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The Independent UK
The Independent UK
Sport
Andy Sims

Brentford boss Thomas Frank: Emotions got better of me at end of Wolves defeat

PA Wire

Thomas Frank admitted his emotions got the better of him after he was sent off at the final whistle of Brentford’s bizarre Premier League defeat to Wolves.

The Bees were beaten 2-1 in a match dogged by delays including a 20-minute stoppage for a drone flying overhead.

There were crazy scenes at Brentford’s Community Stadium as both sets of players were forced off the pitch while the drone hovered above.

The flying nuisance eventually buzzed off to allow play to get back under way, and Joao Moutinho put Wolves ahead before Ivan Toney equalised.

But Ruben Neves brought the Bees crashing back down to earth as his late strike condemned them to a sixth defeat in seven league matches.

There was a sour ending for head coach Frank, who was sent off for confronting referee Peter Bankes at the final whistle.

“I was frustrated we didn’t get a point but I was relatively calm and there was a situation which triggered it,” explained Frank.

“I got a yellow card after a confrontation with a Wolves player, then I turned round to Peter and said ‘you can give me a second one as well’. He said it was because I was turning around and too aggressive.

“I want the players to control their emotions and not get silly cards so it’s disappointing I could not control my emotions.”

The match had already been held up for five minutes midway through the first half following a nasty clash of heads between Brentford team-mates Mathias Jensen and Rico Henry which left both bleeding heavily.

Mercifully, both were able to walk off the field with the Bees forced to use concussion substitutes.

“It was horrible,” added Frank. “When they were running I was thinking, ‘oh my God, this is going to be bad’.

“But they are good. Mathias is clear of concussion and Rico will be assessed.”

Moments later, the drone hovered into view, forcing Bankes and fourth official Martin Atkinson to order the players off the field in accordance with Premier League rules.

The match resumed at 3.50pm, with Atkinson signalling there were 19 minutes of the first half still to play.

“It was the same for both teams,” said Frank. “I guess if they find the person, he or she will get fined because they disrupted a match.”

An incident-packed encounter also saw Bankes hold up play for another five minutes at the start of the second half while he had his communication device fixed.

Three minutes after the eventual restart, Moutinho fired Wolves ahead before their left-back Toti Gomes was shown a red card for a foul, which Bankes overturned after checking the screen.

Moments later Toney volleyed Brentford level but Neves won it with 12 minutes remaining, and the clock pushing 5.30pm, with a shot from the edge of the box.

Wolves boss Bruno Lage said: “We needed to be focused on the game. The first break was a very hard situation with the two players, then it was the drone and we came inside and talked about the game and what we can change.

“It was a strange first half and the breaks don’t help your rhythm. But it was a better second half.

“I’m happy because we had the personality I want to play the game and the mentality, because this team are very hard to play at home. It was a very good day for us.”

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