Brentford on a rollercoaster ride to Wembley

Shoot-out winner Adam Forshaw tells fans to expect more drama in the final

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7 May 2013

Brentford 3-3 Swindon (Aet 4-4 on agg: Brentford win 5-4 on penalties)

Brentford fans have been warned to expect more drama at Wembley by the man who scored the penalty that took them to the League One Play-Off Final.

Brentford face Yeovil for promotion to the Championship a week on Sunday after another rollercoaster afternoon at Griffin Park.

Uwe Rosler’s side eventually won an extraordinary semi-final on penalties, with Adam Forshaw hitting the decisive spot kick after Simon Moore saved from Miles Storey.

Nine days after missing a 94th-minute penalty to blow automatic promotion against Doncaster, Brentford were forced to endure more injury-time agony. This time a late Swindon equaliser took the game to extra-time before the Bees prevailed in the shoot-out.

“We have made hard work of it all year,” Forshaw said. “Everybody knows that. But we should enjoy it because of the way the game ended and now we have to go and finish it off at Wembley. It’s not even half a job done yet.

“I was tired but I didn’t have any nerves with the penalty. You just have to stay focused in those situations and not let it get to you. I treated it like any penalty on the training ground.”

Brentford goalkeeper Moore had done some homework in preparation for penalties but found it went to waste.

He said: “I watched videos of their two penalty takers this season but they both got subbed so it was pot luck in the shoot-out. But I felt very confident I would save one because I love penalty shoot-outs.

“It sums up our season. It has been an unbelievable campaign with so many highs and lows. It proved the team spirit we have here is unbelievable and we go to Wembley confident we can finish off the job.

“We are all buzzing but we will bring ourselves back down to finish the job off because it will mean nothing if we go there and do not win. Yeovil are a good side and they beat us twice this season. But anything can happen in the final and we feel confident.”

Brentford, who have never been promoted via the play-offs in six attempts, have been allocated 29,902 tickets for the game at Wembley.

The financial implications are significant for Brentford, who plan to move into a new stadium by 2016. They will receive a minimum of £6million in television money if they are in the Championship next season but less than £240,000 in League One.

Rosler, whose stock continues to rise at Griffin Park since his appointment in 2011, said: “After what had happened before and to concede in the last second again, for them to come back, I am so privileged to have a squad like this in my first job in English football.

“They never felt sorry for themselves and they never stopped. They were magnificent.”

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