Brentford goalkeeper Mark Flekken’s remarkable denial of Wolves’ Pedro Neto has been named Castrol’s Save of the Month for February 2024.
Flekken joined Brentford from Freiburg at the start of the 2023 summer transfer window and continued his recent fine form in the Bees’ 2-0 win at Wolves in February.
The Bees secured victory thanks to goals from Christian Norgaard and Ivan Toney, but they also needed a helping hand from Flekken at the other end to keep out what looked like a certain goal from Neto.
Brentford’s Mark Flekken has won the @Castrol Save of the Month award for February thanks to his incredible save against Wolves! 🐝👏 pic.twitter.com/YoN7Lv7PNu
— 90min (@90min_Football) March 8, 2024
Describing his save from Neto’s back-post header at Molineux, Flekken said: “It was a great cross from the right side. He [Neto] heads it really good down to the floor, gets a little bounce and luckily the goal post was there to help me a little bit.”
Flekken’s sharp left-handed save ensured Brentford took a 1-0 lead into half-time before Toney sealed the visitors’ victory with 13 minutes remaining.
After claiming Castrol’s award, Flekken added: “Yeah, it feels good. It feels good to be in a position where I can be that important to our team.
“I haven’t had the easiest first six months so it’s really nice to get a reward like this. Just hope to be able to keep putting these performances in.”
Flekken won the award over Wolves’ Jose Sa, Tottenham’s Guglielmo Vicario, Manchester United’s Andre Onana, West Ham’s Alphonse Areola, and Aston Villa’s Emiliano Martinez.
Brentford and Flekken return to action with a trip to title-chasing Arsenal on Saturday evening. The Bees were good value for a point in a 1-1 draw in this fixture last season, with Toney grabbing a crucial equaliser on that day.
