Brentford 1-1 (4-2 penalties) Aston Villa: Valdimarsson redeems himself in shootout win over Villa | OneFootball

Hákon Valdimarsson saved two penalties in the shootout to book Brentford’s place in the Carabao Cup fourth round, piling further misery on winless Aston Villa.

Villa created very little in a mostly pedestrian first half, only for Harvey Elliott to be gifted the opener after 43 minutes when goalkeeper Valdimarsson allowed his shot to squirm through his gloves.

Aaron Hickey’s stunning volley hauled his side level just shy of the hour mark as each side’s first team regulars were unable to break the deadlock before penalties, which saw Valdimarsson keep out John McGinn and Matty Cash to send his team through.

As It Happened

Villa started the cup tie having failed to score in over eight hours of competitive football, and they were just as uninspiring as they had been prior to kick off.

Brentford stepped up the tempo after 21 minutes when Dango Ouattarra sent in a dangerous cross that went all the way through to Rico Henry, whose bobbling shot was blocked.

The Bees eventually won the corner and a promising delivery from Vitaly Janelt found centre-back Sepp van den Berg, but his free header was tipped over brilliantly by Marco Bizot.

A chant of ‘have you ever scored a goal?’ began to ring around the Brentford Community Stadium in reaction to Unai Emery’s men moving sluggishly on and off the ball, making few touches in the opposition box.

However, they did cause uncertainty as Valdimarsson bravely smothered the ball from the feet of Ivorian winger Evann Guessand after failing to catch a cross at the first attempt.

Cash appealed for a penalty after quickly exchanging passes with Guessand before darting inside and hitting the deck, despite seeming to clip his own standing foot regardless of any contact from a Brentford defender.

Disaster struck just shy of first-half stoppage time for Brentford when Janelt dwelled on the ball 20 yards out and was robbed by McGinn. On his first full start since joining on loan from Liverpool, Elliott leaped onto the loose ball and scuffed a low effort towards goal which Valdimarsson somehow allowed to wriggle through his gloves before rolling into the net.

Villa nearly doubled their lead five minutes after the break as Guessand was released in behind on the right wing, before finding Jadon Sancho, who rattled the back from a tight angle.

McGinn was almost made to pay for repeating Janelt’s blunder but a mob of Villa defenders quickly closed down and blocked Dango Ouattara’s effort from just outside the penalty area.

Brentford were back on level terms after 57 minutes when Pau Torres failed to get any meaningful connection on a header away, which fell invitingly for Hickey to lash an audacious volley into the top left corner. It was some way for the Scotsman to score his first goal since signing three years ago from Bologna.

Marco Bizot produced a brilliant save 10 minutes later by clawing out Benjamin Arthur’s goal-bound header at the back post, following another long-throw routine.

Villa were unable to register another shot on target since Elliott’s goal and called upon Morgan Rogers and former Brentford star Ollie Watkins in search of a winner. Only Rogers truly threatened to break the deadlock.

Valdimarsson, determined to make amends for his earlier mistake, got down quickly to deny Cash who met McGinn’s looping cross at the back post, nine minutes away from a penalty shootout.

The away side continued to build on a slightly improved second half up until the final whistle, while substitute Mikkel Damsgaard pulled the trigger from distance but couldn’t keep the shot down.

Rogers could have found a winner after a late burst through the middle, yet Valdimarsson was quick to react once more and palmed the ball away to his right.

In quite poetic fashion, Valdimarsson heroically stepped up to keep out the opening penalty from McGinn before pushing the fourth from Cash round the post to book Brentford’s place in next week’s draw.

Vindication for Valdimarsson

It’s never easy for goalkeepers to recover from errors leading directly to a goal, in front of thousands of onlookers. Particularly, when it may jeopardise a position as designated cup goalkeeper.

Yet Valdimarsson redeemed himself, ending the match with five saves and having prevented nearly a third (0.32) of the expected goals on target (1.32) he faced.

It was an admirable performance from the 23-year-old prior to his two saves in the penalty shootout. He professionally kept a clear head and turned out to be a key player in Brentford’s cup victory. His place in the fourth round starting eleven may well be safe after all.

Villa still short of goals and confidence

It was not a good evening once more for Unai Emery, yet he saw signs of encouragement despite his senior players’ largely unimpressive cameos.

He told Sky Sports: “We improved, created more chances than the last matches. Defensively, we were more or less controlling the game.

“Saturday we competed very well [at] Everton. We have some new players, we have some circumstances we had before… not getting balance in the squad.

“Now, we are progressing [towards] the side I want.”

However, it’s clear that Villa remain short of confidence after their hiccups to open the league season – a tricky issue for managers to deal with.

They’re now desperate for their first competitive win of the season having only scored one goal in five games. Only then will their downward spiral come to an end.

The lineups

BRE: Valdimarsson; Arthur, van den Berg, Ajer; Henry, Milambo, Janelt, Onyeka, Hickey; Carvalho, Ouattara