Brentford were narrowly beaten 2-1 in their first competitive fixture of the 2023/24 season against Sutton United on Saturday morning at Aberdour School.

In a game which was impacted by poor weather conditions, the young Bees were forced into a scrappy affair which saw Sutton edge the victory.

Brentford fought back to level the match in the second half after the host’s took an early lead with Remy Bennison finishing off an excellent move, only for Sutton to strike late on and collect all three points.

The opening minutes of the game saw Brentford make a positive start as the side looked to make a statement early on in what was their first league fixture of the season.

Ollie Shield showed some good work on the left flank as the winger played a neat ball into a trialist whose cut-back cross fell to Kaya Halil but the number eight’s shot drifted wide of the post.

Despite some early pressure from the visitor’s, it was Sutton who opened the scoring on 13 minutes when Joden Trickett’s deflected shot from just inside the box left Connor Wolfheimer with no chance as the ball flew into the back of the net.

The young Bees displayed a good response following the early Sutton goal, Halil, who was one of 13 Brentford U18s signings in the summer, looked sharp in the middle of midfield in the opening half.

Halil put in a solid display for Brentford

Lydia Bedford saw her side come close just before the break when a deep cross from Omaru King found the head of Shield who was lurking at the far post but his effort went just wide.

The second 45 minutes proved to be more of the same with Brentford controlling the majority of the ball but struggling to break down a tough Sutton outfit who looked to exploit the Bees with their direct style of play.

Wolfheimer made a stunning save for Brentford 10 minutes after the interval after Sutton winger Vinnie June found himself one on one with the shot-stopper but the keeper's strong hand kept the score line at 1-0.

Bedford made a variety of changes as Bedford used all but one of her substitutes in the second half as her side pushed for a leveller.

The introduction of Emeka Peters on the left flank proved to be a positive one, the former Fulham winger’s movement allowed Bennison to find himself in space down the channel.

It was the left-back who scored the equaliser for the young Bees on 70 minutes, the move started with Shield battling hard in the centre of the pitch before finding Halil who fed the ball into an unmarked Bennison on the left wing allowing the Brentford number three to drive forward before smashing the ball across goal and into the bottom corner.

Bennison's strike levelled the score line for the young Bees

Bedford’s team seemed to have a spring in their step following the well worked goal as the side began to play some good football despite the wet and windy weather conditions that remained throughout.

With the home team remaining a threat through the height and physicality that their side possessed a late finish from Sutton substitute Camron Grant, who got on the end of a deep cross saw Brentford end their league opener in defeat.

Lydia Bedford encouraged by young side

Having watched her team in competitive action for the first time, Bedford felt her side played the better of the football but didn’t create enough chances to win the game.

She explained: “The weather didn’t help either team today, I feel we looked the better of the two teams when we got the ball down and probably had more possession overall, but we weren’t ruthless enough in the final third.

“Sutton were very direct in terms of their play which creates a different challenge for the players to play against, but this is good for their development.”

With 13 new players coming into the U18s set-up from the beginning of June, the side have spent recent weeks still getting to know each other on and off the field. Although disappointed to lose the game, Bedford was pleased with some of the patterns of play she saw and felt there were some positive signs from her side.

Lydia Bedford remained positive despite the result

“There were moments where you could see some of the work we have been doing in training coming out on the pitch,” said Bedford.

“I think once they got used to the surface you could see some of the combination play starting to appear especially in the second half, but Sutton spent a lot of time slowing the game down which halted our momentum.”

Bedford’s team will face their next challenge on Saturday 12 August when they travel to Stevenage to take on their U18s in the second South East Youth Alliance League game of the new campaign.

The head coach says she is looking forward to what will surely be another tough encounter for her side.

She said: “I’m sure everyone will be up for next Saturday, especially after the result today I will be looking for a reaction from the players and hopefully they can step up. We had a couple of lads missing today so it would be nice to get them some minutes as we are still finding our feet as a team.”