On December 19th, Beijing time, an EFL Cup quarter-final sparked a fierce collision between Brentford and Newcastle United. Brentford ended up with a 1-3 defeat, and their manager Thomas Frank's words revealed a deep reflection on the game as he reviewed the match afterward.
"You might think it's a bit unbelievable," Frank confessed in the interview, "but if we count the whole game, you'll see that Newcastle United could find little to break apart from the two goals in the first half. In a cup tie like this, we knew we needed to go all out to stay competitive. Unfortunately, in the second half we not only conceded goals, but we conceded them in heartbreaking fashion in quick succession."
He went on to dissect the situation, "That goal we scored was truly brilliant and at one point gave us hope of an equalizer. Imagine if the final score had been 2-1, the last few minutes of the game would have been full of suspense and anything could have happened. That's what's so amazing and maddening about soccer. However, we failed to capitalize on our chances at crucial moments and ended up losing by a goal."
Despite lamenting the team's loss, Frank emphasized that the team must learn from it and prepare for future matches. "Even though the result is not ideal, we must face up to the problems, dig out the deficiencies and keep improving in training and games. I believe my players are fully capable of doing this and we will strive to present an even better performance for our fans."
