How this place has missed those 22 men and that bag of air. Vale Park had lain dormant and deserted for 42 days; Port Vale hadn’t played anywhere for nearly a month.
This was a cup tie to make up for lost time. To make Vale manger Darrell Clarke seem rather cynical, too. All this third-round clash boiled down to, he had said, was ’11 men versus 11 men… with a bag of air (and) two goals.’
Fortunately those blokes acquired more taste for colour and poetry.
Brentford star Bryan Mbeumo scored a second-half hat-trick as his side cruised past Port Vale
Striker Marcus Forss put top-flight side Brentford ahead with a first-half cracker at Port Vale
Substitute Bryan Mbeumo doubled Brentford’s advantage in the 66th minute
No matter that for 45 minutes, Brentford controlled this tie at a canter. No matter that the Premier League side led through Marcus Forss. Because something changed as night closed in. As League Two Port Vale made a mockery of the 62 places that separate these sides.
As four goals and a flurry of drama was squeezed into a bonkers final half hour.
After Vale went close at one end, Bryan Mbeumo looked to have killed the game with Brentford’s second.
Instead all hell broke loose. A headed goal by 19-year-old Kian Harratt, signed on loan from Huddersfield on Friday, gave Port Vale hope.
Mbeumo restored Brentford’s two goal advantage in the 76th minute on Saturday
Then David Worrall hit the post. Then Dennis Politic squandered an open goal. Then Mbeumo scored again and eventually Vale’s race was run.
There was still time for Mbeumo to complete a 21-minute hat-trick after Ivan Toney was brought down inside the area.
And so Brentford reach round four, but not without a few bumps.
‘(First half) we didn’t give Port Vale a sniff,’ manager Thomas Frank said. ‘But we know this is the FA Cup… that spell, if they get to 2-2, anything can happen.’
Kian Harratt (right) gave the home side some hope with a diving header in the 76th minute
He added: ‘They really created that special FA Cup atmosphere… but in the end we, and especially Bryan Mbeumo, showed our quality.’
‘We had a right good go — certainly at 2-1 we had them on the ropes,’ Clarke reflected.
‘But they showed their clinical finishing… I think that would have done us the world of good.’
Mbeumo completed his hat-trick from the spot after Ivan Toney was fouled inside the area
Port Vale’s David Worrall (left) and Brentford’s Dominic Thompson battle for the ball