Analysis: Brentford's penalty prowess continues in Carabao Cup success | OneFootball

Five nerveless penalties earned Brentford a spot in the last eight of the Carabao Cup for the first time since 2021/22, and Bees fans were no doubt firmly in agreement with Thomas Frank’s sentiments after his side’s 5-4 shoot-out win over Sheffield Wednesday.

"When you are on the right side of a penalty shoot-out, it's always a fantastic feeling," said Frank after Brentford progressed to the quarter-final following a hard-fought contest that finished in a 1-1 draw after 90 minutes.

Kevin Schade had given the Bees a first-half lead, but the hosts were pegged back by a Djeidi Gassama strike after the break and the game was decided from 12 yards; Mark Flekken's stop from Liam Palmer the decisive moment in the shoot-out.

It's fair to say that modern penalty shoot-outs are more art form than lottery.

'By failing to prepare you are preparing to fail', as the saying goes, and a lack of planning is one thing Frank's Brentford side can never be accused of.

Bryan Mbeumo, Keane Lewis-Potter, Mikkel Damsgaard, Yoane Wissa and Vitaly Janelt all converted from 12 yards on Tuesday night, and the Bees' penalty record over recent seasons illustrates that they are specialists from the spot.

Going back three seasons, Brentford have been awarded 21 penalties across all competitions and scored all but one of them (95 per cent).

Since the Bees were promoted to the Premier League, they have converted 18 of 19 top-flight penalties - Nick Pope's save from Ivan Toney in April 2023 going down as the former forward's one and only penalty miss for the club.

From 2021/22, Toney (12/13), Mbeumo (8/8) and Marcus Forss (1/1) have stepped up impressively from 12 yards for the Bees and that kind of penalty precision is an undoubted advantage as Brentford look forward to the Wednesday night’s Carabao Cup quarter-final draw.

Mark Flekken also deserves a special mention for his match-winning save against the Owls.

The Dutch stopper was typically self-critical after his throw was intercepted in the build-up to Wednesday’s equaliser, but the former Freiburg man rose to the occasion in the shoot-out and his importance to the Bees is underlined by the fact he has made 44 saves in the Premier League this season, more than any other keeper.

Flekken's decisive contribution in the Carabao Cup followed Hákon Valdimarsson's crucial penalty save against Colchester in the second round of the competition and Frank will no doubt be delighted by the penalty expertise shown by his goalkeeping department.

Brentford's efficiency from 12 yards coupled with their keepers' knack of saving spot-kicks bodes well and speaks volumes regarding the background work done by Frank and his staff.

With plenty of heavy hitters still left in the draw, Brentford may well need to call upon their penalty expertise again if they are to claim the first major honour in their history this season!