Brentford head coach Dean Smith praised teenager Sergi Canos after the Spaniard scored an outstanding individual goal to earn a 2-1 win at Reading.
Canos, who on Sunday extended his loan deal from Liverpool until the end of the season, was only among the substitutes at the Madejski Stadium after a run of four starts.
But he came on just after Reading equalised – and 14 minutes later cut inside two defenders with two impeccable touches before firing home the winning goal.
Smith said: “It was a great goal, I’m pleased for him. It was a tough decision to leave him out because I thought he was excellent on Saturday [in the 0-0 draw against Brighton].
“It’s just about how you manage these young kids – he’s only 18, but he understood [the decision] and he gave me the perfect response.”
Smith was pleased with the win but not the manner of his team’s first-half performance, despite leading 1-0 at the break through Ryan Woods’ long-range effort.
He added: “I thought first half they were well on top and it took a wonder strike from Woodsy to give us a confidence boost, because they had a lot more possession than we did. But defensively we stood tall.
“It’s a sign of a good team when you don’t play as well as you can and come away with a really good win.”
This post was last modified on 28/12/2015