Brentford see off Newcastle to reach club’s first major cup semi-final

Brentford overcame Premier League side Newcastle United 1-0 to book themselves a place in the EFL Cup semi-finals against Tottenham Hotspur.

The Bees advanced to their first-ever semi-final of a major cup competition courtesy of a 66th-minute volley from Josh Dasilva.

Manager Thomas Frank revealed he used the lack of historic achievement by Brentford as a motivational tool for his players, in the build up to the game.

“It means a lot to me, the staff and the players, because it’s a massive step and a massive win,” Frank said

“We talked before about being part of creating history for Brentford, so that made me proud, and I was also even more proud of the way we played today. We deserved to win the game against a strong side, and I must praise the boys massively.”

Despite facing a weakened Brentford side, which most notably included the omission of top scorer Ivan Toney and French winger Bryan Mbeumo, Newcastle boss Steve Bruce conceded that his team was outplayed and deservedly not progressing to the semi-finals.

“We’re all desperately disappointed because we know the opportunity we had. I always knew it was going to be difficult, but I still expected us to perform better than we did, because we haven’t done enough,” Bruce said.

“I picked a team I thought would be good enough to win the match but Brentford played very well on the night.

“We have to accept what’s coming our way and dust ourselves down and get ready for what is a huge challenge ahead of us in the Premier League. But I can’t hide my disappointment and frustration, because we had a great opportunity to get into the semi-final.”

The Bees will face Jose Mourinho’s Tottenham, who beat fellow Championship side Stoke City 1-3 at the Bet365 Stadium.

They will travel to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on the week commencing January 4.