SECOND HALF – REDS HOLD ON
After a half-time substitution, which saw Noussair Mazraoui replace Amad, with Diogo Dalot pushing up on the right, some might have been forgiven for thinking that the Reds were happy to sit on the lead.
However, Maguire was causing all sorts of problems for the Bees from corners, and Kelleher had to remain sharp when he was called into action by the 33-year-old’s header early in the second half.
But Brentford had chances of their own, with Ouattara firing narrowly wide after the ball broke to him in the box, while Lammens did well to cut out another Lewis-Potter cross as the former Hull City man continued to pick up intelligent pockets of space.
Maguire was certainly having his say and the centre-back almost added another assist to his name with a Bruno-esque ball over the top to Mbeumo, but the speedy winger couldn’t collect the ball and it carried through to Kelleher.
A rare slip-up from Maguire did almost let the visitors in when Thiago robbed him of the ball in United’s box, but his centre-back partner Heaven was on hand with a big block to deny Ouattara’s shot at goal.
Brave defending was a theme of the night for United, with Maguire superb on his return to the side, and he put his body on the line to deny Ouattara’s acrobatic effort, moments after the winger had headed against a post from a corner.
It was United’s turn to threaten again shortly afterwards, as neat interplay on the edge of the box led to Fernandes laying the ball off for Casemiro, whose long-range pile-driver whistled just wide of Kelleher’s post.
With 87 minutes on the clock, Brentford hit back with a stunner to make the home crowd a little more nervous. The Denmark midfielder was left in space on the edge of the box and after shifting it past Casemiro, he fired a superb strike past Lammens.
Brentford were reinvigorated and piled forward in search of a late equaliser, with Damsgaard heading straight into Lammens’s hands after a cross from the ever-threatening Ouattara.
But Carrick’s side weathered the storm, with a fired-up Casemiro to the fore, to hold on for all three points, which solidifies the Reds’ spot in third place in the Premier League table, ahead of this weekend’s all-important clash against Liverpool.
