Brentford B Head Coach Neil MacFarlane was left delighted with his side as they rounded off their stay in the north of the UK with a 5-1 win over a Hearts XI in Edinburgh.

The young Bees were up in Cheshire on Saturday to meet Sky Bet League Two side Crewe Alexandra where they won 5-1 before they headed north of the border for a short stay in Scotland where they went on to beat the Scottish side by the same score line in another impressive performance.

Reflecting on his side’s attacking prowess, the B Team Head Coach explained: “We scored different goals. On the press, a great cross from Max Dickov and we were just a real threat. We changed system to go 3-4-3 with players in the pockets and Alex Gilbert up top. Our wing backs also supported, and with the stability of the team, we were in really good fettle in the first half. We played some good stuff.

The side played a different formation to that of their win over Crewe as the Neil made three changes from the weekend as Max Dickov, Angel Waruih and Nico Jones all came into the side. He was left delighted with the side’s adaptability at this moment in time.

“We do a lot of work on the training ground and, no matter what system we play, with that attacking mindset we want to keep our principles and fundamentals that we work to,” explained Neil. “No matter what the system you could see today that our pressing was really good, especially in the first half. In the second half we got a little bit sloppy with the nature of the game and there are things we can continuously look to improve on. Overall, it’s been a really pleasing mini tour.”

The Scottish side provided a physical test for the young Bees with both sides on the receiving end of some strong challenges in real tussles across the pitch. Neil was pleased to see his side show their physical capabilities whilst they also provided some wonderful free-flowing football at times.

He continued: “That’s important for us because we want to be pushed, we want to be tested. There were some meaty challenges in there, but I thought they boys looked after each other really well and then when we played our football we were breathe taking in spells.”

The whole B Team group were able to get minutes across both games with Marley Tavaziva also making his debut for the B Team up at Crewe whilst he also got more minutes in Scotland. The 17-year-old keeper has been building the majority of his game time with Brentford’s Under-18 group but Neil was pleased to give the youngster some minutes.

He explained: “He’s played minutes in both games and we’ve been able to use the full array of the squad that we’ve had here. It’s important that we keep pushing because we want to keep raising the standards and never come off them in any way. We’re on an unbelievable vein of form but there’s definitely more to come and we want to keep striving for better.”

Reflecting on the time away from West London, Neil feels that the side are in fantastic shape as they head back to England with confidence ahead of their Premier League Cup game on Wednesday 26 November away at Aston Villa.

“It’s been brilliant to get the boys away for the first time this season, said Neil. “We had a terrific performance down in Crewe and we’ve had two really good training sessions here (in Scotland.) We’ve been able to spend some good time with the staff and players which is what these tours bring.

“The group is in a really good place at the moment and there is a terrific spirit. They’re demanding of each other, and we’ll be continuously demanding as a staff and we now look forward to the Aston Villa game in the Premier League Cup. We have great momentum, we’re confident and we’ve scored five goals at Crewe as well as here. We’ll never dip below the line of complacency.”