Harvey Elliott put us ahead in the first half as our goal drought to start the campaign finally came to an end, but Aaron Hickey’s equaliser after the break saw the encounter go to a shoot-out after ending at 1-1 during the 90 minutes.
Villa eventually succumbed to a 4-2 defeat on penalties, thus ending one of our potential routes, and perhaps most realistic, to winning a trophy this year, with our dire start to the season continuing amid our struggles in the Premier League.
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Unai Emery will now prepare his players for a trip to Sunderland this weekend in another difficult challenge, and although there have been signs of improvement in the last two games, our worrying form drags on even after the hope of a reset over the international break.
While it was another relatively decent display from a defensive perspective, the lack of quality in the final third to win games is still costing us, and until we can rediscover that cutting edge and ruthlessness in front of goal, we may well continue to see results like this as there was a huge slice of fortune involved in our goal on the night too.
### Aston Villa player ratings vs Brentford:
**Marco Bizot, 6.5 –** Made a few important saves to keep Brentford at bay as he showed again that he can be a reliable back-up option this season, but there was nothing that he could do for Hickey’s excellent strike.
**Matty Cash, 6 –** Decent shift during the 90 minutes both defensively and going forward, but without really making a telling contribution in either phase. Missed his penalty in the shootout.
**Ezri Konsa, 6.5 –** Produced some vital blocks and defended well to give us solidity at the back, but that alone wasn’t enough to ensure we kept a clean sheet to go on and win the game.
**Pau Torres, 5.5 –** Added composure in defence without being too troubled, while he missed a good chance at the other end early on. Needs a run of games to get his rhythm back.
**Ian Maatsen, 5.5 –** Struggled at times defensively, but worked hard and showed energy to get up and down the left flank in support of Jadon Sancho. We need more of that across the pitch to spark us into life.
**Lamare Bogarde, 6.5 –** Impressed again in the defensive midfield role as he was solid defensively and showed composure in possession to help build our play. One of the few positives on another disappointing night.
**John McGinn, 6 –** Missed his penalty but was instrumental in the build-up to our goal and produced some dangerous deliveries into the box where his teammates should have done better to put the game away.
**Harvey Elliott, 6.5 –** Great to see him score, regardless of the poor goalkeeping involved, and hopefully he’ll continue to improve and integrate to add an important dynamic to our attacking play.
**Jadon Sancho, 5.5 –** Should have done better with his effort that hit the post and although he floated in and out of the game, his ability to play intricate one-twos and prise teams open down the left side will add a much-needed threat to our play.
**Evann Guessand, 5 –** Showed glimpses of quality and an ability to be a threat in the final third, but much like the team as a whole, he needs to show more composure and clinical play in dangerous areas to make the difference.
**Donyell Malen, 4.5 –** Difficult given the lack of consistent service, but didn’t look much of a threat at all while leading the line as he was eventually replaced in the 67th minute as he continues to fall short of the level shown in pre-season.
### Substitutes:
**Ollie Watkins, 5 –** Top finish for his penalty, but didn’t offer much after replacing Malen as he also struggled with a lack of quality service.
**Morgan Rogers, 5 –** Looked a threat in the latter stages but continues to fall short of the standard needed from him when in front of goal as he’s just not sharp enough.
**Boubacar Kamara, 5 –** Great to see him back and get minutes after his injury setback, hopefully he’ll play a pivotal role in our resurgence.
**Emiliano Buendia, 5 –** Top penalty, and worked hard off the ball as we went in search of a late winner.
**Jamaldeen Jimoh-Aloba, N/A**