Canos scores brilliant winner for Bees
Reading 1 Brentford 2
Outstanding goals from Ryan Woods and Sergi Canos ensured Brentford ended a tumultuous year with a victory that lifts them into the Championship’s top eight.
Woods, signed in the summer from Shrewsbury, opened his account for the Bees with a blistering 25-yard drive.
Reading equalised on 58 minutes with a well-worked goal involving two half-time substitutes, Matej Vydra setting up Garath McCleary to finish.
But Liverpool loanee Canos upstaged both of those strikes by showing great technique to skip away from two defenders before firing home from 16 yards.
Michael Hector, who will sign for Chelsea in the summer, was sent-off late on after a dive earned him a second yellow card.
The Royals had began the game well, with Hal Robson-Kanu forcing Bees keeper David Button into a save and several shots flying over.
But Brentford opened the scoring on 18 minutes against the run of play when Woods, in the right channel, fired into the opposite top corner.
Reading’s double change at the break, introducing Vydra and McCleary, almost paid immediate dividends as the Czech striker headed into the ground and on to the crossbar.
Their pressure told when the substitutes combined for the leveller after a speedy exchange of passes – but parity lasted only 14 minutes thanks to an truly brilliant individual strike.
Canos, who on Sunday extended his loan until the end of the season but began this game on the bench, controlled the ball impeccably on the right with one touch, cutting inside Stephen Quinn, beat Hector with his second touch and then stroked home from just inside the box.
That Brentford have come through virtually unscathed from a year which saw four different men manage the club, and a play-off semi-final defeat to Middlesbrough, does the club enormous credit – and Dean Smith will hope this result provides a platform for further success in 2016.
Brentford: Button; Colin, Dean, Tarkowski, Bidwell; Diagouraga, McEachran (Canos 59); Woods, Judge, Swift (Saunders 78); Vibe (Hofmann 68).
Subs not used: Bonham, Yennaris, O’Connell, Jota.
