Enzo Le Fée's Redemption: Penalty Rescues Sunderland
Enzo Le Fée buried his penalty, then let the noise wash over him. Same end, same stadium, same player – but a very different story.
Last season at the Gtech Community Stadium he had tried a panenka and ended up a punchline. This time, in the 82nd minute with Sunderland trailing, he went low, went sure, and rescued a 1-1 draw that felt like payback on several levels.
Redemption at the spot
Wilson Isidor went down under the attention of Keane Lewis-Potter, the Brentford winger with his hands on the substitute as they tangled in the box. The contact was there, the fall dramatic, the decision generous enough to spark debate. Penalty, said the referee.
Le Fée stepped up. No flourish, no theatre, just a clean strike from 12 yards that sent Caoimhin Kelleher the wrong way and Sunderland’s travelling support into full voice. A cathartic moment for a midfielder who had walked off this pitch in January with his head bowed after that botched chip.
This time, he walked away with a point.
Sunderland dominate, VAR bites
They might argue it should have been more.
Regis Le Bris’ side were outstanding in the first half, aggressive and direct, swarming Brentford and pinning them back. After just eight minutes, they thought they had the lead. Dan Ballard swept a composed finish into the bottom corner and wheeled away, only for the celebration to stall as VAR drew its lines.
The check dragged on. Eventually, the verdict came: no goal. Kevin Danso, on debut, had strayed offside and was judged to have blocked Kelleher’s view. Sunderland’s bench raged, the away end groaned, and Brentford escaped.
The reprieve didn’t settle the hosts. Keith Andrews had already lost his captain Nathan Collins inside 20 minutes after a clash with Noah Sadiki, a blow that unsettled a back line already under strain.
Sunderland sensed it. Le Fée thumped a shot against the post from 10 yards, beating Kelleher but not the woodwork. Thomas Meunier, surging from deep again and again, should have scored when he met a cross first time, only to fire straight at substitute goalkeeper Jannik Schuster.
Brentford were being bullied. Meunier and Nilson Angulo kept darting in behind, stretching the game, while Granit Xhaka patrolled midfield with a familiar snarl, snapping into tackles and dictating the tempo. By half-time, Brentford could only be grateful they were still level.
Andrews rolls the dice
Andrews knew it. Three changes at the break underlined just how much he disliked what he had seen.
The effect was immediate. The game flipped. Suddenly it was Sunderland who were trapped, struggling to find an out-ball, their earlier swagger replaced by hurried clearances and retreating runs.
The pressure finally told just before the hour.
Nordi Mukiele did the first part well, adjusting his body to head away a dangerous cross. But the clearance dropped into no-man’s land, and no Sunderland shirt reacted. Vitaly Janelt did. He strode onto the loose ball, 15 yards out, and lashed a half-volley into the top corner. Robin Roefs had no chance. Brentford had the lead and, for the first time, the rhythm.
The Gtech stirred. Sunderland, so sharp before the break, now looked heavy-legged. Passes went astray, second balls were lost, and Brentford began to play with a touch more freedom.
Lewis-Potter should have killed it. Arriving to meet a cross, he miscued horribly, volleying into the turf and over the bar. Anthony then found the net, only to be penalised for snatching the ball out of Roefs’ hands before finishing – a moment of opportunism that never had a chance of standing.
Late twist, old scar healed
That wastefulness left the door open. Sunderland, hanging in, found just enough to push it.
Kelleher, back on in goal, produced a smart stop to deny an Isidor free-kick and seemed to have done his part in seeing Brentford over the line. But with eight minutes of normal time left, Lewis-Potter and Isidor tangled, the Sunderland forward went down, and the referee pointed to the spot.
Home fans fumed, players protested, but the decision stood.
Le Fée, carrying the weight of his previous failure here, grabbed the ball. No panenka this time. No hesitation. He drove it home, low and decisive, to level the match and rewrite his own personal chapter at this stadium.
Brentford, who had looked on course for three points after Janelt’s strike and Andrews’ bold half-time reshuffle, were left to reflect on chances missed and a lead surrendered. Sunderland, excellent before the break and resilient after it, walked away with a point – and with a playmaker who no longer has a ghost to chase at the Gtech.
