Brentford B ended their Atlantic Cup campaign with another win over an Allsvenskan side as they IFK Varnamo 4-2 in a penalty shoot-out.
Neil MacFarlane’s side fought back from an early IFK Varnamo goal to send the game to penalties after drawing 1-1 in 90 minutes thanks to an Ethan Brierley first-half spot-kick.
The young Bees headed into their final Atlantic Cup fixture full of confidence after pulling off a dramatic win against another Allsvenskan side in IFK Goteborg in their previous game.
MacFarlane named six changes to the side which beat IFK Goteborg on Wednesday night, with Reggie Rose, Caelan Avenell, Chanse Headman, Romelle Donovan, Ethan Laidlaw and Max Wilcox all being brought into the team.
Brentford didn’t get off to the start that they would have wanted to, despite controlling most of the ball early on, with the side finding themselves a goal down inside 10 minutes.
Axel Björnström dispossessed the Bees deep inside their own half before the full-back tucked his shot into the bottom corner.
The Swedish side were doing a good job at controlling possession and working the ball through the thirds well.
Donovan, who was making his Brentford debut, looked like the brightest spark for the Bees when they managed to have a spell on the ball.
The winger awarded Brentford a route back into the game just before the half hour mark when he was brought down inside the box and the referee pointed to the spot.
Brierley stepped up and showed composure as he sent Viktor Andersson the wrong way with his spot-kick.
The young Bees grew in confidence following their goal and instead of sitting back, they pushed forward in search of the lead.
Varnamo had the final chance of the half when they caught Brentford on the counter as Simon Thern approached the box and let off a shot with his effort going just wide.
The Allsvenskan side started the second half strong. Thern was at the heart of Varnamo’s attack, this time forcing a good save from Rose with his strike from distance.
Rose was called into action again just after the hour mark, making a strong save from a powerful shot to keep the scoreline level.
Brentford were forced to defend well at times but remained dangerous on the counter throughout.
The Bees probably had the best chance to win the game out of the two team when an excellent run from Headman ended with a great pass into substitute Adam Poliakov.
The U18 midfielder drove forward well with the ball but his effort was saved well by the experienced Varnamo keeper.
There was nothing between the sides in the 90 minutes with the game heading to penalties.
Brierley, Laidlaw, Avenell and Michael McSorley all scored from the spot with Rose also making a save as the young Bees claimed the win.
Brentford B: Rose, Avenell, Stephenson, Headman, Arthur, Owen (Fredrick 63), Donovan (McSorley 46), Brierley, Laidlaw, Wilcox (Poliakov 63), Williams
Subs: Grey, Trialist, Peters, Tavaziva
IFK Varnamo: V.Andersson, Rapp, Björnström, Kalu, Zeljkovic, Johansson, Bozicevic, Winsth, Thern, Grozdanic, Bilalovic
Subs: Keto, Larsson, H.Andersson, Johansson, Oliveria, Frej, Lohikangas, Alkaskadi, Leroux, Edgren, Ageiy, Rosander
Neil MacFarlane incredibly pleased with Atlantic Cup campaign
With his young Brentford side beating another Swedish top division team, B team head coach Neil MacFarlane couldn’t have spoken more highly of his team.