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Brentford came from behind against 10-man Bournemouth to book a return to the Championship play-off final in a high-energy play-off semi-final second leg.
Marcus Forss scored the decisive goal 10 minutes from time which won the second leg 3-1 for the Bees and sealed a 3-2 aggregate victory.
Trailing 1-0 from the first leg, Brentford were soon 2-0 down on aggregate when Arnaut Danjuma scored on the counter-attack early on for Bournemouth.
Ivan Toney levelled the leg at 1-1 with a penalty after Lloyd Kelly was adjudged to have handled an Emiliano Marcondes cross.
But the tie arguably turned on the sending-off of Bournemouth centre-back Chris Mepham, who brought down Bryan Mbeumo with the winger clean through on goal.
Brentford went 2-1 ahead in the game and drew level on aggregate early in the second half when Vitaly Janelt looped an effort in from outside the box, before substitute Forss poked in a near-post cross by Marcondes from close range to complete the comeback.
Brentford will face either Swansea City or Barnsley at Wembley next Saturday as they hope to avenge their play-off final defeat by Fulham last August and reach the Premier League for the first time.
Bournemouth, who finished sixth in the regular season, were denied a return to the top flight at the first attempt.
Feisty first half shapes play-off thriller
Despite having to overcome a 1-0 deficit from Monday’s first leg at the Vitality Stadium and then slipping further behind in the opening exchanges, the presence of the biggest crowd seen so far at the Brentford Community Stadium, around 4,000, inspired the hosts.
The opening half-hour saw two goals and a red card along with other gilt-edged chances at both ends.
It all began when Bournemouth forward Danjuma added to his breakaway goal from Monday when he was left unmarked as the Cherries broke from a corner and he went unchallenged one-on-one from inside his own half.
Toney scored his 32nd goal of the season, from the spot, to make it 1-1, but it came after a controversial decision by referee Jarred Gillett to penalise Bournemouth centre-back Kelly for handball.
Toney and Bournemouth goalkeeper Begovic were both booked in the aftermath as they tried to wrestle the ball out of each other’s hands, and former Bees centre-back Mepham’s dismissal cranked the atmosphere up even further.
He misjudged a ball over the top and lost possession to the pacy Mbeumo and as he tripped, he clipped the forward’s heels and brought him down just outside the box.
Bees book Wembley return while Cherries miss out
Even with the numerical advantage for more than an hour, it took until the closing stages before Brentford finally went ahead for the first time in the tie.
They took the lead in the game and levelled on aggregate early in the second half.
Midfielder Janelt, who had to make a late positional switch when sweeper Christian Norgaard was injured in the warm-up, managed to arrive as Bournemouth’s Jefferson Lerma tried to win the ball and his momentum saw a left-footed effort balloon over Begovic and into the net.
Toney then had a shot blocked by Begovic and fired a volley over the crossbar from Mbeumo’s cross, while Marcondes also missed the chance to sweep in a cross at the back post.
However, Marcondes would eventually be the provider for Forss to meet his cross at pace and find the roof of the net for his eighth – and so far most significant – league goal of the season.
Player of the match
ForssMarcus Forss
Brentford
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Squad number15Player nameForss
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Squad number24Player nameFosu-Henry
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Squad number17Player nameToney
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Squad number20Player nameGhoddos
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Squad number41Player nameBidstrup
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Squad number19Player nameMbeumo
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Squad number9Player nameEmiliano Marcondes
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Squad number27Player nameJanelt
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Squad number7Player nameCanós
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Squad number22Player nameDalsgaard
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Squad number8Player nameJensen
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Squad number30Player nameRasmussen
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Squad number1Player nameRaya
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Squad number5Player namePinnock
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Squad number18Player nameJansson
AFC Bournemouth
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Squad number10Player nameDanjuma Groeneveld
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Squad number18Player nameCarter-Vickers
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Squad number29Player nameBilling
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Squad number7Player nameBrooks
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Squad number8Player nameLerma
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Squad number15Player nameA Smith
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Squad number22Player namePearson
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Squad number9Player nameSolanke
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Squad number21Player nameRico
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Squad number5Player nameKelly
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Squad number1Player nameBegovic
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Squad number12Player nameLong
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Squad number17Player nameStacey
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Squad number6Player nameMepham
Line-ups
Brentford
Formation 3-4-1-2
- 1Raya
- 22DalsgaardBooked at 90mins
- 18JanssonBooked at 78mins
- 5Pinnock
- 30RasmussenSubstituted forForssat 45′minutes
- 8Jensen
- 27JaneltSubstituted forGhoddosat 64′minutes
- 7CanósSubstituted forFosu-Henryat 79′minutes
- 9Marcondes
- 17ToneyBooked at 17mins
- 19MbeumoSubstituted forBidstrupat 90′minutes
Substitutes
- 4Goode
- 15Forss
- 20Ghoddos
- 23Reid
- 24Fosu-Henry
- 28Daniels
- 36Stevens
- 41Bidstrup
Bournemouth
Formation 4-2-3-1
- 1BegovicBooked at 17mins
- 15A SmithSubstituted forLongat 82′minutes
- 18Carter-Vickers
- 6MephamBooked at 28mins
- 5Kelly
- 8LermaBooked at 45mins
- 22Pearson
- 7BrooksSubstituted forRicoat 30′minutes
- 29Billing
- 10Danjuma Groeneveld
- 9SolankeSubstituted forStaceyat 75′minutesBooked at 90mins
Substitutes
- 11Wilshere
- 12Long
- 14Surridge
- 17Stacey
- 20Riquelme
- 21Rico
- 23Travers
- 26Kilkenny
- 32Anthony
Live Text
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Match ends, Brentford 3, Bournemouth 1.
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Second Half ends, Brentford 3, Bournemouth 1.
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Jack Stacey (Bournemouth) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
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Marcus Forss (Brentford) wins a free kick on the left wing.
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Foul by Jack Stacey (Bournemouth).
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Offside, Bournemouth. Diego Rico tries a through ball, but Asmir Begovic is caught offside.
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Corner, Bournemouth. Conceded by Ivan Toney.
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Henrik Dalsgaard (Brentford) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
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Foul by Henrik Dalsgaard (Brentford).
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Arnaut Danjuma Groeneveld (Bournemouth) wins a free kick on the left wing.
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Substitution, Brentford. Mads Bidstrup replaces Bryan Mbeumo.
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Attempt blocked. Bryan Mbeumo (Brentford) right footed shot from the right side of the box is blocked. Assisted by Henrik Dalsgaard.
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Ivan Toney (Brentford) wins a free kick on the right wing.
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Foul by Lloyd Kelly (Bournemouth).
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Attempt missed. Emiliano Marcondes (Brentford) right footed shot from the centre of the box is close, but misses to the right. Assisted by Ivan Toney.
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Substitution, Bournemouth. Shane Long replaces Adam Smith.
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Goal! Brentford 3, Bournemouth 1. Marcus Forss (Brentford) right footed shot from very close range to the high centre of the goal. Assisted by Emiliano Marcondes.
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Substitution, Brentford. Tariqe Fosu-Henry replaces Sergi Canós.
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Pontus Jansson (Brentford) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
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Pontus Jansson (Brentford).
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