Thomas Frank makes double Crystal Palace superiority claim despite draw
Thomas Frank has claimed both his Brentford side and their fans outperformed Crystal Palace on and off the pitch in their goalless London derby.
The Bees made the short journey across the capital to take on their neighbours on Saturday afternoon. They survived an early scare when Palace struck the post through Conor Gallagher but went on to register more shots and more attempts on target throughout the 90 minutes.
Their best opportunity was one that didn’t hit the target, though. Winger Bryan Mbeumo struck the top of the crossbar with a free-kick.
Danish manager Frank felt his side were superior than the Eagles. And despite being the away team travelling to a home side who saw a full capacity crowd return, he also believes their support was better too.
“It was an intense atmosphere,” he said to Match of the Day. “I think the Crystal Palace fans were good, and our fans were better and backed us throughout the game.
“I think we slightly edged it to be the better side. We only gave one big chance away to Gallagher.
“We won the ball a lot of times in good areas, but we didn’t have the quality to put a good counter-attack chance together.
“We ended the first half on top, which pleased me in many ways. We need a little bit more confidence and composure. But I think it is a positive that we have another level to take from this game.
“I always want maximum. I think the win was there to take. But it’s a fine point.
“It’s good to have another clean sheet of course. But I think I need to sleep on it as there’s a slight disappointment we didn’t get the win.”
Frank named an unchanged starting XI to the one he put out for their Premier League opener against Arsenal.
That came as no surprise with his players having put in a massive shift to get a big 2-0 win against the Gunners.
Star striker Ivan Toney was once again a handful and went close with two headers from corners.
Toney vital for Brentford
On the frontman, Frank said before the season started: “Ivan Toney had one aim – that was to go to the Premier League with us and he has achieved his target.
“Now we want to attack the Premier League together. I have a big belief in Ivan, 100 per cent.
“He has got all the abilities to score goals in the Premier League as well, with a top mentality and big belief in himself, which as an offensive player you need to have.”
Despite not having bagged in the opening two games, he has helped his side to four points. That is no doubt more than the fans would have expected.
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