The way the League Cup has transpired over the last few years, you can forgive my lingering thoughts that last night’s test from strong lower-league opposition, may well have proved to be another banana skin and a block in the road after a steady start to the campaign.

As it turned out, the nagging threat of a 2nd-round exit was as apparent as the hair on visiting manager Rosler’s head - as a superb first half display saw the Rams cruise into the hat for round 3.

Most of the pre-match discussion seemed to centre on an opportunity for the likes of Jacobs and Sammon to stake a claim for a first-team birth, so it seemed surprising that the former was left out, especially after his winning goal at Oldham in round 1 (rumours that he had a bust up with Nigel after being dismayed at there being no empty stands to celebrate in front of - remain unconfirmed). The fish was hooked off the bench for a start, as were Big John, Paul Coutts and Adam Smith for his home debut.

Unlike in Round One, the teams came out to four stands of fans, although it was rather frustrating to see such as little smattering of people given the highly reduced ticket prices. As it turned out, the nine thousand or so in attendance were rewarded handsomely for their seven pounds as the Rams ran riot.

Not that it seemed that this would be the case after a largely scrappy first ten minutes, where the visitors arguably began brighter with a flurry of corners, although the only real effort of note ended up somewhere in the vast empty-seats in the North Stand Upper.

The first real indication of what was to come occurred when a long ball forward found Sammon, or at least someone who looked like him, who caught the ball in his net with staggering aplomb. Despite his shot being blocked, it was a sign of things to come for the much-maligned Irishman, who for my money (albeit not a lot) has looked way sharper in his fleeting minutes so far this term.

This seemed to be the spark for the men in white to reach for the gear-stick as within minutes, the siege had begun.

The midfield quartet became a sextet, with Forsyth and the immediately impressive Smith bombing forward at will. Martin’s appeal for a penalty was turned down in favour of a free-kick on the edge of the box by referee Bond, who remained shaken, not stirred. No matter though - as soon enough it was Coldplay’s lead singer who put us in front. Great work from Bryson saw him check back and deliver and ball which was bravely headed in for the opener.

I must admit, I did miss the point where the road traffic officer came on and directed all of the traffic towards Brentford’s goal for the remainder of the half. Nonetheless, Derby swarmed all over the Bees.

First, Bryson side-footed against a post, then Sammon rued a poor first touch before smashing the ball goal-wards, only to see visiting skipper, Queen Bee, somehow divert the ball off the line. He also rued the choice not to wear a wig as he somehow failed to connect with Forsyth’s excellent centre.

Not to be denied, it was soon 2-0 with a goal which had yours truly purring. Sammon first held, then, after laying to Eustace who spun away from his marker to receive the ball back - via some majestic first-time touches from Hughes and Bryson — and slide the ball into the far corner. A goal to be placed in the top drawer - next to our second at Yeovil.

The smiles still hadn’t faded before it was three. A brilliant one-two down the right saw Bray…sorry Smith send in a ball which grazed three Brentford toenails before falling to Hughes, who added another million to his price tag by slamming into the far corner with authority. (That’s £100 million now Liverpool!!!!)

It was almost four by the break as the excellent Martin stabbed an effort against the post from inside the area. As the half-time whistle blew, I’m sure I saw Ruud Gullit adding another chapter into the ‘Sexy Football’ manual.

3-0 up at the break, job done. Except we’d been here before and I’ll wager that despite Tinie Tempah never visiting, Scunthorpe came up in conversation for most during the interval.

The second half was always going to struggle to live up to the lofty heights of the first, and for the first fifteen, Brentford briefly rallied. A free kick akin to Martin’s was blocked and despite some meat and drink dead balls to defend and a couple of speculative 25 yarders, Lee Grant’s cigar remained intact.

The hour mark was negotiated with little alarm and all eyes looked to the bench. Nigel kept his finger on the trigger until a little more insurance materialised in the shape of a second for the fish. A fantastic knock from Eustace found Coutts out wide, and a fine ball from the Scot evaded everyone and found Bryson, who had a shot cleared off the line. The Duracell bunny then hopped past a couple of challenges to fire again, drawing a fine save from Bonham, who was unlucky to see the ball fall straight to Sammon, who tucked it home.

Davies and Jacobs finally got game time as the last fifteen beckoned but there was still time for Martin to cap another impressive and MOTM winning display with a powerful finish from the edge of the area from a Davies pass.

Despite willing a Sammon hat-trick and seeing Smith smash a late volley wide, the final chance of note in the game fell to the visitors, when Hacker produced Grant’s only bit of notable work of the evening.

By then though, the party behind me had well started, with a large pat on the back needed for the hearty souls at the back of the South Stand, who made light of the numbers and produced an almost carnival atmosphere. The same too can be said of the 12 or so Brentford fans that provided good banter, although did fill me with concern into whether their respective mothers knew they were out.

You can tell it’s still the six weeks holiday…

Full time and another slick, sharp, goal - laden performance from the boys. Yes, Brentford were much-changed, but you can only beat what is put in front of you. Yes, winning breeds confidence, but so does playing well in the process.

With all of these boxes ticked and with ‘Dale Cavese’ ringing in my ears, I left thinking how high morale is going into our meeting with our bogey side on Saturday. Who says the League Cup is meaningless!?

Weston’s player ratings

Lee Grant: Nothing to do until 90^th min. 6

Craig Forsyth: A good game. Seems to be targeted as our weak link but stood up well to the challenge. 7

Adam Smith: Excellent home debut, attacked well and provided assist for third goal. 7

Jake Buxton: Solid. 6

Richard Keogh: Equally solid, coped well with minimal threat. Won some good headers. 6

Craig Bryson: Superb from the Scot. Assisted 3 and deserved a goal. *Weston Star Man 8*

John Eustace: A reliable, honest display. Bodes well. 7

Will Hughes: Running out of superlatives. 7

Paul Coutts: Some excellent quality from wide areas. Pushing for a start on Saturday. 7

Connor Sammon: Looks much sharper, a threat and linked up well with the rest of the team. Deserved goals. 8

Chris Martin- Another top display from our main strike-threat. Took goals brilliantly. 8

Subs

Jacobs, Davies, Bennett: Damage was done long before this trio came on. 6

Match Highlights:

Match Stats:

Ref : Bond…..Darren Bond

Crowd: 9,076 (720 Stung Bees)

Possession: Derby 51 — Brentford 49

Shots (on target): Derby 24 (8) — Brentford 11 (2)

Corners: Derby 7 — Brentford 4

Fouls: Derby 9 — Brentford 6

Teams:

Derby : Grant, Smith, Keogh, Buxton, Forsyth, Coutts, Eustace, Hughes (Jacobs 75’), Bryson (Davies 73), Martin (Bennett 78’), Sammon. Unused Subs: Legzdins (GK), Ward, Freeman, Russell.

Brentford: Bonham (GK), O'Connor, Barron, (Pierre 46’) Saunders (Mawson 73’), El Alagui, (Hacker 61’) Dallas, Venta, Diagouraga, Reeves, Nugent, Clarke. Unused Subs: O'Brien (GK), Saville, Adams, Miller-Rodney.

Next Up For The Rams:

Derby vs. Burnley

Pride Park

3pm - Saturday August 31st

Photo: Action Images

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