If Brentford were ugly in beating Sheffield United for their first win since January, they were anything but at Luton on Saturday to make it successive victories for the first time since November.
So often this season Bryan Mbeumo has proven the answer to where Brentford’s threat comes in the absence of Ivan Toney, and in the 5-1 thrashing at Kenilworth Road his three assists ensured the old adage about London buses would live on.
Yoane Wissa was lethal for his first-half brace and deserves plenty of plaudits for his role in further banishing the creeping tendrils of relegation, but Mbeumo was brilliant value for his title of tormentor-in-chief.
This Hatters side inspires so many romantic notions of plucky underdogs but Rob Edwards and Co are now rapidly running out of chances to write the most impressive chapter yet of what is already a fairy-tale of epic proportions.
The chants will continue to persist otherwise, and with two more games to be played here you find yourself almost believing them, but repeat performances of Saturday’s 5-1 mauling by Brentford do not inspire the greatest of confidence.
Yoane Wissa scored a first half brace as Brentford secured an emphatic win over Luton
Wissa opened the scoring at Kenilworth Road as he managed to find the net in the 24th minute
Wissa added to Brentford’s lead in first half stoppage time to cause more problems for Luton
The Bees were at their attacking best in the first half, putting one hand on a first win on the road to a newly-promoted side this term by half-time thanks to Mbeumo and Wissa.
The visitors flew out the blocks, with Ethan Pinnock and Keane Lewis-Potter both coming close inside eight electric minutes for Brentford, while Alfie Doughty stung the palms of Mark Flekken in a swift riposte for the hosts.
Arsenal loanee Albert Sambi Lokonga was Luton’s beating heart throughout, his ability to break the lines in transition with deceptive and seemingly effortless ease, but the Bees remained the dominant force in the early stages.
Having already spurned a golden opportunity, Lewis-Potter then saw a point-blank header saved by Thomas Kaminski before the hosts frantically scrambled clear from the ensuing corner. If they were knocking on the door already, Brentford had now turned to hammering.
And it soon paid off. Luton failed to heed their warnings, and on 24 minutes, Wissa had the ball in the back of the net with a curling first-time shot from the edge of the box beyond a sprawling Kaminski to take a deserved lead.
The Bees, inspired by Mbeumo, kept Luton under heavy siege with Kristoffer Ajer coming close to a third inside half an hour with a towering header from a corner.
To make things worse, Luton lost Issa Kabore on 32 minutes to injury, and the barrage only continued. Mbeumo was denied a second for Brentford by the crossbar, but his industrious work soon paid off.
The Cameroonian star again fed Wissa for his 10th of the season, his strike partner bundling home one of the scrappier goals he’ll ever score in added time of perhaps the most dominant half Brentford have had all season.
Luton were left dejected, with the defeat seeing them remain in the relegation zone
Ethan Pinnock celebrates after his goal in the 62nd minute added to Brentford’s lead
Keane Lewis-Potter got on the scoresheet shortly afterwards to make it 4-0 to Brentford
A half-time change saw Luton revert to a back four and they did appear defensively more resolute immediately after the break – at least for the first 17 minutes before a two-minute double sucker punch to the Hatters.
The visitors had lost something of their tempo from the first half, but Pinnock restored their dominance with a thumping header from a Sergio Reguilon corner on 62 minutes, before Lewis-Potter converted a third assist of the afternoon for Mbeumo at the back post to make it four, and the visitors didn’t look like calling it a day anytime soon.
Mbeumo continued to push for the goal he so thoroughly deserved, twisting and turning his way into a shooting position on the right of the box, but his strike lacked the venom needed to evade Kaminski who was down well to his left.
Mbeumo – who else – was heavily involved in the eventual fifth, playing in Vitaliy Janelt who simply knocked it into the acres of space to his left for Kevin Schade to thunder home on 86 minutes into the vacant net, but it was the hosts who had the last laugh.
Carlton Morris charged down a loose pass on the edge of the box before rounding Flekken and feeding Luke Berry who tapped home to elicit a first and still impressive roar of the tie from the Kenilworth Road faithful.
Kevin Schade, who had entered the fray as a substitute, got Brentford’s fifth goal against Luton
Luke Berry scored a late consolation goal for Luton in their 5-1 defeat to Brentford
Luton manager Rob Edwards was left dejected as his side suffered a heavy defeat