Brentford B progressed to the semi-finals of the Premier League Cup after an injury time penalty from Alex Gilbert ensured the 1-0 win over Arsenal Under-21s.

The B team put in a brilliant performance which saw them dominate the chances throughout, but they had to wait until the last minute of injury time to get the only goal of the game through a Gilbert penalty.

The young Bees have made quite the statement so far in this season’s competition winning five out of their six group games and overcoming a tough Middlesbrough Under 21s side in the round of 16.

Neil MacFarlane’s side got off to a good start with their first opportunity of the game coming in the opening minutes.

Kyreece Lisbie intercepted a stray Arsenal pass on the halfway line and drove forward on the left flank before playing through Michael Olakigbe who attempted to find the far corner from a tight angle forcing the save from Hubert Graczyk.

Arsenal were struggling to live with the Brentford press with the young Bees forcing the Premier League 2 side into making unforced errors in the opening stages.

Gilbert dispatched Matt Smith deep inside the Gunners' half before showing great feet as he glided past a couple of players finding his way into the box, the number 10 then swung his left foot at the ball with his effort going agonisingly wide of the post.

J’Neil Bennett looked lively on the right-wing putting Arsenal’s left back Lino Sousa under severe pressure at times with his direct runs and constant chasing of the ball.

Bennett put in a great performance for the young Bees

On 39 minutes the young Bees had another great chance to get themselves in front when Gilbert’s set piece from 30-yards out found Tristan Crama. The centre-back powerfully headed the ball towards goal only for Graczyk to make a great save ensuring the scoreline remained level.

Just a few minutes later another Brentford chance came and went following another Gilbert set piece from the same position.

This time it was Fin Stevens who got onto the end of the cross, but his flashed header went inches wide of the far post.

Seconds before the half-time whistle was blown, Gilbert had a great chance of his own when Olakigbe smashed the ball across the box with the Brentford skipper getting his foot onto the ball from point blank range, but Graczyk was there again to make another top save.

Trevitt has made 22 appearances for B team this season

Going into the break MacFarlane would have certainly been the happier of the two managers and his side were at it again moments after the break.

Bennett showed great composure to slip in Gilbert who made a good run behind the Arsenal defence before the forward passed the ball across the box, leaving Olakigbe to tap home into an empty net, unfortunately for Brentford they were denied by the linesman’s flag.

The Gunners were struggling to gain any type of advantage in the game and apart from a few stray shots on goal, they hadn’t created any clearcut opportunities an hour into the game.

The away side came closest on 68 minutes following a long-range free kick from Mauro Bandeira which looked like it was heading for the top corner, but Matthew Cox got across well to make a finger-tipped save.

Cox was solid when called upon for Brentford

Arsenal nearly profited from a Cox slip when Lisbie played the ball back to the goalkeeper but the keeper did well as he made a strong challenge on Bandeira to keep the ball away from his goal.

Brentford got their deserved goal right at the death on 94 minutes after Gilbert was brought down by Sousa inside the Arsenal box.

The captain showed an incredible amount of nerve as he stuttered before tucking his spot-kick home in confident fashion into the bottom left corner.

Gilbert was cool from the spot

The goal saw the B Team go through to the semi-finals in what is their first season in the competition as they now await the draw for the final four.

Brentford B: Cox, Stevens, Lisbie (90+4’ Farr), Adedokun, Crama, Oyegoke, Olakigbe, Trevitt, Gilbert, Bennett (90+4’ Dickov), Syla

Subs not used: Waruih, Yogane, Beckham

Booked: Stevens, Bennett, Olakigbe, Crama

Arsenal Under-21s: Graczyk, Walters, Sousa, Awe, Monlouis (64’ Lewis-Skelly), Smith, Cozier-Duberry, Cirjan (64’ Cottrell), Ideho (64’ Benjamin), Bandeira, Sagoe Jr

Subs not used: Jeffcott, Rojas

Booked:

Attendance: 516