeeper.

The visitors did not heed the warning and in the 25th minute, Benrahma was allowed to dribble into the heart of the Cardiff defence before slipping the ball to Bryan Mbuemo, whose left-foot shot was too well-hit for Etheridge to keep out. It was the Frenchman’s seventh goal of the season and his third in three games.

Cardiff manager Harris strutted a fretted on the touchline, urging his men to get some sort of foothold in the game. But it would have got worse instead of better if Curtis Nelson had not blocked Watkins’ attempt to follow up after Etheridge had sprawled to save Benrahma’s shot.

The Bees must have feared that a Cardiff comeback would leave them kicking themselves for not converting superiority into goals, but they doubled their lead only two minutes into the restart as Watkins glanced a header beyond Etheridge from Mbuemo’s right-wing cross, his thirteenth league goal of the campaign.

Marlon Pack brought Cardiff back into the match after 64 minutes with a 25-yard blast. Now Brentford had to defend desperately, but goalkeeper David Raya was equal to Cardiff’s best effort Tomlin’s dipping shot from distance.

Match details

Brentford (4-3-3):Raya; Dalsgaard, Jansson, Pinnock, Henry; Jensen, Dasilva, Norgaard (Mokotjo 72); Mbeumo (Jeanvier 83), Watkins, Benrahma.
Subs not used: Daniels, Thompson, Sorensen, Hammar, Roerslev.
Booked: Jansson, Henry.
Cardiff City (4-4-2): Etheridge; Peltier, Flint, Nelson, Bennett; Mendez-Laing (Madine 60), Bacuna, Pack, Hoilett (Murphy 22); Tomlin, Ward (Paterson 80).
Subs not used: Day, Morrison, Vaulks, Ralls, Paterson.
Booked: Murphy, Bennett.
Referee: John Brooks (Leicestershire).