Brentford 3-2 OGC Nice
The French side OGC Nice travelled to West London, for a pre-season friendly against the newly promoted Championship side, Brentford. Mark Warburton fielded a strong starting XI, not too far off what Bee’s fans may expect for their first league game against Charlton.
Throughout the first half Nice looked a very unorganised side, Andre Gray capitalised on their first mix up at the back within 2 minutes of the game kicking off. The goal tally reached 5 by the break, however the last 45 minutes only saw 1 offside goal from Nice. After Brentford’s display, fans will be happy with their clubs transfer dealings, particularly the addressing of the sides attacking options.
Brentford
| Davis Button: Button continued his fine shot stopping form, however his distribution of the ball still needs to be improved. | 7.5 |
| Jake Bidwell: Bidwell made a couple of great runs on the ball, whilst tracking back when needed. We didn’t see him provide many balls in dangerous areas, something fans would normally see from Jake. | 7.0 |
| Tony Craig: Craig looked confident on and off the ball; mistakes were made by him however. | 7.0 |
| James Tarkowski: The centre-back had a great game, made some quality challenges and looked very comfortable on the ball. | 8.5 |
| Nico Yennaris: Started the game lacking confidence, however as the game progressed, so did the former Arsenal youngster. Looked a much better player by the end of the game than last season. | 7.0 |
| Jonathan Douglas: There were a couple of occasions Douglas lost possession of the ball, although majority of the game he appeared committed and confident. | 7.0 |
| Marcos Tébar: Looks a great addition to Warburton’s men. What was particularly notable about his performance was his decision making on the ball, he was very aware of the runs Gray was making. | 8.0 |
| Alex Pritchard: The highly rated youngster showed his ability, scoring a great free kick and scoring again after capitalising on a defensive mix up. | 9.0 |
| Alan Judge: Started the game his very lively, however quietened down a bit as the game went on. | 7.0 |
| Moses Odubajo: Odubajo played very well during his time on the pitch, he looked very threatening going forward and won free kicks in good positions. | 8.0 |
| Andre Gray: Coming from the conference Gray may have surprised a few. Gray was constantly making runs, getting himself into good positions and putting pressure on Nice’s defenders. | 8.5 |
Substitutions
| Stuart Dallas: Dallas looked as if he has gained a bit more confidence after last season. | 7.0 |
| Toumani Diagouraga: Diagouraga looked a much better player than last season during his time on the pitch. Made some very good turns and passes that surprised Brentford fans in attendance. | 8.0 |
| Scott Hogan: Was happy to run at the defence of the French side, however was taken off before he was able to show his capabilities, due to an ankle injury picked up last season. | N/A |
| Raphaël Calvet: A lack of first team experience didn’t show when he was subbed on. | 7.0 |
| Josh Clarke: Wasn’t on for long enough to have any real effect on the game, came on as Hogan was unable to continue playing. | N/A |
Man of the Match
| Alex Pritchard: Pritchard has shown fans he is likely to be a key player for Brentford next season; with his ability to take players on, take advantage of opponent’s mistakes and to score from half chances. Pritchard scored twice, including a fabulous free kick which went bottom left of the goal. He looked to be a real threat throughout the game. | 9.0 |
