EAGLE-EYED fans spotted Yoane Wissa’s “distraction technique” as Bryan Mbeumo converted a penalty after VAR drama.It took 66 minutes for the deadlock to be broken by Brentford in their London derby against Crystal Palace.Bryan Mbeumo missed his initial spot-kick but was given a retakeCredit: PAMarc Guehi was judged to have encroached by entering the DCredit: Sky SportsYoane Wissa started celebrating before Mbeumo took the shot on his second attemptMbeumo has now scored all nine of his Prem penaltiesCredit: ReutersThe Bees were awarded a penalty and Mbeumo stepped up – only to see his initial spot-kick hit the post and then be cleared by Marc Guehi.But the Palace skipper was judged to have encroached into the box before the effort was taken following a VAR check.Mbeumo was allowed to retake his penalty and he stepped up again, sending Dean Henderson the wrong way.His team-mate Wissa did not lose any belief in him despite his initial miss, having the confidence to start celebrating before he took his shot.READ MORE IN FOOTBALLFans noticed the striker running off to the Brentford fans in the away end with his arms up while Mbeumo coolly jogged up to the spot.Wissa avoided looking silly with his “distraction technique” as Mbeumo found a way beyond Dean Henderson at the second time of asking.Kevin Schade then headed home Brentford’s second before debutant Romain Esse got a consolation for Palace.On a wringing wet and damp afternoon in South London, the goals completed a first league double for the Bees over Palace for 69 years.Most read in FootballIt was the first time Palace had lost since a 5-1 thumping by Arsenal on December 21 and boss Oliver Glasner could only stand by the side of the dugout and sigh in the rain.One point and one place in the table separated these two London clubs pre-game, so it was clearly going to be a tight affair between two evenly-matched sides.But at least they are both looking upwards this season and, for the time being, not behind their shoulders like many had anticipated.Brentford’s No.1 Mark Flekken has made 101 saves in the Premier League this term, the most of any goalkeeper.And the stopper recorded 102nd when he brilliantly palmed away a stinging shot from Frenchman Jean-Philippe Mateta.Conditions were extremely tough, with driving rain straight from kick-off and for most of the afternoon, and a slippery surface underfoot.It meant that timing tackles was imperative, something that Bees centre-back Nathan Collins did to perfection when he managed to nick the ball off Eberechi Eze on 35 minutes with a sliding interception.It was a recovery tackle of the highest quality and though many drenched Palace fans screamed for a penalty, it was anything but that.In the second half, Palace needed Eze to take more control and assert his talent on this occasion.After being brought down recklessly by Vitaly Janelt, the English winger saw his free-kick deflect off the left hip of Sepp Van Den Berg and off the post with Flekken stranded.Brentford were awarded a penalty after Maxence Lacroix caught the shins of Collins but it came seconds after Will Hughes had been lucky not to be penalised for handball.For the first penalty, Mbeumo did a stop-start run-up but his left-footed strike hit the post and was then cleared by quick-thinking Guehi.However, VAR’s Darren England had noticed encroachment by Guehi before the effort was taken by Mbeumo.The Cameroonian forward made no mistake the next time, firing into the other part of the goal and cupping his hand to his ear as he ran off to the section of Brentford fans.It was his 14th league goal of the season and further showed why clubs are looking to sign him up this summer – if not before the February deadline day.Wissa was so confident his mate would score he was celebrating with both arms aloft before the spot-kick had even been taken.“F*** VAR” chanted the Palace fans but in this instance they had few complaints.Things got worse for them when Schade latched on to Mikkel Damsgaard’s delivery from the right but after making the connection, he also clashed with Richards.Both men, dazed and confused, felt the full impact of the collision and were rightly subbed off.READ MORE SUN STORIESPalace made it an interesting finale when substitute Esse scored on 85 minutes, converting at the back post when Daniel Munoz played it across goal from an Eze cross.With nine minutes allocated for stoppage time, Brentford had to maintain their concentration but while Collins did give away a silly free-kick with minutes to go, Palace did not have the ability to capitalise.Kevin Schade headed in Brentford’s secondCredit: GettyRomain Esse scored off the bench on his debutCredit: Getty More
