Mbeumo destroys 10-man Ipswich and achieves last-gasp victory for Brentford | first division

Violence. Complete and utter chaos that, after a crazy, impressive, brilliant 97 minutes, left Ipswich Town fans wondering if their first division the return is simply doomed to failure.

Of course, the club's analysts will pore over every little detail in a bid to accurately understand what happened in west London on Saturday. Mistakes will become lessons that players must follow; The videos will be watched again and again to extract the details of a performance that was, at several points, better than Kieran McKenna could have imagined after losing a glut of key players on the eve of the game.

But after nine games without a win, after blowing a two-goal lead, after drawing with 10 men late only to see Bryan Mbeumo's deep, deflected cross into the net in the seventh minute of added time to give Brentford A 4-3 win, what other way can Ipswich fans understand it? Maybe it's just not meant to be that way.

In isolation, this was such a strange rollercoaster game that detailed answers probably shouldn't be sought. But there comes a point when repeated valiant efforts must be converted into points or else they will be worthless. Call it Luton Town syndrome, if you like.

Rob Edwards' side did not survive their only season in the top flight and it is becoming increasingly difficult to see Ipswich making anything other than an equally swift return to the Championship. Adventurous, brave, entertaining… yes. But porous. And, most importantly, no victories.

“It was an incredible game,” said McKenna, who confirmed that Chiedozie Ogbene had suffered a suspected Achilles tear when he was stretchered off after 35 minutes.

“It's obviously a mix of great pride in performance on an individual and team level. The quality and resilience we have shown during a really challenging week led to a lot of good things in the performance.

“But of course it is an extreme disappointment, a devastation that the late goal means we don't get any points for our efforts. Today we show so many things that are back on the right track. We showed our true identity as a team. “I think even though we don’t have any points to show, it was a step in the right direction.”

Perhaps his counterpart, Thomas Frank, has unintentionally stumbled upon an unlikely winning formula. Brentford had taken the lead in seven of their previous eight league games, before squandering a league-high 11 points from those positions; An alarming statistic after the unwanted record of wasting 30 points after taking the lead last season. Then again, maybe this was just one of those peculiar and inexplicable encounters. Ahead of what looks to be a decidedly hospitable series of matches in November, the hosts now find themselves in the top half of the table.

“We're in the entertainment business so I thought we had to give you a bit of bang for your buck,” joked Frank, who admitted Brentford had produced “40 of our worst minutes in the Premier League” coming into the match.

At the time, their team were two goals down, Ipswich scoring twice in three minutes on the counter-attack thanks to excellent finishing from Sam Szmodics and George Hirst.

From a fleeting euphoria, the traveling contingent soon returned to the familiar feeling of apathy. With half-time approaching, the always lively Keane Lewis-Potter initiated a move that culminated in Yoane Wissa burying a first goal.

Two minutes later, parity was restored when Wissa's shot from a tight angle deflected off Harry Clarke and converted into an own goal.

Clarke's first Premier League start quickly turned into a nightmare. Shortly after the break, he brought down Lewis-Potter in what was initially ruled a free kick but was later converted into a penalty by VAR. Mbeumo confidently scored the penalty.

Clarke was booked for his troubles and his disastrous day ended early when Lewis-Potter roped him into another reckless challenge, leading to a second yellow card.

Despite Brentford's dominance, Ipswich thought they had secured the most unlikely of points when Leif Davis' brilliant cross allowed substitute Liam Delap to convert. But their joy, once again, was short-lived.

Mbeumo's stoppage-time cross evaded everyone and Delap's shot in the final seconds crashed off the Brentford post to the pain of the traveling fans. “Football is relentless,” Frank summarized, relieved.