Bees boss frank about Benrahma’s brilliance

Brentford’s Thomas Frank hailed Said Benrahma as his “Algerian magician” after the Bees winger tore Hull apart with a devastating hat-trick.

After the 5-1 Sky Bet Championship win at Griffin Park, head coach Frank said: “When he plays like that he is a joy to watch.

“He’s exciting every time he gets the ball because he can create something out of nothing. It is like magic and very few teams in this league have that.

“His finishing has got better and better but his assists are also incredible. His run and pass for Kamohelo Mokotjo made that the most beautiful goal of the day for me.

“He is growing more and more composed and when he runs at defences he is terrifying because he can go left or right.”

Frank added: “He is a big distraction for defences and when players mark him he’ll pass the ball for another of our front three to do some damage.”

But, despite the emphatic win, Frank was most happy with the solid work of his team’s defence.

The Bees backline kept Hull at bay in a one-sided first 25 minutes where the hosts looked lethargic.

He said: “The key thing is that we defended well in the first 25 minutes and stayed in the game.

“It wasn’t a top performance but we still defended quite well and restricted them to the one chance, which they took.

“No matter what happens in the game we have to stay in the game and we did that well today so I was pleased with that side of things.”

Frank also believes he has one of the most potent forward lines in the Championship, with Ollie Watkins, Neal Maupay, Sergi Canos and Benrahma all challenging sides.

He added: “When they are on it they are very difficult to handle, but after that it’s a case of keeping them focused on the next game at Sheffield Wednesday on Tuesday.

“This game was the biggest of the season and the trip to Sheffield is now the biggest.”

Hull boss Nigel Adkins said the only positives from his team were how they performed in the opening minutes of both halves.

He explained: “We started really well for the first 25 minutes, changed our shape because we know how good Brentford are with possession – but we were assertive and on the front foot and always wanted to intercept.

“We knew their front three are very dangerous and wanted to be aggressive, and we scored an excellent first goal.

“But then we allowed them to get back in the game and our midfield did not track – and we go in at 3-1 down disappointed with the manner of the goals we conceded.”

Adkins’ cause was not helped by a leg injury to keeper David Marshall, caused when Maupay dived in on a loose ball and collected a yellow card.

The Tigers boss continued: “After the break we lost David but we went out and knew the next goal would be important. Their keeper made a good save and then they score another, which made it very challenging.”

Adkins was angry with his players’ response in the final 25 minutes, adding: “The goals changed the game but I was disappointed by the way the confidence drained out of the players.

“We have to reflect on it. The frustrating thing for me is that I have players who work very hard in training, so there was little positive to take from the game from our point of view.

“But this will be a good learning lesson for them.”