Brentford B Assistant coach Sam Saunders says he was pleased to see the character of the side as they came from behind to beat Bedfont Sports 5-2 in the Middlesex Senior Cup on Wednesday.

The side fell behind early on before goals from Kyreece Lisbie, Isaac Holland, Michael Olakigbe, Roy Syla and Nico Jones put the side into the Third Round of the competition as they put in an impressive second half display.

Reflecting on the match, Sam explained: “It was good to get some minutes into some of the lads that probably haven’t been playing as much recently. It was good to get Michael some minutes as it was his first start since joining us so it was good to see him out there and get a goal which will do his confidence the world of good.

“It was a slack goal that we condeded, a disappointing one from our point of view. We knew we were expected to win tonight, and we knew that coming against a team on an astroturf pitch in a low block meant it would be hard to break them down. To give them a leg up made it difficult, but the boys showed some good character and responded really well.

“They showed some nice bits of quality, and we went in at half-time 2-1 up after missing a couple of chances as well. The half-time team talk was relaxed but myself and Neil felt the team could have been a bit sharper in the final third. We felt the majority of the team could raise it a few notches and to be fair in the second half they did really well, and it looked quite comfortable in the end.”

On the goal scorers Sam praised the good work from 17-year-old Isaac Holland and was pleased to see the likes of Syla and Jones get themselves on the scoresheet to take the game away from Bedfont.

“Isaac’s was a nice goal. He was a bit on the periphery of the game up until that, but he found himself inside. He’s so sharp and on the turn he’s so good and he’s pulled off a nice finish,” said Sam. “There were two rarities in goals for Roy Syla and Nico Jones so that was good to see. The boys are in great spirits, it’s a really good dressing room and they work so hard every day. We want to keep that run going.”

Of course, Tuesday evening saw another B Team player turn out for the First Team as Yehor Yarmoliuk made his debut in the Carabao Cup against Gillingham. The Ukrainian becomes the 25th player from the set up to make a debut for the side since the B Team was formed.

On Yehor, his development, and getting the call from the First Team, Sam explained: “We’re moving into the Robert Rowan Performance Centre soon and it’s quite fitting that we’ve got a debut so close to that. Yehor has done well like all the boys have. We also had more players on the bench, who on another day may have got some minutes, but it wasn’t meant to be. All they can do is keep working hard every day to give themselves the best opportunity for Thomas and the staff to see them and give them minutes. It’s fantastic for Yehor to get some minutes to show what he can do, he’s a talented player like a lot of the squad.”