Brentford Under-21s beat Colchester United Under-21s 4-1 at Gtech Communtiy Stadium on Saturday afternoon in the Professional Development League.

A first-half brace from Ethan Laidlaw put the Bees in control before Colchester pulled one back quickly after the restart, despite playing more than 70 minutes with 10 men. Michel Boni then scored a late double to earn Sam Saunders' side all three points.

The Bees started in rapid fashion when Riley Owen clipped a delightful ball into the path of Laidlaw whose touch to bring the ball out the air and calm finish matched the quality of the pass to make it 1-0 on six minutes.

Joseph Wheeler-Henry came close on 12 minutes after an excellent piece of skill but saw his strike blocked, before Owen and Laidlaw linked up again with the latter heading just over after another inch-perfect cross.

Boni then stung the palms of the diving Oscar Roberts moments later after a marauding drive from Theo Mawene allowed the striker to let fly with a left-footed effort from the edge of the box.

Things went from bad to worse for the visitors as Maxwell McKnight slipped through Boni brilliantly, who was brought down by Olufela Abidekun on 17 minutes.

The Colchester defender was sent off and the referee pointed to the spot to give Laidlaw the opportunity to double his tally for the day which he did with aplomb, tucking into the bottom right corner.

Saunders' side were firmly in the driving seat and almost had a third as Wheeler-Henry's flashed cross was parried to Mawene whose improvised volley was cleared off the line by the slightest of touches.

Kaion Lisbie was the first in blue and white to trouble Reggie Rose, who blocked the winger's strike with his feet after an intricate dribble into the box late into the first-half.

Conor McManus headed over from Owen's corner and Rose held on to Kai Martin's effort as the half drew to a close with the west Londoners two goals to the good.

The young U's were not out of the game yet though, as they pulled one back five minutes after the restart when Martin squeezed the ball into the top corner from a tight angle to make it 2-1.

Brentford had the next good chance of the game on 60 minutes when Owen's floated free-kick was headed back across goal by skipper Josh Stephenson but Roberts did well to claw the ball away from underneath the crossbar.

Rose was called into action three minutes later and made a terrific save diving to his right as James Sasere's header flew towards the bottom corner.

Boni then went inches away from restoring the two goal cushion, heading onto the crossbar from close range after another excellent Wheeler-Henry delivery from right-back.

Chances came and went for both sides as Martin whipped a free-kick just over the bar which had Rose rooted.

With 10 minutes to play, Brentford made their man advantage count when Boni tucked home from close range to seal the victory after some pinball in the penalty area.

The striker then got his 13th of the season, closing down the keeper in the final minutes of the game and deflecting the ball into the empty net.

A good win to bounce back from midweek defeat for Saunders' side, who are next in action away to Millwall Under-21s on Friday 6 March (1pm kick-off).

Brentford: Rose, Wheeler-Henry, McKnight, Stephenson, McManus (Honor 86), Grey, Owen, Mawene (Redknapp 81), Laidlaw (Asemokhai 86), Boni, Picotto (Pierre 73)

Subs: Wolfheimer

Booked: McKnight 70

Colchester: Roberts, Faux, Musanhi, Abidekun, Baldwin (Henry 63), Harvey, Lisbie, Oni (Akor 63), Sasere (Ingram 86), Martin, Gordon (Clark 77)

Subs: Ingram, Parker

Sent off: Abidekun 17

Sam Saunders on 4-1 win at the Gtech

Sam Saunders said his side were excellent for two thirds of their 4-1 win over Colchester United Under-21s at the Gtech this afternoon.

"On the whole we were really good. The first 20 or 30 minutes were really high level," he said.

"Colchester had a few first team players inolved which gave our boys a boost as they want to be tested at as high a level as possible.

"We actually had more joy playing through them when they had 11 on the pitch, with 10 they frustrated us a bit.

"Two thirds of the game were really high level from us, and with the middle third there was work to do, but overall I'm really pleased with the boys."