Brentford aiming Carabao silverware

Thomas Frank had found room for four Danes in the starting line-up when his Brentford team had to try to play on in the Carabao Cup against Stoke.

Although the home team is placed in the better half of The Championship, one could sense the level difference between the two teams from the start. Ivan Toney was incredibly close to bringing the visitors ahead after a few minutes and 20 minutes later the lead goal came then.

Stoke did not get a corner kick good enough and Toney was able to put the ball away to Sergio Canos, who from the edge of the box blasted the ball into goal for 1-0 for Brentford.

The visitors continued to dominate the game, and five minutes before the break, they also extended their lead. Stoke threw the ball away on their own half of the pitch and two passes later it lay at the feet of a completely free Toney in the home side's field. The striker finished crunch dry in the short corner, and then it was 2-0, which was also the score at the break.

Brentford came out of the break and continued to drive on, and after five minutes Mathias Jensen should have made it 3-0 as well. Tony's finish was only half clear by the home team's goalkeeper, and the return smoked right into the feet of the Dane close to goal. Jensen went for the long corner, but his finish got too much and went past.

Against play and chances, Stoke managed to get reduced to 2-1 after 59 minutes. A corner kick created great disorder in the penalty area with a goal nearly scored by Romaine Sawyers.

It seemed that the goal gave the home team faith in things. They started to take over more and more of the game and 17 minutes before time they were also close to being rewarded with an equalizer. Abdallah Sima put the ball on a plate for him and instead of hitting it with his right foot it cannoned of his left shin wide of the goal.

Five minutes before time, however, Brentford should have settled the match. Toney was sent through alone, but one-on-one with Josef Bursik failed the otherwise sharp striker. The Englishman tried to chip the oncoming goalkeeper, but he did not get enough air during the finish, which instead sat right on Bursik.

In overtime, it was then Tarique Fosu's turn to stand alone with Bursik, but once again the Stoke goalkeeper won the duel. Fosu tried with a flat finish in the short corner, but Bursik delivered a good foot parade.

The big burners, however, did not cost Brentford, who managed to keep the 2-1 lead until the final whistle.