Youth Team manager Jeremy Steele was pleased with his side's battling qualities as they opened their Under-18 Professional Development League Two South campaign with a 2-1 victory over Millwall at Jersey Road on Saturday morning.

The Bees took the lead from the spot when Joshua Bohui was felled and Tom Field swept home left footed just after the quarter hour.

That lead last until four minutes into the second-half when Ebere Eze slalomed through Brentford’s defence before firing home low from 12 yards.

Jeremy Steele’s side got the decisive third goal of the game with ten minutes remaining as Seth Owens met Jeremiah Kamanzi’s corner and guided it into the bottom corner to secure the three points.

Speaking to Bees Player after the win Jeremy said he was very pleased with the overall performance of his team.

“It was a hard fought win,” said Jeremy.

“It was a bit of a battle but we came out on top.

“I thought for a little period of time we battled away but we were losing that battle.

“I thought we finished the game the stronger and I thought we have 35 minutes or so in the first-half where we passed the ball well, were exciting and looking like we were going to get a couple of goals.

“It was a great delivery by Jeremiah Kamanzi for the set-piece.

“He has been working on his ball-striking and his delivery was good all day.

“I thought Seth Owens was good to get the goal but I felt he deserved it for his defending.

“He was rock solid all game and his one v one defending was very good.

“Joshua Bohui was really lively.

“It was his first game with us in the Under-18s, stepping up from the Under-16s and I thought he did exceptionally well.

“Overall we were deserved winners.

“Millwall came back into the game and I thought we were excellent for 35 minutes in the first-half.

“They came back into the game, got the goal and then we were under the cosh for a while.

“Just before we got our goal I think we started to dominate a bit in the tackle and in the air.

“We came out on top and I didn’t think we were that fussed for the last 30 odd minutes.

“Jordan Carey came on in goal with Nik Tzanev getting a slight concussion and I don’t think he had a save to make.

“It was very pleasing.”

Last season Millwall did the double over The Bees winning 4-2 in South London before a 5-1 victory at Jersey Road.

It was a tough season for Jeremy’s side as they finished ninth in the league with only Swansea City below them.

Jeremy’s side won only seven of their 26 league games last season but the Youth Team manager thought the victory over Millwall on Saturday showed a corner had been turned.

While development of the players remains the overall aim of the team rather than results Jeremy believes that learning how to win scrappy games, like the one against Millwall, is a key part of their learning.

“This time last year we would have lost that game because we would have lost the battle,” said Jeremy.

“I think today it was scrappy and it wasn’t a perfect game of football with the crisp passing and the free-flowing football that we like to play.

“That doesn’t happen every day in football because it is not perfect conditions every week and you are not up against the same opposition every week.

“In the end it called for the team to dig in and to win their individual battles and I thought they did that.

“The 11 who started and the three who came on all did extremely well to come out on top in that physical sense.

“Today it wasn’t the perfect game but they will have learnt a lot from the game.

“They will have learnt a lot from that process of trying to grind out a win which is what they did as a group.

“The team spirit in the camp will be improved by that and as we said last year, even though it is about performances, if you are winning games it will help with the development.

“The boys are happy, they are encouraged by the way that they are playing and they are happy to trust their teammates because they know their teammates are going to put in that effort for them.

“In terms of learning grinding out victories is as much a part of it as playing total football.”

The Bees next game is a trip to Barnsley next Saturday for the first of their nine games against the sides from the North division of the PDL Two.

Last season’s trip to South Yorkshire ended in a 3-1 win for the home side and Barnsley started the season with a 3-2 win away at Bristol City.

In nine games played last week between sides from the North and South division only one team from the South won their game with the North division sides coming out on top in four of the other eight games.

Barnsley, like The Bees, look to play fast attacking football and Jeremy thinks it will be a very different style of game from the game against Millwall.

Jeremy is looking for his side to adapt to the new challenge and impose their style of game on The Tykes and gain revenge for last year’s defeat.

“I looked at the results from last week’s games and the Northern teams dominated the Southern teams,” said Jeremy.

“I think there was only one team from the Southern league who won their game.

“It will be interesting to come up against those Northern sides and see the strength of them.

“It will be interesting to see how we get on against Barnsley in that sense but it will be another game and another learning experience.

“We will go in there with real confidence because the lads were good today in the sense of battling away but hopefully we can impose our style a little bit more against Barnsley.

“You have to win a battle at the start of every game to impose your style on the opposition but I thought, last year, Barnsley passed the ball extremely well but we were very unlucky to come out of the game losing 3-1.

“We are looking to get a bit of revenge there.

“They are a passing side and we are a passing side so I am expecting a technical game rather than the physical game that we had today.

“Again though the players need to adapt to whatever is in front of them.”