Brentford B head coach Neil MacFarlane praised the response from his young side as they came from behind twice to beat Erith & Belvedere 3-2 away from home on Tuesday evening.

The young Bees conceded early in both halves but battled back to progress to the third round of the competition with goals from Lucias Vine, Kyreece Lisbie and Michael Olakigbe in stoppage time.

Discussing the win over an in-form Erith side, the B Team head coach said: “I thought it was a thrilling cup tie and a brilliant way to start 2023. We have put a lot of work in since the Christmas period on the training ground waiting on the game. We delivered to the players before the game how tough it would be in difficult conditions on a difficult pitch. No matter what league you’re in, you’re going to be full of confidence when you’re on such a winning run.

“We gave them a leg up in the game early doors from a corner. Our response was magnificent, and we created so many chances over the course of the evening. We got back in the game, we spoke about their threat at set plays and how we had to be switched on but we conceded at the start of the second half. We succumbed to a long throw which put us behind again and they slowed the game down.

“I was thrilled with the way we kept going, kept passing the ball properly and kept creating opportunities. We never became frustrated with any part of the game and we got the goal at the death. Our subs made an unbelievable impact and that’s what we want, everyone pushing each other and keep helping the group move forward because we had a brilliant 2022 and we just want to keep getting better in the new year.”

MacFarlane was keen to recognise the contributions of the substitutes on the night who all added their own positive elements to the game as the Bees searched for a way back into the match in rainy conditions at Park View Road.

He continued: “No matter what change in the shape or personnel I thought the response was incredible. We were on the front foot through Max Dickov, Romeo (Beckham), Kyreece (Lisbie), Byron (Wilson), all of them were making big impacts, J’Neil (Bennett) too when he moved position. We kept going and when it’s difficult to break teams down in late stages in the game we just kept pushing them back and we had a little bit of luck on the last goal, but we kept going with our quality.”

The match provided new signing Romeo Beckham with the opportunity to get his first minutes in a Brentford shirt as he looked threatening down the right hand side with some dangerous crosses and he also had a header hit the top of the cross bar.

Discussing Romeo’s first 35 minutes or so in a Brentford shirt, MacFarlane said: “Romeo really drove us forward in the wing back position. He created some really good moments for us with some terrific deliveries. He had an opportunity to score as well and I was thrilled with him and the group in general for keeping on the front foot. We never gave up and we got through.”