Bees knocked out of Carabao Cup by Gillingham

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Brentford 1 Gillingham 1

Gillingham won on 6-5 penalties

Brentford crashed out of the Carabao Cup after a shock defeat on penalties.

An early breakthrough by Ivan Toney for the Bees was cancelled out in 74 minutes by Gillingham substitute Mikael Mandron with the visitors from League Two putting in a battling display.

And with the penalties reaching the sudden death stage, midfielder Mikkel Damsgaard struck the bar to ensure Neil Harris’ side progressed to the last 16 of the competition.

Brentford – who had put out a strong-looking side for this third-round tie – got off to the perfect start with a simply constructed goal in just four minutes. Unmarked Toney had the easiest of tasks to slot home from close range, after Damsgaard had sufficient room inside the penalty area to supply the striker with an assist.

The Bees dominated the vast majority of the possession throughout the first half, and they almost doubled their lead, only for Damsgaard to see his ingenious back-heeled effort go inches wide. Saman Ghoddos also clipped the top of the crossbar with a six-yard header.

The second half followed a similar pattern but Brentford lacked dynamism. Toney dragged a shot a wide in 65 minutes when he should have hit the target at least, before Frank Onyeka curled a fine effort from 20 yards out which was tipped over by Gills’ keeper Jake Turner.

And the complacent hosts were stunned when, from a rare attack, Gillingham grabbed an equaliser, courtesy of Mandron. The striker headed home low and powerfully at the near post, via a right sided cross from Cheye Alexander.

The tie subsequently went to a shoot-out decider – and luckless Damsgaard was the first to miss in a total of 12 attempts from the spot, with Brentford duly stunned by a team currently sitting 22nd in League Two.

Brentford: Raya, Henry (Jensen 60), Pinnock, Roerslev (Mbeumo 80), Lewis-Potter, Damsgaard, Norgaard, Onyeka (Yarmouliuk 71), Ghoddos, Zanka, Toney