AS the sun set on a glorious autumn afternoon in West London, the Tangerine Army didn't know whether to laugh or cry As the final whistle sounded, they braced themselves for the long journey home shaking their heads after yet again, and for the umpteenth time this season, seeing what we have to describe once again as "one of those afternoons."
So why the mixed feelings? Let's get negatives out of the way first. The main downer was the stark fact that Pool came away pointless, their hopes scuppered by a dream strike from a home side that had barely threatened all afternoon. Brentford even had the cheek to add a late second to give the scoreline a flattering look, but that was too late to make any real difference to the outcome.
But shining through that is a great big positive, and that is the simple fact that Pool outplayed, out-footballed and out-manoeuvred the team who are clear at the top of Division Two. Brentford had won six on the bounce before Saturday and were brimming with confidence after seeing off big spenders Reading on their own patch last week. So if anyone in this league was going to show their superiority over Pool, it was the buzzing Bees.
But it didn't happen, and fact that the Seasiders' classy, measured football saw them dominate proceedings for more than an hour and transform a buoyant home crowd into a frustrated, anxious mass shows just how far Steve McMahon has taken his side. If ever Pool needed confirmation that they really are as good as any side in this division and, dare I say it, have a realistic chance of doing a Rotherham and going straight through it like a dose of salts, this was it.
With the back four solid as a rock and the midfield combining industry and creativity, Brentford barely had a sniff of a chance and they never looked like breaking through. At the other end, it was a different matter. Pool were certainly not rampant, but with Paul Simpson yet again the architect, they were the side with the ideas, the ability and the skill, and they came so close to getting that all-important breakthrough on more than one occasion. Bees' experienced boss Steve Coppell said he knew all about Brett Ormerod after having the Seasiders watched on a number of occasions.
But whatever anti-Ormerod plan he came up with was not foolproof, because Brett wriggled through brilliantly on 13 minutes only to see unpronounceable keeper Olafur Gottskalksson get a touch to make sure his delicate shot whistled just over the bar. Then on 28 minutes, Pool produced the move of the match with a sweeping raid which ended with Simpson knocking over a juicy cross which Ormerod got to but somehow directed just wide.
After the break, it was the same story. Graham Fenton looked certain at last to give Blackpool the lead they deserved when he found himself unmarked only a yard out as Simpson's long cross zoomed towards him. But somehow, he managed to crash his effort against the bar, and the dismay of the travelling fans a few yards away was made worse when the striker injured himself lunging for the ball.
Afterwards, Coppell used an eight-letter word beginning with B and ending in S to describe what it's more polite in this paper to call bottle, but whatever you want to call it, Brentford had it and to be fair to them they never gave up with their spirit exemplified by skipper Gavin Mahon. And when a team has that in them, there's always a chance they might get a break, and sure enough, on 65 minutes, the Bees got their chance.
A free kick from wide on the Pool left hit Jamie Milligan in the face and dropped at the feet of the flame-haired Steve Sidwell. The midfield man, on loan from Arsenal, made the most of a yard or two of space and let rip with a screaming volley which gave James Pullen absolutely no chance as it flew inside his right hand post. The home end, which had been eerily quiet up, erupted, and Brentford had a lead they barely deserved but they grabbed in style.
Macca said later that after having a go at his defence in previous games, it was only fair to have a go at the forwards when they missed their opportunities, as they certainly did at Griffin Park, even, dare we say it, Brett, who should have hit the target with that first half header And more to the point, the game and Fenton's withdrawal in particular showed yet again how Pool can suffer with their chronic lack of manpower up front. The boss obviously recognises the problems and has already said that he is working tirelessly to resolve it and bring somebody in. Let's hope he is successful sooner rather than later, otherwise a Pool side who have showed they DO have the ability and resolve to make a challenge this term might just miss their chance of glory.