And now for the Championship.

Brentford 3 Exeter City 0.

Report by JIM LEVACK

Saturday 1 May 1999.

BRENTFORD'S exciting young lions exorcised the demons of last season by winning promotion in style at the first attempt on Saturday. The agony of Bristol '98 was a dim memory as Ron Noades's rebuilt side continued their 14- game unbeaten run to march into the Second Division. They did it with two games left, sparing long suffering Bees fans the usual end of season palpitations. But then this Brentford side has been purpose-built with a higher grade of football in mind, and in the last three months as they have gelled, it has shown. Many doubted Noades and coach Ray Lewington when they vowed to play their way out of the basement to their credit, they never once deserted that principle. By the time Robert Quinn, Andy Scott and Scott Partridge had taken Brentford to a relatively stress free 3-0 win, all that was left was the waiting. For five minutes the near 7,000 Bees crowd waited for news of Scunthorpe from Cardiff's Ninian Park - then it came through 0-0. The Bees were up. The triumphant squad re-emerged to dance their way around the pitch but nowhere was the feeling of elation more palpa- ble than in the stands. The players deserved their glory, not least for the way they managed to shrug off an early season superiority complex but also for some at times superb passing football. For the supporters forced to watch helpless as the heart was ripped out of their club last season, this promotion from a league they should never have been in tasted sweet. It means Brentford are back with a squad of young players who can only improve. The outcome of the Griffin Park end of the promotion equation never really looked in doubt from the time Andy Scott stabbed home the Bees' second goal on 47 minutes. Skipper Paul Evans, the bedrock of the promotion charge and only overlooked for player of the season because of his short time at the club, got the ball rolling. His 35-yard free kick rebound- ed off the Exeter wall as far as Quinn, who pounced on the loose ball on the edge of the area to score before the keeper could even move. But the goal failed to calm the nerves as Brentford continued to look slightly edgy, no one player wanting to make the mistake that might cost the team. The unease let Exeter mount raid down the left which ended with Andy Woodman saving Geoff Breslan's rising drive at the second attempt. The visitors' Jon Gittens snatched a half chance just wide on the half hour before the Bees began to regain their composure as the half wore on. Andy Scott, who has proved his critics wrong with some solid and versatile displays, battled through two challenges to tee up Scott Partridge whose first time angled drive was parried to safety. Two minutes after the break the Devion outfit were sunk, Partridge - as much a catalyst in the promotion surge as Evans squirming free on the right. His low cross found a City defender's hand, but the ball ran on to Scott who rammed it home. Partridge, whose holding play will be so vital next term, almost made it three minutes later but chose to take on the keeper rather than loft it over him. Hermann Hreidarsson, booked for trying to leap over a falling Exeter defender, was lucky to stay on the field following a two footed challenge on 56 minutes. Warren Waugh capitalised on a rare Darren Powell dither to fire wide before Partridge put the game beyond doubt with the pick of the bunch. A free kick from deep found Scott who drifted across his man to head on to Partridge, who fired into the net with a coolly taken side-footed volley from 15 yards out. Substitute Derek Bryan, on for the hobbling Lloyd Owusu, bob- bled a shot just wide as the game drifted towards its conclusion. All that mattered then was the score from Wales, and for once Lady Luck smiled on the Bees. Even the normally sanguine Noades struggled to suppress a smile afterwards, but tellingly his thoughts were still on the title he is, after all, a winner. Whether he wants to stay on and win with Brentford though, remains to be seen. He refuses to be drawn on the subject, insisting, probably with some justification - that if we lose three games the fans will be after me'. Brentford supporters, like them all, are a fickle bunch – but they deserve an unequivocal statement of Noades's intent. If he pledged his future to the club then that would surely be cause for a double celebration promotion and a stable, bright future. After all, he can't say he isn't enjoying it at Griffin Park - his promotion jig gave that the lie. But he clearly has one eye on the new ground situation and if the council drags its feet at any stage of the process, it could be a huge opportunity lost for the borough-and the club.

BRENTFORD (1) 3 EXETER (0) 0
Quinn (12) Scott (47) Partridge (71)

BRENTFORD
Woodman, Boxall, Anderson, Hreidarsson (Oatway 83), Powell, Mahon (Rowlands 79), Scott, Quinn, Owusu (Bryan 76), Partridge, Evans.

Bookings: Anderson, Hreidarsson.

EXETER
Potter, Curran, Power, Holloway, Richardson, Gittens, Fry, Rees, Flack, McConnell (Wilkinson 61), Breslan (Waugh 61). Sub(s) not used: Gale.

Bookings: Gittens, Rees, Waugh.

Referee: W Jordan (Wilstone).

Attendance 6977