MacDonald, Weston at the double to see off Gateshead (From Wimbledon Guardian)

MacDonald, Weston at the double to see off Gateshead

9:18am Wednesday 18th November 2009

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Brentford 5 (Strevens 42, MacDonald 45, 60, Weston 67, 73) Gateshead 2

Brentford eased into the second round of the FA Cup after comfortably seeing off their non-league rivals Gateshead with a 5-2 victory at Griffin Park on Tuesday night.

The Bees didn’t have it all their own way in the first half of this first round replay, however, as they struggled to break down a Gateshead side that worked hard to frustrate their opponents.

Brentford eventually made the breakthrough approaching half-time and quickly put the game out of sight during a second half that saw their defensive frailties continue to be exposed as they conceded two sloppy goals which left manager Andy Scott frustrated: “I wasn’t happy really, to be honest, with the whole game.

"I’m obviously happy we have gone through but I’m not happy we have conceded twice again.”

Scott made three changes to the side that drew with Millwall on Saturday, with Leon Legge and Karleigh Osborne forming a new partnership at the heart of defence and Cleveland Taylor replacing Saturday’s hero John Bostock, who was away on international duty.

Chances were few and far between during the opening half an hour.

Eventually, Myles Weston broke free and latched on to a long ball down the left but was foiled by a superb tackle by Craig Baxter.

Legge gave his keeper Lewis Price a scare when his looping header backwards from the edge of the box sailed just wide of the post.

Brentford eventually made the breakthrough with just three minutes of the half remaining.

After Charlie MacDonald’s swivel and shot was blocked, Ben Strevens nipped in to fire home the first goal of his Brentford career.

MacDonald gave the Bees some breathing space on the stroke of half-time, when good work by Taylor down the right allowed the centre-forward to easily head home the resulting cross into the heart of the Gateshead box.

Strevens nearly doubled his tally early in the second half but saw his effort disallowed for offside.

Gateshead pulled one back, when Graeme Armstrong ran on to a throughball down the inside right channel and placed his low shot under Price and into the bottom corner of the net.

The Bees restored their two-goal cushion, when Marcus Bean broke through the middle and set up MacDonald, who finished comfortably with his right foot.

Weston extended the lead further with a screamer from 30 yards and then fired home again six minutes later to bring up five goals for the Bees.

Armstrong grabbed another consolation when he again raced between Ryan Dickson and Legge to set up a one-on-one with Price before finding the bottom left hand corner of the net.

Brentford now face a home time with Walsall on November 29 – the same side they face in the league this Saturday.

Brentford: Price; Foster, Osborne, Legge, Dickson; Taylor, Bean (sub Hunt 78), O’Connor, Weston; MacDonald, Strevens (sub Cort 71)

Subs (not used): Moore, Bennett, Ferrell, Wood, Kabba

Attendance: 1,960

Goals: Strevens 42, MacDonald 45, 60, Weston 67, 73

Man of the match: Myles Weston

Match rating: 3/6.

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