Brentford take playoff place with Wigan Athletic win

Brentford booked their place in the Championship playoffs with a comfortable 3-0 win over already-relegated Wigan Athletic at Griffin Park this afternoon.

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Marc-Antoine Fortune and Gaetan Bong both tested David Button with fierce strikes from range inside the opening few minutes as the visitors started brightly.

They then had a goal ruled out when Fortune stroked home Bong's cross, only for referee Andy Woolmer to rule that the ball had gone out of play.

Brentford grew into the game and could have been ahead if Jason Pearce hadn't made a last-ditch tackle on Andre Gray as the striker prepared to shoot.

However, Mark Warburton's team did take the lead when Alex Pritchard's 30-yard free kick deflected off the wall and into the top corner of Lee Nicholls's goal.

Jota doubled his side's lead when he skipped into the Wigan box and fired low into the bottom corner within a minute of the restart.

However, Wigan came within inches of pulling a goal back almost instantly when Billy McKay's shot was blocked on the line by Jake Bidwell.

James Tarkowski then struck the frame of the Wigan goal after a melee in the box, before Andre Gray tucked the ball into the bottom corner after collecting Jota's clever reverse pass.

Tarkowski saw a late penalty saved by Nicholls, but Brentford had already made sure of the win that secures their playoff place.