MacFarlane hails Brentford’s blend of youth and experience

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Brentford stand-in boss Neil MacFarlane paid tribute to his blend of youth and experience after a 2-1 win over Middlesbrough in the FA Cup third round.

The Bees – who fielded a fringe line-up against fellow Championship contenders – now await the draw for the next stage, courtesy of goals from Halil Dervisoglu and Saman Ghoddos.


MacFarlane oversaw the clash at the Brentford Community Stadium, with head coach Thomas Frank self-isolating due to testing positive for Covid-19 on Friday.

“It was a terrific game – there was a number of different personnel for both teams,” said MacFarlane.

“We had a good blend of youth and experience today. You could see that the project that I bought into 18 months ago is coming to fruition. It is the people within the project that deliver.

“We’ve got terrific senior pros at this club and it was an all round good performance in an enthralling game of football, where both teams had chances.

“There are no complaints from me about the work-rate and attitude and everyone gave everything to the football club.

“What Thomas has done at the club over the last 18 months is sensational and that’s thanks to a burning work ethic. We set out a tone to win and it’s really pleasing to be in the next round of the cup.”

Brentford now take on Bristol City on Wednesday as they revert to Championship action.

MacFarlane hopes that challenging experiences in cup action of late will be ideal for overall belief, especially for the younger members of the squad.

He added: “You can see from the Carabao Cup it was breeding confidence. The young players today have had a terrific afternoon. The most important thing was winning the game.”