Football Review | Grimsby Town 0 - 5 Brentford

Five goals, five different scorers for Brentford.

They eased into the EFL Cup quarter-finals for the fourth time in six seasons, bringing Grimsby Town's spirited run to a convincing end.

Author | Ed

Stadium | Blundell Park

Brentford players celebrate another goal

Grimsby had already written themselves into the history of the competition by knocking out Manchester United earlier in the competition, with the League Two side hoping for another memorable evening at a packed Blundell Park.

Thomas Frank made nine changes, yet Brentford still underlined their Premier League quality, building on recent Premier League victories over Liverpool and West Ham to secure a third straight win.

The tie was effectively settled before half-time. Mathias Jensen opened the scoring with a crisp strike from the edge of the box after 22 minutes, followed shortly by Keane Lewis-Potter heading in from Reiss Nelson's delivery. Nelson, making his first start since arriving on loan from Arsenal in September, added a third from distance just before the interval.

Grimsby nearly stunned their visitors early on, Evan Khouri forcing a save when the match was still level. The Mariners have brought plenty of heart and energy to this cup campaign as they chased a first quarter-final appearance in four decades.

View from one of the home stands

But Brentford's grip only tightened. Fabio Carvalho converted a penalty he won himself after the break, and substitute Nathan Collins sealed a comfortable win with a late header.

Still chasing a first major trophy in their 136-year history, Brentford will learn their last-eight opponents on Wednesday.

Thomas Frank's side show their strength in depth

Brentford demonstrated their growing strength in depth on a night that highlighted just how far the club have travelled.

Sixteen years have passed since these sides last met in League Two. In that time Brentford have risen through the leagues, secured their Premier League status and now find themselves only two steps away from a major cup final.

There were doubts over whether Keith Andrews, previously a set-piece specialist on the coaching staff, could maintain the momentum built under Thomas Frank following his summer switch to Tottenham. The evidence so far suggests the transition has been smoother than many anticipated.

Recent results tell their own story. Brentford have dispatched Manchester United, West Ham and Liverpool in the past month, and they added a composed and efficient win at Grimsby to that growing list.

Andrews made wholesale changes, with only Sepp van den Berg and Dango Ouattara retained from the weekend win against Liverpool. Yet the performance never wavered, and the Bees collected not only a convincing victory but also valuable minutes for squad players, all without any injury concerns.