Brentford boss Thomas Frank cut a despondent figure after being dumped out of the Carabao Cup on penalties by League Two side Gillingham. 

The Bees were cruising thanks to Ivan Toney’s early strike as they dominated the Gills with over 80% possession at the Gtech Community Stadium. 

But Mikael Mandron levelled 15 minutes from time with the visitors’ sole shot of the game, before Mikkel Damsgaard was the only player to miss from the spot to send Gillingham through 6-5 on penalties. 

Prior to the game, Frank had stated his intentions to try and go all the way to Wembley, putting out a strong side on Tuesday night, and the Dane revealed his disappointment at the curtailment of their cup run. 

“It is very frustrating, we wanted to go far,” said Frank.  

“This is why we love cup football; this is why there are so many stories, this is the beauty of it, a little more for Gillingham and hopefully they will enjoy it.  

“We’re disappointed, we put a strong team out there, we did our best to go through but unfortunately it didn’t happen. 

“Congratulations to Gillingham, they took their chance well and were spotless in the penalty shoot-out.  

“You can see how much it meant to their fans so congratulations to them. It’s always disappointing to lose, when it has to happen at least it’s to a good colleague and a good friend of mine.” 

The defeat compounded a difficult few weeks for the Bees, who are now without a win since 14 October, when Toney’s brace powered them to a 2-0 win over Brighton. 

Toney made his return to the starting line-up on Tuesday after missing Saturday’s 2-2 draw with Nottingham Forest but the hosts struggled to break down the Gills backline. 

There was a welcome return, too, for Christian Norgaard who played 45 minutes for the first time since August, but the Dane admitted the performance was not up to scratch despite dominating proceedings. 

"I’m sad about the performance that the crowd had to witness, they showed up in big numbers, expecting a good game from our side and they just didn't get it,” admitted Norgaard. 

“I know cup football can be tough sometimes and it's not the first surprise in history, but it's definitely not good enough and we have to analyse it and make it better.”