His opponent, clearly rattled, flashed a rather imploring look at the passing referee as he picked himself up but no whistle was forthcoming. No foul had been committed. Even so, the official still opted to seek out the Scottish centre-half at the next break of play and suggest he might tone down the aggression.

“C’est un match amical. Amical, ouais? Friend-ly.”

He was met with short shrift. As far as O’Connor was concerned, this was European competition.

To read the rest of Dominic Fifield’s feature on Brentford B, click here for the full article.

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Dominic joined Brentford B for the trip to France where they took on Bordeaux this week. He also spent time at the club’s Jersey Road training ground to speak with co-director Rasmus Ankersen, Brentford B Head Coach Neil MacFarlane, Sam Saunders, Allan Steele, Jan Zamburek, Mads Roerslev and David Titov as they discuss the B Team model and how it is evolving.