Development Squad Manager Jon De Souza thinks his side need to improve in possession after their 2-1 victory over Maidenhead United at York Road on Tuesday night.
Jon’s side, which was made up of a mixture of Development Squad players, Youth Team players and trialists, took the lead on the stroke of half-time through Dereece Richards.
That lead was doubled early on in the second-half as Louis Hutton converted from the penalty spot after he had been fouled.
After going 2-0 behind the hosts threw everything at The Bees and set up a nervy ending when they netted with 10 minutes to go but Brentford managed to weather that storm to secure the win.
Speaking to Bees Player after the match Jon said he was pleased with his side’s physical and defensive work in the face of a determined opponent.
However, he felt that his side must be better in possession when their competitive season begins.
“I thought tonight’s performance was ok,” said Jon.
“I thought we were the better team but I don’t think that we did well enough.
“I think in the first-half we dominated the game in terms of possession but we didn’t play with enough quality or tempo in possession and there wasn’t enough creativity in possession.
“I was happy with the boys out of possession throughout the whole game.
“I thought when Maidenhead had the ball we pressed well.
“When we had the ball I thought our movement was very good but we didn’t have enough quality on the ball.
“Second-half once they nicked one it got quite competitive towards the end.
“Maidenhead are a first-team and they will be preparing to win three points on a Saturday.
“We have to compete with that and as you saw in the last half hour they certainly looked to try and get something out of the game.
“It was pleasing that Louis Hutton and Alfie Mawson got more minutes under their belt because fitness wise they are getting to a level.
“We will look to push them on further in the next week or so.
“Fitness wise we are where we want to be but quality wise we are not.”
Alongside the physical aspect of pre-season Jon thought Tuesday’s run-out was an excellent test for the mentality of some of his younger players.
The Bees were put under severe pressure in the closing stages as, with a small but very vociferous crowd roaring them on, Maidenhead threw everything at Jon’s side.
Rather than playing other Development Squad’s in pre-season, where the result is much less important, Jon feels it is a great experience to pit his team against semi-professional sides looking to win ahead of a new competitive league season.
“The last half-hour was great for them,” said Jon.
“There wasn’t a massive crowd here but they certainly livened up in the last 15 minutes and then once it went to 2-1.
“The pressure was on us and the crowd put the pressure on our players.
“That is part and parcel of first-team football.
“I was not sure if there were three or four hundred here today but in the first-team there will be eight or nine thousand.
“For those younger guys and even for guys like Manny and Alfie, who have already been out on loan, you have to get into the habit of winning games of football.
“When you are in the first-team and the manager and David Weir want you to win games of football, you have to go and win games of football for them.”
Jon’s starting XI included four trialists with another two joining from the bench.
The former Luton Town man did not think that his side’s lack of quality in attack came down to the high number of players playing together for the first time.
For Jon the trialists pre-season is broken down on a week-by-week basis with ones who impress being kept on for a further week and supplemented by new players.
Jon thought those on trial on Tuesday night did ok and said that he and the coaching staff would review their performance in the coming days and decide on their futures.
“If they get things wrong tactically then that comes down to them not having played with each other,” said Jon.
“When it comes to the ability to keep the football and move the football around the pitch and to be creative in possession I don’t think tactics or knowing your teammates comes into it too much.
“I thought the three or four trialists we had did ok.
“We will look at the video and go over things and see where we go from there.
“You assess them for a week and then anyone who does well you will invite them back in.
“We have had Aaron Greene in for three weeks now and one or two others will be returning back with us and we see where we go from there.”