Brentford‘s superb Premier League season continued with a comfortable win over an abject West Ham United.
The Bees, without 20-goal leading scorer Ivan Toney because of a hamstring injury, went ahead when Bryan Mbeumo swept under Lukasz Fabianski.
They won the ball back high in the West Ham half and worked an overload on the right wing for the Cameroon international to slot home his seventh goal of the season.
Thomas Frank’s side dominated throughout and deservedly doubled their lead just before half-time when Ben Mee flicked a long throw on for Yoane Wissa to head home.
West Ham made seven changes from their 1-0 win over Manchester United last weekend with eyes on Thursday’s Europa Conference League semi-final second leg against AZ Alkmaar.
Should they get through, it would be their first European final since 1976, offering the chance of their first major trophy since 1980.
While David Moyes’ side are not yet mathematically safe from relegation, they are far enough above the bottom three that the manager was willing to prioritise.
He introduced Declan Rice and Said Benrahma just before the hour mark and it did bring about an improvement with Danny Ings having a goal ruled out for handball in the build-up.
They remain 15th, six points clear of safety, while Brentford climb above Fulham into ninth.
BBCSports