Ryan O'Donovan reports for BIAS on a confidence-restoring win.

The Bees once again showed why so many fans believe that they can challenge for the play-offs this season after beating Oldham Athletic, who seemed to be playing their very own version of Comic Book Guy from the Simpsons on the wing.

Scouser Adam Forshaw scored his first goal for Brentford in the 17th minute. Farid El Alagui managed to find the midfielder with more precision than a Predator missile does with its target, and the ex-Evertonian slotted the ball past ex- Liverpool keeper Dean Bouzanis, the keeper palming away thin air. 1-0 in the Battle of Merseyside, it would seem.

I’m still wondering how it wasn’t more. We seemed to once again control the game from start to finish – apart from that desperate defending in the last four minutes where it seemed we were recreating the Battle of Britain rather than playing football. But we held on, thankfully, for a well-battled three points.

Clayton Donaldson’s strong and peaceful runs seemed to strike fear and dread into the heart of the Oldham centre half more than Jaws does to Australian surfboarders every time they’re on the beach. I know people slate Donaldson but I think he is a superb player and it’s only a matter of time until he starts scoring. Just like it will be a matter of time before Andy Scott gets another job. Unfortunately.

Uwe Rosler stuck to his diamond formation, which included Forshaw, Jonathan Douglas, Tom Adeyemi and Harry Forrester. Admittedly, Forrester stole the show once again and proved why he was right to turn down those Dutch minnows, Ajax, for a move to the glitz and glamour of TW8. I’m sure he will have a large part to play this season, he is simply too good not to.

Elsewhere, Harlee Dean and Tony Craig started in the heart of the defence. Dean, the tower of pure muscle, was as solid as ever, smashing the Oldham strikers every time they challenged him for the ball.

Craig, on the other hand, made a few good headers and tackles, but seemed very nervous when he had the ball on the wing and sought out the New Road and Braemar Road stands more than a fan who was running late to the match.

The only reason I can see to as why Uwe prefers playing Dean and Craig rather than Dean and Legge is that the letter are very similar. It’s all well and good that they are both giants and probably would have been seen as Demi-Gods by ancient civilizations, but Craig is quicker on his feet. Uwe seems to like his centre backs to be able to dominate both aerially and on the ground. Sounds a bit like Blitzkrieg.

A very good point from the match was the inclusion of Ryan Fredericks. The on-loan Spurs star came on for Donaldson in the 71st minute and seemed to be very handy. He managed to skip past more defenders than Lionel Messi has ever done in his life and brought a good save out of Bouzanis (the rebound was smashed into the side netting by El Alagui). Hopefully we will get to see more of Fredericks as the season progresses, him and Forrester will prove very tricky for the defenders of League One.

A special mention must go out to the Brentford Football Club Community Sports Trust, who celebrated their 25th anniversary today with the special silver kit. I don’t know if it happened to anyone else, but in the first 20 minutes I struggled to get into the game. To me, it seemed like a foreign team playing against Holland (Oldham were sporting one of the worst kits I’ve ever seen). I know people don’t like our home kit this season, but I prefer seeing Brentford in the red and white stripes. Just a personal preference I guess. But I’d prefer my girlfriend to look the same everyday rather than change her appearance completely on our 25th anniversary. I’m sure you would too. Well, actually, maybe not.

All in all a very strong Brentford performance and a well deserved win. Let’s hope we can take this into what must be the biggest, and most difficult game so far against Tranmere. It will be our biggest test so far, and maybe of the season.

BEES: Simon Moore; Shaleum Logan (sub Leon Legge 76 mins); Harlee Dean; Tony Craig; Jake Bidwell; Adam Forshaw (sub Toumani Diagouraga 57 mins); Jonathan Douglas; Tom Adeyemi; Harry Forrester; Clayton Donaldson (sub Ryan Fredericks 71 mins); Farid El Alagui.

Unused Substitutes: Antoine Gounet; Kevin O’Connor; Sam Saunders; Paul Hayes.