Brentford pull clear and leave Bolton on the brinkBrentford all but ensured their Championship status with a comfortable 3-1 win that deepened Bolton's relegation woes.The Bees broke the deadlock on 16 minutes when Nico Yennaris side-footed home his second goal in as many games.They stretched their lead with Lasse Vibe's double before the break and Zach Clough's penalty was Bolton's only response.The Bees' second win in as many games, after Saturday's 3-0 success at Nottingham Forest, left them 12 points clear of the bottom three and enjoying the likely prospect of back-to-back Championship seasons for the first time since 1954Defeat for Bolton extended their dreadful sequence of no away wins in a year and means defeat at Derby on Saturday will spell relegation for Wanderers.It started well for the hosts, Alan Judge coming close to opening the scoring after just 12 minutes when his cross from the right touchline looped over keeper Ben Amos and bounced to safety off the bar.Dean Smith's side took the lead when Maxime Colin's deep cross from the right found Sam Saunders, who sliced the ball to the feet of Yennaris to finish.The Trotters almost conjured up an instant reply when Josh Vela robbed a hesitant Alan McCormack on the edge of his own box only to see his low drive cannon off the foot of the upright.Vibe doubled the lead when his driven cross was half-cleared by the Bolton defence and the Denmark international raced in to pick up the pieces and coolly stroke home from close range.It was three just before the break when Alan Judge's whipped cross was glanced home by the head of Vibe at the near post.Clough went close for the Trotters in between times but flashed his speculative effort just over the angle as he was ushered away from the danger zone by the home defence.Bolton made a game of it after the break, Vela capitalising on a mix-up on the halfway line to run at the Bees defence only to snatch his shot which flew well over.McCormack, so influential before the interval, flagged badly in the second half and gifted Liam Trotter the ball just inside halfway but the midfielder could only run on and fire high and wide.The Brentford player almost made amends minutes later when his 35-yard screamer forced Amos into a comfortable save at full stretch.But McCormack then bundled Kaiyne Woolery over in the box, allowing Clough to send David Button the wrong way from the spot.The visitors survived a late penalty scare when Yennaris was pulled back in the box before Clough, Bolton's only real threat in attack, tested Button at the other end with a low injury-time effort after cutting in from the left
Source : PA
Source: PA