By Bruce Archer

Brentford’s Sam Saunders revealed a change in formation was enough to see off his old employers Dagenham & Redbridge on a night of cup drama at Griffin Park.

A last-minute Farid El Alagui header sealed a 3-2 win, and sent the Bees into the second round of the Capital One Cup – and a trip to Derby County – for the first time in two seasons.

Uwe Rosler’s men had to come from a goal behind against the League Two outsiders, but El Alagui’s brace and a Martin Fillo strike proved just enough.

Saunders, who set up Fillo’s first goal for the Bees, said: “We were playing all right in the first half but weren’t really going at them.

“At half-time, we increased the tempo and changed the shape of the team from 4-3-3 to a 4-4-2.

“That helped a lot because we were getting Martin [Fillo] in nice holes behind their defence.”

Saunders signed for Brentford from the Daggers in 2009, and he was happy to reach the second round, even though it was at the expense of his old team.

He said: “For a couple of seasons our record has not been great in this competition so it’s good to progress.

“Dagenham are a bit different now because a lot of the players aren’t there anymore and it’s just a few of the staff that are still there.

“But it’s always nice to see a few of the fans, I recognised a few of the faces in the crowd.”

The second round takes place on the week commencing August 26.