Brentford
nPower League 1
Tuesday 12th February 2012
Griffin Park, Braemar Road, Brentford, Middlesex, TW8 ONT
Kick Off: 7.45pm
Weather Forecast: Cloudy, 0°c
Referee: S Hooper (Wiltshire)
Last time we met:
The last meeting between the two sides was last April when a 2-1 win for Stevenage saw them move into the playoffs. Brentford hit the woodwork with two penalties, the first from Clayton Donaldson and the second from Sam Saunders with Craig Reid then finding the back of the net for Boro at the other end. Luke Freeman fired in from 25-yards to double the lead and although Saunders pulled one back with a fine free-kick late on it was Boro who took all three points.
Boro: Day, Lascelles, Ashton, Roberts, Laird, Wilson, Long (Byrom), Bostwick, Freeman, Reid (Mousinho), Agyemang (Beardsley)
Subs not used: Myrie-Williams, Slew
Team News:
Brentford have no new injury concerns and are likely to name a similar side to that which drew 2-2 with Bury on Saturday.
Stevenage will recall Chris Day in goal after Steve Arnold was sent off at Carlisle. Lucas Akins and Sam Hoskins will also be hoping for starts after coming off the bench in Cumbria.
The Brentford Scout Report
Recent Form:
Brentford are sixth in League 1 after picking up 51 points from their 30 games so far.
Without a win in four league games, Uwe Rösler’s men are actually on their worst run of the season so far after recent defeats against Tranmere (1-2) and Yeovil (0-3) and draws against Leyton Orient and Bury.
Despite this The Bees have the third best home form in the league after picking up eight wins, five draws and suffering just two defeats in front of their own fans, those being against Yeovil (1-3) and Tranmere (1-2). Bradford, Southend and Crawley have also been knocked out of cup competitions at Griffin Park whilst Chelsea escaped with a 2-2 draw in the recent televised FA Cup tie.
Possible Brentford line-up for Tuesday (4-4-2 formation):
Simon Moore; Shaleum Logan, Harlee Dean, Tony Craig, Jake Bidwell; Tom Adeyemi, Adam Forshaw, Jonathan Douglas, Harry Forrester; Marcello Trotta, Clayton Donaldson
Subs: Sam Saunders, Scott Barron, Richard Lee, Lee Hodson, Toumani Diagouraga, Paul Hayes, Rob Kiernan
Key Man:
Clayton Donaldson has bagged 19 goals this season for the Bees, including 15 in League 1. The lanky yet pacey former York, Hibs and Crewe front man has scored eight goals in the past two months alone however concentrating too much on his predatory prowess could provide space for Harry Forrester to benefit from. The 21-year attacking midfielder, who came up through the Watford ranks before spells at Aston Villa and Kilmarnock, has been instrumental in Brentford’s rise up the table, with 10 goals to his name this season including great strikes against MK Dons and Sheffield United in the league and a penalty in their recent 2-2 FA Cup draw against Chelsea.
Stat Attack:
• The referee for this game will be Simon Hooper from Wiltshire. He was the man in the middle when the teams last met at Griffin Park, when Boro won 1-0 last season.
• Sam Hoskins and Dani Lopez could both play in their fifth games for Stevenage at Brentford.
• A goal for Mark Roberts will be the skipper’s 25th for the club since joining in 2008 whilst a goal for Lucas Akins will be his 10th this season, making him only the second man to reach double figures for Boro in a Football League season.