Brentford B Head Coach Neil MacFarlane praised a clinical display from his side as they overcame Aston Villa Under-21s with a 3-1 win on Wednesday evening in the Premier League Cup.

The side are top of Group D following two wins in the competition as they overcame a Villa side at Bodymoor Heath who saw a lot of the ball, but the Bees were resilient in defence as well as ice cold in attack with two goals from Alex Gilbert and one from Kyreece Lisbie.

Discussing the match, the B Team Head Coach said: “I thought it was an outstanding game of football. Credit to both teams who put so much into that 90 minutes. I’m delighted for the group to come out with the winning result because I think it was deserved overall.

“I thought that we didn’t really start too fast, but we grew into the game. We took a real boost from the opening goal, a great goal, we went on the front foot. It was a terrific pass from Tristan (Crama), a great run from Trev (Ryan Trevitt), and a good finish from Alex (Gilbert). That gave the boys a real lift and I think we dominated towards the end of the first half. Second half was a different type of game where we were in the low block and looking to counter, but we looked a real threat in that respect and that got us more goals. The whole team were outstanding without the ball, especially in the second half and we were a real threat.

On Alex, who scored his ninth and tenth goals of the campaign, MacFarlane praised him for another impressive display. “He (Alex) was really clinical. All you can ask of your forward player is to score and he is doing that every game,” said MacFarlane. “That front three of Alex, Trev and Yehor (Yarmoliuk) have been a real potent force but ably aided from behind. I thought that every single player gave their max tonight, and you need to do that in these types of games where they are intense, but really enjoyable.”

There was also a special mention for full back Charlie Farr, who made a return to his old club where he spent many years coming through the ranks. Having recovered from a long-term injury, MacFarlane is delighted to see the fruits of his hard work over the past year to return to full fitness.

He continued: “He was outstanding, and he’s been that since he came in. The group are giving absolutely everything, individually and as a team. You can’t ask any more of them as a coach, but I’m really pleased for Charlie, to come back here, a player who has had a long time out through injury but has got better and better with us. He put on an outstanding display defensively but also got forward and almost scored.”

The Bees were also able to give Michael Olakigbe his first minutes since he arrived at the Club. The youngster has recovered from injury and came on as a second half substitute to help the side over the line in the game. MacFarlane says it was good to see him build minutes and is excited to see what he has to offer.

He said: “They were important minutes for him, he’s behind the group in terms of fitness levels because he’s coming back to us. You can see his quality and he’ll add a lot to the group in that respect. Once we bed him in in terms of the tactical side of it and the work ethic which is ripping through the group, I know he’s got it in him. He’s a brilliant addition to the group.”