Brentford boss Andy Scott reckons a Johnstone's Paint Trophy win over League Two Stevenage is a sign his side's fortunes are on the turn.
Striker Robbie Simpson notched his third goal in as many matches as the Bees secured a 1-0 win and passage into the second round.
Scott's men are rooted to the foot of the League One table with one point from four matches - conceding eight goals and losing two home games in the process.
Brentford have only lost four times at Griffin Park in the previous two seasons, but the manager believes the team is not far from a return to its resilient best in time for the visit of Sheffield Wednesday.
"I honestly believe we are close," he said.
"We've got one point in the league, but that doesn't reflect how we have played.
"We've played a lot worse and won games in the past.
"But we have conceded some soft goals, which we've got to rectify and hopefully Stevenage is the start of us being more resilient.
"We haven't got a fantastic record of winning games away from home, but to come here and get a clean sheet is a real boost."
Your Local Guardian
ANDY Scott has warned Ben Hamer he's not guaranteed a starting spot at
Griffin Park.
The Brentford boss brought the Reading keeper back for a fourth loan spell in TW8 last night, with Royals team-mate Alex McCarthy heading to the Madjeski in the opposite direction.
However, summer signing Richard Lee has impressed in his last two showings for the Bees, and Scott says the pair will have to fight it out for the number one shirt.
He said: "Richard had a slow start in pre season, but he has put himself in the frame. We now have two good goalkeepers which is what I want.
"I want two number ones; I don't want one who'll be a number two because that shows he doesn't have the right mentality to be number one. And that goes throughout the whole squad.
"But certainly having Ben Hamer, who knows how we work and we know how he works, is great and I think I can get the best out of him. I have done in the past and I think I can in the future."
Hounslow Chronicle
A well worked goal finished by
Robbie Simpson, combined with a first clean sheet of the season, gave Brentford a narrow 1-0 win over Stevenage in the first round of the Johnstone's Paint Trophy at Lamex Stadium on Tuesday night.
The Bees survived a Boro onslaught during the second half to emerge victorious and take their place in the draw for the second round.
Afterwards Bees' boss Andy Scott said saw definite signs of improvement in his side's form: "We haven't got a fantastic record of winning games away from home, but to come here and get a good result and a clean sheet is a real boost for us.
"They put a lot of balls into the box from set pieces, long throws and corners and we defended very well."
Scott made five changes to the side which lost to Rochdale on Saturday, with Richard Lee, Michael Spillane, Pim Balkestein, Nicky Adams and Nicky Forster all earning starting berths.
During the opening exchanges Myles Weston created an early chance down the left, from where his cross to the back post was headed clear before Simpson could get his forehead to it.
Stevenage's first chance saw Lee do well to punch clear Mark Roberts' header at the back post.
Midway through the half Brentford saw their claims for a penalty following a push on Forster denied, before Adams picked up the ball and his low shot was well saved at the near post by Chris Day.
At the other end Yemi Odubade broke down the right and his cross into the box was met by former Bee John Mousinho, whose header was comfortably saved by Lee.
Stevenage looked to hit Brentford on the break again with Chris Beardsley doing well to hold up the ball and play in Odubade, whose shot was again held by Lee.
After half an hour the Bees took the lead when Karleigh Osborne hit a terrific pass out to Adams wide on the right, who did well to control the ball before cutting inside and playing in a lovely cross that was met by a glancing header past Day by Robbie Simpson.
Brentford wasted a terrific chance to double their lead when Adams' twinkle toes created space on the right before cutting the ball back to Forster, who blazed over the bar from six yards out.
Early in the second half a patient build up down the right saw Kevin O'Connor pick out Forster wide on the right and his cross flashed across the Stevenage goal.
For a spell during the second half Stevenage were on top, but failed to take any of their chances. Odubade first blasted over from just inside the box, before seeing further efforts well blocked by Osborne and then held by Lee.
The Bees continued to ride their luck at the back when Stevenge carved out a chance for Joel Byrom on the edge of the box and his shot produced an excellent save from Lee.
Lee was once again called into action when he gathered Michael Bostwick's low shot at the second attempt, as his side eventually saw out time to book their place in the next round.
Brentford: Lee; Spillane, Balkestein, Osborne, Woodman; Adams (sub Cort 87), O'Connor, Diagouraga, Weston; Simpson, Forster (sub Wood 79) Subs: Moore, Legge, Bean Attendance: 1916 (365 Bees) Man of the Match: Richard Lee Goals: Simpson 30
Your Local Guardian
A CUP run is long overdue for Brentford according to boss
Andy Scott - whose side completed their second cup win inside a week on Tuesday night.
The Bees followed last week's Carling Cup win over Hull by knocking Football League new-boys Stevenage out of the Johnstone's Paint Trophy 1-0.
Robbie Simpson's 28th-minute winner means Brentford will be in the hat for the second round draw when it is made live on Saturday's Soccer AM.
Scott said: "I said before the season started that I wanted to make progress in the cups this season, and we have done that twice now.
"I want us to take that attitude into league games now. I haven't been disappointed with the way we've been playing, we just need to be more ruthless.
"There are still areas to work on, we need to keep the ball better as we gave it away too many times in poor positions. But we coped with a big, strong side very well."
Staines News
ANDY Scott is confident Everton will send a strong side to
Griffin Park for their Carling Cup tie on September 21.
The Bees drew David Moyes' men at home in last Saturday's third round draw - the first time Brentford have reached that far in the competition in 19 years.
And although a full-strength Toffees side would be unlikely, Scott believes he won't be sending his troops out against a second string Everton side.
He said: "I know David Moyes takes this competition seriously and respects it. He will be seeing it as a chance for silverware and will send out a string side, just as he did in the last round against Huddersfield.
"He will have us well scouted and we will be watching them, although admittedly it's easier for us as we see them on Match of the Day every week.
"It's about time we got a big tie like this in the League Cup, it don't think we've even scored a goal in the competition for the last four years. It will be a massive night for the club, and hopefully we can get on television too."
Brentford's last foray into the third round ended with a 4-1 defeat at Norwich City in 1991-92, following aggregate wins over Barnet (5-5 and 3-1) and Brighton (4-1 and 2-4).
Dean Holdsworth netted six goals in that year's competition, while Richard Cadette chipped in with four and Kevin Godfrey three,
Since then, there have been numerous early exits and only a few moments to remember, like taking the scalps of West Brom in 1998 and Norwich in 2001, and taking the lead at Newcastle that same year.
Following that West Brom game, former Bees striker Scott scored after just a minute at White Hart Lane in the next round, before Spurs knocked Brentford out 6-4 on aggregate.
Scott added: "I remember that goal well. In fact, I remember most of them as I didn't score many!
"I scored in the second leg too and we gave Spurs a real shock, and we now have the chance to do the same to another Premiership team."
Hounslow Chronicle
