Sunderland Snatch Draw Against Brentford with Late Penalty

Enzo Le Fée buried his penalty, then let the noise wash over him. Same end, same stadium, same player. Very different outcome.

Last season at the Gtech Community Stadium he had tried a panenka and ended up a punchline. On this return, with Sunderland staring at defeat, he went for power and precision instead, drilling home from 12 yards in the 82nd minute to snatch a 1-1 draw against Brentford and rewrite the story on this ground.

Sunderland dominate, VAR bites

Regis Le Bris’ side were outstanding before the break. They played with a snarl and a purpose that Brentford simply couldn’t match, pinning the hosts back and bullying them physically.

They thought they had the perfect start after eight minutes. Dan Ballard swept a clever finish into the bottom corner, only for a lengthy and contentious VAR check to rip it away. Kevin Danso, making his debut, had strayed offside and was ruled to have blocked Caoimhin Kelleher’s view. Sunderland fumed; Brentford escaped.

The home side’s evening worsened when captain Nathan Collins was forced off inside 20 minutes after a clash with Noah Sadiki. They lost their defensive leader and almost the match with him. Moments later, Le Fée crashed a fierce effort against the post from 10 yards, Kelleher rooted as the ball cannoned back out.

Sunderland kept coming. Thomas Meunier should have done far better when he met a cross first time, only to thump his effort straight at substitute goalkeeper Jannik Schuster. Brentford were hanging on, unsettled by Sunderland’s direct running in behind from Meunier and Nilson Angulo, and by the relentless grip Granit Xhaka exerted in midfield.

By half-time, Brentford could count themselves fortunate to be level. Keith Andrews knew it.

Andrews rolls the dice, Janelt delivers

The Brentford head coach responded with a bold move: three changes at the interval. It flipped the game.

Suddenly Sunderland had no out ball, no release. The visitors, who had been striding forward with menace, were now trapped in their own half. Brentford pushed higher, moved the ball quicker, and the pressure finally told.

Just before the hour, the hosts struck. Nordi Mukiele did well initially, adjusting his body to head away a dangerous cross. But the clearance dropped into a dead zone, with no Sunderland shirt alive to the danger. Vitaly Janelt was. He strode onto the loose ball, 15 yards out, and lashed a half-volley into the top corner. Robin Roefs had no chance. From nowhere, Brentford had control and the three half-time changes looked inspired.

Sunderland, so assertive earlier, now looked leggy and short of ideas. Brentford had chances to finish them off. Keane Lewis-Potter should have settled it but mistimed a volley, smashing it into the turf and over the bar. Anthony then had the ball in the net, only to be penalised for taking it out of Roefs’ hands before scoring. The Gtech groaned; Sunderland clung on.

Late twist, old ghost exorcised

The game still felt one mistake away from chaos, and it came with eight minutes left.

Wilson Isidor, on as a substitute, drove into the box and went down with Lewis-Potter’s hands on him. The contact was there, but the decision looked generous. Brentford protested. The referee pointed to the spot.

Up stepped Le Fée. Same end where he had tried to be clever in January and failed. No tricks this time. He sent Kelleher the wrong way, low and assured, and turned a painful memory into a cathartic one.

Kelleher had earlier denied Isidor from a free-kick with a sharp low stop, but he could do nothing about the penalty. Sunderland, who had watched their first-half supremacy unravel, suddenly had the point their performance merited.

Brentford will rue their missed chances and the loss of Collins. Sunderland will leave knowing they went toe-to-toe away from home, rode out a brutal swing in momentum, and watched a key midfielder confront his past and beat it from the spot.

If this is the standard Sunderland can sustain, and if Le Fée keeps playing with this edge, that panenka might soon be remembered only as the moment that hardened him.