Keith Andrews defended his decision to rotate Brentford’s squad after they swept aside Championship side Birmingham City 6-1 to reach the third round of the EFL Cup.
Brentford made a strong start to the season by following their opening-day victory over Tottenham with a commanding performance at St. Andrew’s on Tuesday.
Callum Wilson put the visitors ahead after six minutes, finishing neatly into the bottom-right corner. Birmingham responded through Demarai Gray, whose long-range effort in the 23rd minute restored parity.
The game changed decisively in the closing stages of the first half. Aaron Hickey restored Brentford’s lead before Nathan Collins added a third within five minutes, giving Andrews’ side a firm grip on the contest.
Brentford continued to dominate after the interval, with Mikkel Damsgaard beating Ryan Allsop at his near post in the 70th minute. Substitute Igor Thiago then made it 5-1 three minutes later, converting Jaidon Anthony’s inviting delivery.
Captain Collins completed the scoring in the 77th minute when he headed Mamadou Sangare’s ball into the area into the bottom-left corner.
Only Collins, Dango Ouattara and Vitaly Janelt retained their places from the side that defeated Tottenham. Andrews, however, said the quality gap between his starting players and those on the bench was small.
“I didn’t really blink an eyelid, making so many changes,” Andrews said.
“There is a huge narrative around cup games with coaches making changes, but with the squad we have, there are fine margins between who plays and doesn’t play.
“We needed to compete really hard to play the game we wanted. I thought overall we had a really good performance.”
Anthony was Brentford’s most influential player, providing three assists. He also led the team for chances created, with four, and touches in the opposition box, with seven.
The result booked Brentford’s place in the draw for the third round, alongside Hull City, who progressed by beating Stoke City on penalties after their match finished 1-1 in normal time at the bet365 Stadium.
Robert Bozenik gave Stoke the lead in the 39th minute, but Kieran Dowell equalised soon afterwards. Hull goalkeeper Dillon Phillips became the decisive figure in the shoot-out, saving George Hirst’s penalty as Sergej Jakirovic’s side won 5-4.
Ipswich Town also advanced, defeating Leicester City 3-1. Russell Martin is still waiting for his first victory since becoming Leicester manager at the King Power Stadium.
The biggest surprise of the night came at Vicarage Road, where Watford were beaten 5-1 by League One side Peterborough United. Harry Leonard scored twice as Peterborough claimed an impressive victory.
