Brilliant Brentford score six in cup thrashing of Birmingham

Callum Wilson scored his first goal for Brentford, who emphatically progressed to the third round of the Carabao Cup with another hugely impressive performance.

The Bees, superb in Saturday’s Premier League crushing of Tottenham, made a number of changes – and demonstrated the depth of their squad as Keith Andrews’ side looked the part.

Wilson scored an early opener and, after Demarai Gray’s equaliser, two goals in five minutes late in the first half put the visitors in control, with Aaron Hickey and then Nathan Collins scoring.

And three goals in the space of seven second-half minutes sealed a thumping victory, with Mikkel Damsgaard, Collins again, and Igor Thiago finding the net.

Summer signing Wilson was teed up by Yehor Yarmolyuk and the striker’s shot went in with the help of a deflection off Birmingham’s Dael Fry.

The Championship side levelled when Gray drilled into the net, but Brentford were always by far the better side and hit back when Hickey fired into the far corner after Birmingham failed to clear their lines, before Collins headed in Jaidon Anthony’s cross.

Anthony was also involved in the fourth and fifth goals, with Thiago cleverly letting his cross run to Damsgaard, who finished emphatically, before Anthony pulled the ball back for Thiago to help himself to a goal.

Collins’ looping header from Mamadou Sangare’s fine cross made it six.

Brentford: Valdimarsson; Hickey, Collins, Schuster, Henry; Janelt (Kayode 71), Yarmoliuk (Sangare 48), Damsgaard; Ouattara (Schade 46), Wilson (Thiago 62), Anthony
Subs not used: Kelleher, Ajer, Lewis-Potter, Jensen, Carvalho.