Town U21s fell to narrow 2-1 defeat against Brentford at Wheatsheaf Park in the Premier League Cup.
Jamie Odegah’s header and a second half rally from the Hatters wasn’t enough to secure another positive result in our Premier League Cup campaign, after goals from Isaac Holland and Andre Grey secured Brentford’s immediate qualification from the group stage.
It was a less than ideal start for the Town in an otherwise quiet first half, finding themselves behind in the fourth minute when Holland scored from around twelve yards out following a smart corner routine that left the forward with plenty of time and space to sweep a low finish past Charlie Booth for Brentford’s opener.
The second half threatened to start in much the same way as the first, in the 47th minute the hosts were awarded a penalty, though a fantastic save from Booth and excellent defending from the Hatters defence stopped Brentford from doubling their lead.
The heroics from our number one proved vital as just eight minutes later, an excellent driving run from Zach Ioannides down the right hand side and a pinpoint cross from the fullback found Odegah in the box to power home our equaliser with an excellent header past Bee’s keeper Matthew Cox.
Unfortunately for Town, their efforts in finding an equaliser would be undone just minutes later as Brentford midfielder Grey collected a ball into the box from striker Holland before firing the hosts in front for a second time.
In a more open second half, Town looked to exploit the gaps in Brentford’s defence with the reinforcements of Archie Shepherd and Dawid Gawel from the bench, with Shepherd impressing by scoring a hat-trick the day before in Town’s U18 6-3 defeat to Cambridge in the EFL Youth Alliance.
Despite a late sending off for the hosts and an additional five minutes of stoppage time, the Hatters were unable to find another leveller before the final whistle, leaving Town bottom of Group E after five games played.
The Premier League Cup campaign will conclude for the Hatters on Monday the 22nd of December with an away fixture against West Bromwich Albion.
Report: Liam Wilmot
