QPR U21s 0 Brentford U21s 3: Sam Saunders' side begin 2026 with west London derby Professional Development League win | OneFootball

Brentford Under-21s began 2026 with a convincing display beating west London rivals Queens Park Rangers 3-0 in the Professional Development League on Friday afternoon.

Ollie Shield opened the scoring for Sam Saunders' side whilst Theo Mawene and Michel Boni added themselves to the scoresheet in what was a cold day at the TSG Training centre.

It was a perfect start from the Bees as a tantalising cross from Mawene found Shield who made a late darting run into the box, caressing a left-footed shot into the corner of the net.

Despite the confident start, the match became scrappy as the home side were intent on disrupting any spells of possession that the away side were attempting to have.

There were momentary sights of goal for Boni and Kyrie Pierre, but both failed to connect to trouble the QPR goalkeeper.

The second period saw the Bees increase the tempo of the game and Pierre went close to doubling the team's advantage as he took on a shot that sat well for him on the edge of the box but it narrowly went wide of the goal.

Mawene doubled the lead and deservedly so controlling under pressure in the box before unleashing a fierce shot from a tight angle which flew past the goalkeeper.

Pierre thought he had made it three as his scuffed shot looked to have gone in but it was cleared off the line in dramatic fashion.

The young Hoops could not contain Saunders' side though as Boni was played through on goal and found the net with an instinctive finish to seal the three points.

It was a professional performance from the away side and a good way to begin the new year after a long period of no competitive games for the U21s.

The victory sees Brentford make it back-to-back wins in the league.

Victory also means that the Bees complete the double over their opponents following the 4-0 victory over the young Hoops at Gtech Community Stadium earlier in the season.

QPR: Warren, Neill, Leahy, Street (Vaughan 61), Wilkie, Aoraha, Sanyaolu (Halliday 65), Dyke (Neziri 42), Hassan (Adjetey-Brew 76), Tarbotton, Scarlett

Unused subs: Trujillo

Brentford: Rose, McKnight, McManus (Trialist A 44), Stephenson, Avenell (Picotto 30), Grey, Shield, Bentt, Boni, Pierre, Mawene (Laidlaw 60)

Unused subs: Honor, Bobb-Semple

Sam Saunders on professional derby day win

Brentford Under-21s head coach Sam Saunders was delighted with the way his side adapted to win their first game of the calendar year in a professional 3-0 away win over QPR.

"The boys have had nearly four weeks off without a game so there was going to be bits of the game we'd like to improve on, but in general I'm really proud of the boys performance," he explained.

"They've trained really well and their leadership and communication qualities are improving all the time." "We scored a really good goal and then it was pretty even until half-time. We spoke about a few bits then and the boys are so good at adapting to those slight tweaks which made a big difference."