Brentford B head coach Neil MacFarlane felt his side’s 3-2 win over Manchester City’s Elite Development Squad was a fitting tribute to Robert Rowan at the Gtech Community Stadium on Friday evening.

In the first ever Robert Rowan Invitational the Bees came back from 2-0 down to win the match 3-2 with a header from Tristan Crama adding to earlier strikes from Nathan Young-Coombes and Michael Olakigbe.

In front of 3,500 spectators with all proceeds going to Heart of West London, MacFarlane reflected on a special night for his group and the club as a whole. He explained: “For what the night meant, a man in Rob who put the building blocks in place for a lot of this project that we are here today trying to deliver and trying to make better year after year.

“I said last week that it was a culmination of hard work over the last few years for this special group to win the Premier League Cup, and then to do it tonight in such a fitting occasion in front of unbelievable support creates an amazing experience for the boys which rounds of a breath-taking season.”

The young Bees went behind to two City strikes in the first half, and despite being behind to one of the most talented youth sides in the country who were recently crowned Premier League 2 Division One champions, MacFarlane said he had full trust in his side to find a way back into the game.

“I have massive trust in the boys, so much belief in them in what they deliver on a daily basis and in matches during what has been a really testing fixture programme this year which has stood us in good stead from all the tough opponents we’ve come up against," said MacFarlane. “Tonight was a tough opponent, a side that has won the last three Premier League 2 titles and a number of their players who played week in, week out on that success. They’re a top side, really good in possession. We knew what we were going to come up against, and though it’s a hard game for us, we know it’s a hard game for the opposition too because of the way the boys approach it and the spirit and quality they have.

“I thought we started well, we played on the front foot and caused them a few problems with some good chances to open the scoring. They scored a terrific goal from the edge of the box to go 1-0 ahead and I think we lost a little bit of confidence at that point and they started to dominate the ball towards the end of the half. They got the second goal which I thought was a little bit unlucky with the ricochet into the box, but the mentality of the group was incredible and the response sensational. Our first goal, when you look back at it, is terrific build up play, passing and movement and a great finish from Coombsey (Nathan Young-Coombes). That threat from the far side on the left with Michael cutting inside saw him cut in and score an unbelievable goal to make it 2-2.”

On Olakigbe, who scored a stunning goal from range to round off his debut campaign with the young Bees, MacFarlane believes he has brilliant potential and all at the Robert Rowan Performance Centre will continue to aid his development.

He continued: “He’s a terrific talent with so much potential. We have to keep developing that, keep improving him. When he comes back for pre-season that’s exactly what we’ll look to do. I’ve said this many times after matches this season, it’s so difficult to single out any individuals because you could run through the whole group tonight- also the subs who came on and even lads that haven’t played or been out on loan and come back to support the group. We have something special here and long may that continue.”