Brentford vs Gillingham. Carabao Cup Round 3.
Gtech Community StadiumAttendance16,278.
Gillingham win 6-5 on penalties.
League Two Gillingham knocked Premier League side Brentford out of the Carabao Cup 6-5 on penalties, following a 1-1 draw in west London; the Gills were 77 places below the Bees going into the game; Mikkel Damsgaard missed the crucial spot kick in sudden death, with Ivan Toney scoring
Wednesday 9 November 2022 07:16, UK
League Two Gillingham knocked Premier League side Brentford out of the Carabao Cup 6-5 on penalties, following a 1-1 draw in west London.
Danish international Mikkel Damsgaard missed the crucial spot kick in sudden death - just one day after being called up to Denmark's World Cup squad - after both sides had a 100 per cent record in the shoot-out.
Earlier in the match, which was delayed by 20 minutes after the League Two side got stuck in traffic and had to walk the final 10 minutes of their journey, Brentford's Ivan Toney scored his ninth goal of the season after just three minutes. But Gillingham equalised with their first shot on goal in the 75th minute through substitute Michael Mandron - to take the game to penalties.
The result sees Gillingham, ranked 77 places below the Premier League club, advance into the last 16 ahead of this Thursday's draw, live on Sky Sports after Manchester United's tie at home to Aston Villa.
With 45 minutes to go until the match was due to start, kick-off was delayed by 20 minutes due to Gillingham's coach being held up in traffic and visiting manager Neil Harris revealed his team had spent most of the afternoon on the team bus and needed to prepare tactics on the bus.
"We had to walk here, we had to climb over barriers and help each other get over fences," said Harris. "We got to about a quarter of a mile from Chiswick Roundabout and we got stuck. Fortunately, we had a tactics board on the bus.
"But we couldn't move and they couldn't get a police escort to us. So we got in touch with the officials and decided to walk - probably about a 10-minute walk. And we had to leave two hours early this morning because of protestors. It's been a bit of a carnage day."
The League Two side's rushed preparations showed as a long ball forward from the hosts found Keane Lewis-Potter completely unmarked in the area, with the Brentford forward squaring for Toney to tap home.
Toney will hope the goal helps his case for a spot in Gareth Southgate's World Cup squad, which will be announced on Thursday at 2pm.
The Premier League side continued their dominance throughout a one-sided first half, with several other World Cup hopefuls looking to join Toney on the scoresheet.
Denmark international Christian Norgaard fired straight at Gills goalkeeper Jake Turner after being found by compatriot Damsgaard with a quick free-kick. Damsgaard then put a cheeky flick just wide of goal minutes later before Iranian international Saman Ghoddos headed onto the post.
Brentford's dominance continued after half-time with Toney missing the most clear-cut sight of goal in the match after he dragged wide after being put through one-on-one.
But with 15 minutes to go, Gills striker Mandron headed home a cross at the near post in what ended up being the League Two side's only effort all night.
At the other end, Turner saved well from Ethan Pinnock as Brentford searched for a quick-fire winner but the top-flight hosts ran out of time and the match went to spot kicks.
Toney scored his effort via his trademark run-up, and with the next 10 spot kicks all ending up in the net, it was Damsgaard who struck the bar to send the travelling fans smiling after a very long night.
Asked if he had spoken to Damsgaard, Brentford boss Thomas Frank added: "I gave him a hug, that's it. He will feel down, but he will learn from this.
"It is very frustrating. We wanted to go far in the competition. But this is cup football and why we love cup football. That's why there are so many stories in the cup. That's the 'beauty' of it, and I hope Gillingham enjoy it."
Brentford's final Premier League fixture before the World Cup break is a trip to Manchester City in the Saturday lunchtime slot; kick-off 12.30pm.
Gillingham host Northampton in League Two on Saturday; kick-off 3pm.
