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Brentford hold off Reading to reach round four of Carabao Cup

Brentford progressed to the Carabao Cup fourth round following a 2-1 triumph over third-tier Reading at Select Car Leasing Stadium. The top-flight side seized the lead only 136 seconds in when Callum Wilson capitalized on Paudie O'Connor's misstep from a Dango Ouattara feed, tucking his strike into the lower-left corner.

Reading pressed for an equalizer—having an O'Connor overhead kick chalked off by referee Tom Nield for dangerous play, alongside near-misses from O'Connor, Jamie Reid, and Conor Masterson, while Michael Kayode made a crucial double intervention. However, the visitors struck on a breakaway before the interval as Ouattara set up Fabio Carvalho for a composed finish past Joel Pereira, despite earlier and subsequent chances featuring Wilson, Josh Stokes, Kayode, and Liam Fraser.

The hosts finally narrowed the deficit in the 72nd minute when O'Connor headed home from a corner kick, sparking an anxious final 18 minutes for the away side. Brentford wasted opportunities to put the contest out of reach late on through Ouattara and replacement Igor Thiago, but they successfully withstood the late pressure to seal their advancement.

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