Brentford B head coach Neil MacFarlane was left proud of his young side as they took on the Ukraine national team at the Cherry Red Records Stadium on Thursday.

The young Bees were beaten 2-0 by the international side in what was a brilliant learning experience.

Following the match, MacFarlane said: “In the history of the B team that will be as higher level of game that we’ve ever come across. To play against Ukraine’s national team was an exceptional game for our young players, aided by Pontus (Jansson) and Josh (Dasilva) who dropped down from the first team to help what was a terrific performance and an unbelievable effort from us. We lost a goal in both halves and they changed their team for the second half. We were relentless in our out of possession work in the first half and we lost a goal from a corner kick which was disappointing. In the second half we were really compact and in the last 20 minutes I think they showed a lot of class and cut us open a couple of times.

“Ben (Winterbottom) made a couple of terrific saves but we had flashes ourselves and had opportunities from open play and we had set plays where we could have scored ourselves. It was a monumental effort and one of the hardest games that our B team will ever come across. I’m proud of the players and everyone at the club should be proud for them for the way they have taken on the game. It was an amazing game and we wish Ukraine all the best moving forward.”

The side were also able to welcome club captain Pontus Jansson as well as midfielder Josh Dasilva into the team for the game as they built minutes during the international break. Discussing adding those players into his side, MacFarlane felt they made a difference and helped the young players.

He continued: “The level of experience, the level of communication, the drive within them is first class. It rips through our club. We have something special with this group of young players. Yes, we didn’t win the game but in terms of development you can’t get better than that. We’ve had the Atlantic Cup, we’ve played against the South Korean champions, the Swedish champions and we’ve taken it up another level here. I think the group should be hugley proud of themselves.

“Everybody knows their roles without the ball. We work on it at the training ground, so we know what we’re going to do out of possession. In possession they know their roles as well but within their roles they need to show that level of responsibility and freedom to go and make things happen and on occasions I think we did today. Even when we play against teams at the highest level, we go in with a mindset to perform and try to win the game.”

Pontus Jansson featured for the B team

Reflecting on the unique opportunity to play against Ukraine, MacFarlane also added that the club has been pleased to welcome the team as they have trained at Jersey Road as they prepare for their European qualifying match with England on Sunday.

He continued: “Ukraine is a country which has been through so much. It’s a pleasure to have them at Jersey Road for training as they prepare for their game on Sunday. For them to ask Brentford B to play against them I think tells us where we are as a B team and where the club is at in general. We wish them all the very best, it was an amazing occasion.”