Steve Gallen's Under 18s begin their Youth Alliance Cup defence this weekend when they take on Brentford at the Bees' training ground in Jersey Road.

The R's go into the match on the back of an impressive start to the league, which has seen them win all three games, most recently beating Stevenage 4-3 last weekend.

Michael Doughty and Mo Shariff grabbed a brace each in a thrilling encounter, which saw the R's go 3-1 up before the hosts drew level with two late goals. Not to be denied, the R's hung onto their 100 per cent record courtesy of a stunning Doughty volley in the 90th minute.

Frankie Sutherland was unable to feature in the match after suffering a knee injury while on international duty with the Republic of Ireland, and now faces a short spell on the sidelines.

Reflecting on the victory, Gallen told www.qpr.co.uk: "I was delighted with it. We played really well to go 3-1 up but, after failing to deal with their direct style, they pulled us back.

"What pleased me was our reaction. We could easily have accepted a 3-3 draw, but my boys went out there and did something about it.

"Doughty scored an excellent goal to give us the win we fully deserved, and I thought he was fantastic."

QPR take on the only team above them in the South East Conference this weekend. With both sides registering three wins from three, Brentford occupy top spot on goal difference.

Gallen knows his side face a difficult test on Saturday in the Youth Alliance Cup, but is making the short trip in confident manner.

"We won this competition last year, beating Stockport in the Final, and we want to do well again this season," he said.

"Brentford have started the season very well, they hit seven past Barnet last weekend, but we will approach the game in the same way we approach all our matches. We won't change anything. We are going there looking to win the game."

Our match against Brentford takes place at Brentford Training Ground, Jersey Road, Osterley, TW5 0TP, kick off 11am.