The Premier League beckons for Brentford, words that had never been uttered before, marking a 74-year wait for top-flight football.
Thomas Frank’s side ran out comfortable 2-0 winners over Swansea City in the Wembley sunshine on Saturday, to put behind the previous season’s heartbreak.
They also were successful via the play-offs at the 10th attempt, having previously lost four finals.
Record-breaker Ivan Toney set the Bees on their way with a 10th-minute penalty after Swansea keeper Freddie Woodman took out Bryan Mbeumo.
Emiliano Marcondes’ neat finish after a superb counter-attack doubled the Bees’ lead and after Jay Fulton’s second-half red card, Brentford were all but there.
The routes to the Championship play-off final
Brentford came into the final with plenty of confidence having completed a stunning turnaround against Bournemouth to win 3-2 on aggregate.
Swansea’s route to the final was somewhat more comfortable, despite the close aggregate score of 2-1.
Brentford named the same side that completed the second-leg turnaround against Bournemouth, with midfield maestro Christian Norgaard only fit enough for the bench.
Swansea made one enforced change, with Wayne Routledge, forced off in the second leg being replaced by Connor Roberts, playing in a more advanced role.
With both national anthems played, and 5,000 fans from each club waiting nervously and eagerly, referee Christopher Kavanagh blew for kick-off.
Brentford the better side from the get-go
Brentford were on the front foot from the get-go, and it only took them 10 minutes to make the breakthrough.
Ben Cabango allowed Mbeumo to run through, Woodman had raced out and wiped out the Frenchman.
The referee had no hesitation and pointed to the spot for a Brentford penalty.
The coolest penalty taker around at the moment made no mistake and Toney showed why he has scored the most goals in a Championship season.
Things got even better on the 20th-minute mark after a superb counter-attacking move.
From a Swansea corner Mbeumo charged down towards goal, before spotting Mads Roerslev on the overlap who – after some neat hold up play – found Marcondes on the opposite side who fired home first time.
Just minutes after the goal, Toney could have put the seal on things before half-time with what would have been one of the great Wembley goals.
Sadly, his superbly struck volley smashed against the crossbar and bounced to safety.
Brentford saw out the remainder of the first half without problems, and knew they were just 45 minutes from history.
Swansea unable to reply in the second half
Swansea stepped up the chase to get back into the game, and their best chance came when Roberts’ cross met Andre Ayew who could only glance his header wide.
The contest was then all but settled after Fulton’s contentious red card for a foul on Mathias Jensen.
With that, Brentford had done it, and ended years of play-off heartache to reach the promised land of the Premier League.
From the final whistle there was a mixture of emotion and delight from the players, staff and fans from west London.
The Bees can now look forward to trips to Manchester United, Liverpool and Manchester City.
Meanwhile for Swansea, they face another year in the Championship, and a potentially tough one where they look set to lose key players.
Either way, it has been a bonkers Championship season, proving once again why it is one of the world’s most entertaining leagues.
By Josh Mann
