Flemming Pedersen’s Brentford B Team lost 5-2 to Villarreal B this afternoon at the Mini Estadi within the Club’s Ciudad Deportiva training facility.
Paco Lopez’s side, who play in the third division of Spanish football, were given a tough test despite the score line. The Bees matched their intensity for a good 75 minutes, before the 28-degree heat forced them to lower their guard.
Goals from Justin Shaibu and Reece Cole pegged Villarreal back twice, Jan Holldack also saw a penalty saved in the dying moments of the first half.
The hosts started as the meant to go on, patiently attacking with the ball in their possession. It didn’t take long before Ellery Balcombe was forced into two saves to prevent his opponents taking an early lead.
Brentford applied some pressure at the other end as well. A corner from the right was headed back across goal by Chris Mepham for Shaibu to flick on but it was saved. Shaibu was in again shortly afterwards, collecting Zain Westbrooke’s driven pass, but was once again thwarted by a goalkeeper with quick reactions.
Half an hour in, Villarreal broke the deadlock. Juan Ibiza escaped the attention of his marker at a corner kick, and was then able to nod the ball home unchallenged. They might have had a second in quick succession had Balcombe not been alert enough to get across to his near post when Javi Garcia struck from distance. The young stopper did well to push the shot back out and away from the strikers hoping to follow up on any loose balls.
Moments before the break, The Bees were handed a golden opportunity to equalise. Bradley Clayton did well to meet a pass from Holldack in the box, but he was then wiped out by goalkeeper Joan Femenías. Holldack stepped up to take the resulting penalty, which was saved and then cleared away to safety.
Despite this setback, The Bees started the second half brightly, determined to get back into the game. They did it through Shaibu with 58 minutes on the clock. James Ferry clipped a pass over the top of the defence, the substitute goalkeeper came sprinting out to meet it and the Danish forward raced in between them to poke the ball into the net.
The Yellows countered within a minute of the restart and found themselves back in the lead very quickly. A perfectly timed through ball split the visitors’ back four in two and zipped towards Carlos Martínez. He took one touch for control and then dinked it neatly into the back of the net.
Punctuated by a string of good saves by Balcombe, the next period of play mirrored that which had just come before it; a Brentford equaliser followed shortly by a response from Villarreal.
Substitute Reece Cole took it upon himself to grab one for his side. Breaking out of the centre of midfield, space seemed to open up in front of him as the defence backed off. Needing no further invitation, Cole took aim from the edge of the box and fired the ball into the bottom left corner.
The Submarine Reserves, as they are nicknamed, have Larrea to thank for regaining the advantage. Receiving the ball from 25 yards out, the midfielder hit a first-time shot that rocketed its way into the top left corner. The small crowd watching from the stands even stood up to applaud such an audacious finish.
Five minutes before the end, it was Brentford who this time conceded a penalty. Balcombe rushed out to meet an advancing forward, the striker nipped the ball away and was caught on the ankle as he passed. It was an easy decision for the referee, who pointed to the spot immediately, and an easy finish for Carlos Lopez as he sent the goalkeeper the wrong way.
With the game all but over, the heat taking its toll, Villarreal sealed the win. The fifth goal was a simply worked move down the right, the ball was cut across the box and Martínez was on hand again to sweep it home.
Brentford B Starting XI: Ellery Balcombe; Lukas Talbro, Chris Mepham, Jarvis Edobor, Tom Field; Jan Holldack, James Ferry, Zain Westbrooke; Herson Alves, Justin Shaibu, Bradley Clayton
Brentford B Second Half: Ellery Balcombe; Nathan Fox, Chris Mepham, Jarvis Edobor, Tom Field; Jan Holldack (sub Reece Cole 59 mins), James Ferry, Zain Westbrooke (sub Trialist 59 mins); Herson Alves (sub Ilias Chatzitheodoridis 70 mins), Justin Shaibu (sub Marc Río 78 mins), Bradley Clayton (sub Danny Parish 78 mins)