Brentford B head coach Neil Macfarlane was left delighted with his side as they rounded off their group stage campaign in the Premier League Cup by sealing top spot as they now look to the knockout rounds.

The side beat Aston Villa 3-2 at the Laithwaite Community Stadium on Friday night with goals from Ryan Trevitt, Yehor Yarmoliuk and Alex Gilbert in what was another assured performance.

“I’m ecstatic for the group,” said MacFarlane. “They have put a lot into this Premier League Cup and to finish top of the group with 15 points is a fantastic achievement. Along the way we have put in some unbelievable performances and tonight was no different.”

The Bees got the opener on 20 minutes when Trevitt swept home in style following a corner. MacFarlane was keen to praise the well worked goal as well as the continued fantastic form from the 19-year-old.

He continued: “It’s an integral part of the game and for young players looking to make a career in the game, set pieces is a huge part of it. We want to keep improving on that, it was a terrific, well worked goal and it was an outstanding finish from Ryan. He’s got great composure when it comes to those moments and he’s on such a trajectory at the club. He’s been outstanding over the course of the season, up training regularly with the First Team and playing well when he comes back to us.”

The young Bees were able to welcome Aaron Hickey into the fold as he continues his recovery from injury. The defender grabbed 60 minutes of game time whilst B Team graduates Fin Stevens and Matthew Cox also earned important minutes against Villa. On the relationship with the First Team, MacFarlane was pleased to give those players minutes in a high level test which will serve them well.

“It’s worth mentioning Aaron Hickey, Fin Stevens and Matt Cox who came down from the First Team with an outstanding attitude, and they complemented what we have here,” said MacFarlane.” We ended 2022 in an outstanding position and we’ve started this year really well too. It’s something we should be proud of. The level of intensity, this was a high-level game tonight with both teams pushing each other and showing some outstanding quality throughout. We came out on the right side of the result. The most important thing is the attitude and the application was, as always, really high. The work ethic was incredible and it led to a terrific performance and a good win.”

The game also saw Ukrainian midfielder Yarmoliuk net his first B Team goal as he finished with composure to make it 2-0. The B Team head coach was pleased to see him take a positive step forward as he continues to impress.

He explained: “He’s (Yarmoliuk) been craving goals and he’s mentioned it to us a couple of times. He went away on international duty and scored. Along with Ryan he’s been up training with the First Team which is pleasing, and we can see a really good, young player in him.”