Brentford B Head Coach Neil MacFarlane believes his side can take a great deal away from Tuesday’s test against AFC Wimbledon at Jersey Road.
The young Bees were narrowly beaten by the League Two side 1-0, but there were many aspects of the performance which were positive as they gave away very few chances and looked dangerous going forwards but for some smart stops by the Dons keeper.
“Many elements of our performance were really good, we played 3-4-3 and I thought in possession, after the first 10 minutes, some of our football was excellent, particularly down the right-hand side,” explained Neil. “In the second half we started really well and controlled the game which is what pleased me. We found it difficult to break them down, they were resolute and dropped back into a low block, but we kept going and kept going.
Neil MacFarlane post-AFC Wimbledon
“What’s been symptomatic of our pre-season games, we gave away a cheap goal, but we’re a team and we have to take the opportunities to go 1-0 up or 2-0 up otherwise you can be susceptible to losing a goal. It was an important 90 minutes for the boys to get under their belts.”
Neil was pleased with the honest, hard-working nature of his team on the day, and though they didn’t get the result they wanted, it is a brilliant learning experience tactically, as well as how to take on men’s opponents.
He said: “Towards the end when they had everyone behind the ball, we were really patient and created a couple of moments both from open play and the keeper made a fantastic save from Alex’s free-kick. We’ll get ready to go again.
“It will be exciting to see them (the players) develop. Over the last three days we have been working on this particular shape because we have to be flexible with the same principles and fundamentals that we always ask for. To see them apply that today was really encouraging and, in the weeks and months ahead, we will see the team grow.”
The young Bees now have their sights set on a more tests in the coming days as they face sides from Millwall and Bournemouth.
Neil continued: “We haven’t had enough games over the last fortnight, so we go again with a real quickfire games with Millwall and then Bournemouth next week and we’ll keep those coming. We’ll keep progressing as a team and keep improving.”