Brentford Under-21s began their inaugural Jersey Mike's Trophy campaign with a late 1-0 win away at Bromley on Tuesday night.
Fábio Carvalho, Antoni Milambo and Gustavo Nunes all started, but it was Ollie Shield who scored to claim all three points for the young Bees at the death.
It was an even start to the contest from both sides, with both Bromley and Brentford enjoying spells of possession with the ball.
Neither side could conjure up a clear chance on goal as the scores remained level for the opening 20 minutes of the game.
The young Bees were giving a good account of themselves, competing with the League One side.
The Ravens had the first opportunity of the game and it fell to Michael Cheek, who unleashed a sharp shot from the edge of the box but Reggie Rose saved well.
Despite the game being full of energy and technical quality on both sides, it was largely uneventful.
The second period saw the away side dominate the early stages territorially as they began to grow into the game.
Gustavo Nunes was first to have a strike at goal, although it was from an awkward angle so a slight deflection from Tobias Brenan forced the ball wide.
A fine passage of play saw second-half substitute Luka Bentt driving through the heart of the Bromley midfield, before exchanging passes with Carvalho. The midfielder then fed the ball to Nunes, who looked certain to score, but the winger’s strike was blocked by a last-ditch challenge from Nathan Patten.
The home side grew back into the game, and Nicke Kabamba should have put his side ahead as he volleyed a firm shot from close range, but Rose made a great save to deny the striker.
The young Bees went down the other end and fashioned a good chance of their own through Riley Owen, who danced his way past a number of challenges before firing a shot which Rex Porter saved with his chest.
Rose was called into action again soon after as Michael Cheek had two chances in quick succession, but Rose impressively saved both efforts, getting up quickly to claw away what looked like a definite goal.
Bromley were continuing to push for a goal and the team went close again through Nathan Paul-Lavaly, who volleyed a shot from the edge of the box on target but, at full stretch, Rose sprang to his right to push the ball away.
The away side were defending admirably, and Caelan Avenell made an unbelievable clearance off the line when Cheek had an empty net.
The opener came, and it was Brentford who found it through Shield; the winger picked up the ball on the edge of the box and struck a firm left-footed shot into the bottom corner of the net.
Despite late pressure from the Ravens, Sam Saunders’ side held on for the victory, which gives them three points on their Jersey Mike's Trophy debut.
The young Bees are next in action on Tuesday 6 October as they take on MK Dons in their second game in the competition.
Bromley: Porter, Archer, Thompson, Cheek, Jones (Miller 61), Kabamba, Mendy, Brenan, Paul-Lavaly, Patten, Jackson (Haftom 61)
Unused subs: Burton, Ifill, Adeboyejo, Conteh, Cowin
Booked: Haftom 64, Brenan 68
Brentford: Rose, Carvalho, Milambo (Bentt 46), Nunes, Owen, Grey, Avenell, Holland (Gorman 59), Shield, Picotto, Wheeler-Henry (Klimas 90+1)
Unused subs: Stokes, Wilson, Oladapo-Gamu, Kasujja
Booked: Nunes 55