Brentford Under-21s beat Colchester United Under-21s 4-1 at the Gtech Communtiy Stadium on Saturday afternoon in the Professional Development League.
A first-half double from Ethan Laidlaw put the Bees in control before Colchester quickly pulled one back after the restart, despite playing more than 70 minutes with 10 men. Michel Boni then scored a late double to give Sam Saunders’ team all three points.
The Bees started quickly when Riley Owen placed a delightful ball into the path of Laidlaw, whose touch to get the ball out of the air and a calm finish matched the quality of the pass to make it 1-0 inside six minutes.
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Joseph Wheeler-Henry went close on 12 minutes after some excellent skill, but saw his shot blocked, before Owen and Laidlaw linked up again and the latter headed just over after another perfect cross.
Moments later, Boni stung the palms of a diving Oscar Roberts after a marauding shot from Theo Mawene allowed the striker to unleash a left-footed shot from the edge of the area.
Things went from bad to worse for the visitors when Maxwell McKnight brilliantly outplayed Boni, who was brought down by Olufela Abidekun in the 17th minute.
The Colchester defender was sent off and the referee pointed to the spot to give Laidlaw the chance to double his tally for the day, which he did with aplomb, slotting into the bottom right corner.
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Sam Saunders’ side were firmly in the driving seat and almost got a third when a Wheeler-Henry cross was parried away by Mawene, whose improvised volley was cleared off the line with the slightest touch.
Kaion Lisbie was the first Blue and White to trouble Reggie Rose, who blocked the winger’s shot with his feet after an intricate dribble into the box late in the first half.
Conor McManus headed in from Owen’s corner and Rose held on to Kai Martin’s shot as the half drew to a close with the west Londoners two goals ahead.
However, the young U’s were not out of the game yet as they pulled one back five minutes after the restart when Martin slotted the ball into the top corner from a tight angle to make it 2-1.
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Brentford had the next good chance of the game in the 60th minute when Owen’s floated free-kick was headed towards goal by captain Josh Stephenson, but Roberts did well to tip the ball under the bar.
Rose was called into action three minutes later and made a great save by diving to his right as James Sasere’s header flew into the bottom corner.
Boni then came within inches of restoring the two-goal lead, heading to the crossbar from close range after another excellent pass from Wheeler-Henry from right back.
Chances came and went for both sides when Martin curled a free-kick just over the bar which took down Rose.
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With 10 minutes left, Brentford made their man advantage count when Boni slotted in from close range to seal the win after a pinball in the penalty area.
The forward then scored his 13th of the season, closing down the goalkeeper in the final minutes of the game and deflecting the ball into the empty goal.
A good win to bounce back from the midweek defeat for Saunders’ side, who are next in action against Millwall Under-21s on Friday 6 March (1pm kick-off).
Brentford: Rose, Wheeler-Henry, McKnight, Stephenson, McManus (Honor 86), Grey, Owen, Mawene (Redknapp 81), Laidlaw (Asemokhai 86), Boni, Picotto (Pierre 73)
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Substitutes: Wolfheimer
Reserved: McKnight 70
Colchester: Roberts, Faux, Musanhi, Abidekun, Baldwin (Henry 63), Harvey, Lisbie, Oni (Akor 63), Sasere (Ingram 86), Martin, Gordon (Clark 77)
Substitutes: Ingram, Parker
Expelled: Abidekun 17