Reiss Nelson shines, £42m man terrible – Brentford’s three winners and losers vs Grimsby
Brentford expertly dispatched of League Two side Grimsby Town in the EFL Cup fourth round with a 5-0 win on Tuesday evening.
Brentford survived some early Grimsby pressure and took the lead in the 22nd minute through a sumptous Mathias Jensen strike from the edge on the penalty area.
Keane Lewis-Potter then doubled the Premier League side’s lead four minutes later with a back-post header before Reiss Nelson scored another with a fine strike just before the interval.
Fabio Carvalho won and scored a penalty in the early stages of the second-half to make it 4-0, while captain Nathan Collins netted from a corner to make it a five-star Bees performance in the cup.
Many Brentford players impressed on the night as they won with ease, while some did not make the most of playing against lesser opposition, and Football Insider have duly picked out three winners and losers from Keith Andrews‘ side following the win.
Winners
Reiss Nelson
Nelson’s Brentford career exploded into life at Blundell Park with an impressive performance that saw him score his first goal for the club and notch an assist for Lewis-Potter’s strike.
Arsenal sent Nelson on loan to Brentford in the summer, but only made his second appearance for the club against Grimsby on Tuesday evening after finding it tough to break into Andrews’ squad.
The Irishman will have wanted to see a hungry showing from Nelson, and he got exactly that, so the 25-year-old will surely now be line for more minutes in the Premier League going forward as a result.
Keane Lewis-Potter
Lewis-Potter has not struggled for minutes quite as badly as Nelson, but this was his first start for the club since 20 September and he took full advantage of playing further forward on the right-wing.
The former Hull City man bagged a goal and an assist against the Mariners and looked exciting all game as he always looked to get Brentford on the attack to kill off the game following Jensen’s opener.
Fabio Carvalho
Carvalho has been linked away from Brentford in recent weeks amid a similar lack of game-time to that of Nelson, but he also grasped a rare chance with both hands against League Two opposition here.
He started slowly but grew into proceedings at Blundell Park and produced a moment of magic to win his side a spot-kick in the 54th minute by drawing a clear foul from Evan Khouri.
The ex-Liverpool playmaker stepped up and dispatched with aplomb to grab his third goal of the campaign, and is another who will surely be more in Andrews’ thoughts going forward from now on.
Losers
Dango Ouattara
Dango Ouattara was Brentford’s record signing as he joined from Bournemouth for £42million [BBC] in the summer, but he failed to shine against fourth-tier opposition on a night where his teammates took the plaudits.
The 23-year-old had just one shot on goal, attempted only eight passes and failed to create a chance in the hour he was on the pitch for, and clearly did not seem too bothered about his own performance as soon as it was clear that the visitors were going to win the game.
Frank Onyeka
Frank Onyeka is known for his bruising, all-action style of play, and he did not let up in this game despite boss Andrews likely telling him to take it easy so he did not pick up an injury.
He flew into tackles and 50/50’s like nothing, and despite that being a positive on the face of things, he was definitely lucky not to pick up a booking after committing two clear fouls as Grimsby tried to attack.
The Nigeria international is yet to start in the Premier League so far this season, and he did himself no favours against the Mariners if he wants to break into the Bees team going forward.
Benjamin Arthur
Young full-back Benjamin Arthur was handed his second senior appearance on Tuesday evening, and while he did impress in the main with a solid performance on the right-flank, his evening was cut short through injury.
The confident 20-year-old was holding his calf as he trudged off in the 71st minute to be replaced by Michael Kayode, so despite a decent showing, his game was marred by suffering that issue that he and the club will hope is not a long-term one.