Hanwell Town 3 Brentford B 0: Young Bees lose postponed 2024/25 London Senior Cup final | OneFootball

Brentford B lost 3-0 to Hanwell Town in the 2024/25 London Senior Cup final at the Oliver Connell & Son Community Stadium on Tuesday evening.

Sam Saunders' side were 2-0 down at the break and couldn't find a way back into the final - which was postponed from last season - as Hanwell Town lifted the trophy.

The young Bees found themselves behind on seven minutes when Elijah Oladunjoye rounded Reggie Rose and tapped into an empty net.

They reacted well to the initial set back, with Ollie Shield and Michael Olakigbe both asking questions of the Geordies' defence with dangerous crosses.

It was the hosts who took advantage of the scrappy opening to the final though, as Taylor Miles bent an inch-perfect free-kick into the top left corner from distance to double the lead on 22 minutes.

Brentford struggled to create as the first period elapsed. Olakigbe had the Bees' best chance three minutes before the break after some clever work from Riley Owen on the edge of the box, but his effort was straight into Sam Beasant's hands in the Hanwell net.

Otis Honor drove into the box after a well-weighted through ball from Iwan Morgan. He went down and appealed for a penalty, but nothing was given and Saunders' side went into the interval two goals down.

The young Bees showed intent from the restart, Morgan laying Owen off but his strike was too high two minutes into the second half.

Morgan bent an effort over from the corner of the box that didn't quite dip enough on 55 minutes and Owen forced a strong save from Beasant seconds later.

On 65 minutes the game was put beyond Brentford's reach when Harry Seabrook latched on to a corner and flicked a header into the net to make it 3-0.

Caelan Avenell's headed attempt drew a brilliant save from Beasant as the Bees tried to find a way back into the game with 15 to play. Morgan had the ball in the back of the net shortly after only for his effort to be ruled out for offside as the game drew to a close.

A run to be proud off nonetheless and good exposure for a young squad. Saunders' side will look to bounce back on Sunday as they host Sheffield United Under-21s in the Professional Development League at Wheatsheaf Park.

Hanwell Town: Sam Beasant, Wilson, Oladunjoye, Nudity, Seabrook, Heath, Cooper (Shokbuni 82), Miles (Patrick 82), Pendlebury (English 82), McGregor (Clayton 68), Hassan (Mongoy 73)

Booked: Miles 75

Brentford B: Rose, Shield, Asemokhai, Headman, Avenell, Owen, Laidlaw (Boni 61), Honor, Morgan, Mawene (Polis 72), Olakigbe

Unused subs: Ouattara, Giscombe, Klimas

Booked: Headman 64

Saunders on London Senior Cup final defeat

Sam Saunders reflects on Brentford B's 3-0 London Senior Cup final defeat to Hanwell Town on Tuesday evening.

"There were some strong performances out there from the back line, I know that sounds strange after conceding three goals but they stood up to the directness of the game well," said Saunders.

"We were dissappointed in the manner of the goals, we conceded a sloppy goal early in the game that put them in the ascendancy but we regained our composure and played some good football afterwards.

"It's a good opportunity for us to learn, we'll take certain parts of that which will lead into Sunday's game against Sheffield United and it's another 90 minutes in the boys' legs. The result is disappointing but there are lots of positives to take."