FA Cup draw report
Paul Doyle's match report
Right, that’s it from me. Here’s Paul Doyle’s match report from a buzzing Hive:
Here’s Dan Sparkes: “I’m known for a set piece but they’re hard to get right. I did what I could.” Nice line in understatement from the matchwinner there.
Updated
Full-time: Barnet 3-3 Brentford
Peep! PEEP!! PEEEEEP!!! All over. What a terrific Cup tie. Pretty much a fair result I’d say. These two will have to do it all over again in a week or two.
90+6 min: Sawyers beautifully picks out the run of Dalsgaard who is in behind the Barnet backline … but he’s there because he’s offside. And that should be that.
90+5 min: Into the final minutes of minimum added time …
90+4 min: … poked goalwards by Konsa but the effort drifts wide.
90+3 min: Odubajo forces a corner …
90+2 min: Barnet have settled for the replay here, understandably. Brentford … not so much.
90 min: Another Barnet sub: Boucaud comes on for Elito. And the fourth official indicates there’ll be a minimum of five minutes added time.
Updated
89 min: Handbags! Right in front of the Brentford fans who are massed behind the goal. Maupay, slightly naughtily, shoves Taylor into the hoardings and the midfielder reacts angrily. The referee speaks to both, who are equally culpable. No bookings, no bother.
87 min: For the THIRD time in the game Brentford hit the inside of the post. Obubajo forces his way through and sees his shot come back off the woodwork and ping across goal.
85 min: Benrahma tests Huffer from the edge of the box but the keeper is equal to it.
83 min: Benrahma curls an effort a yard wide from the edge of the box with Huffer at full stretch.
82 min: Brentford look like scoring every time they have the ball at this stage. Dalsgaard, in particular, has made a difference. Can Barnet hold out and/or nick one?
80 min: Another fine chance for Brentford. Canos’s shot hits his own player – Barbet, who needs treatment afterwards – full in the face and Konsa batters the rebound off towards Canons Park tube station.
79 min: Cracking save from Huffer as Barnet’s midfield goes AWOL. Maupay’s shot it tipped over the bar.
78 min: Brentford sub: Watkins off, Benrahma on. I doubt the goalscoring has finished here.
76 min: It’s almost 4-3 within seconds! Dalsgaard climbs highest and his header floats a foot wide of the post. This is just superb entertainment.
Updated
GOAL! Barnet 3-3 Brentford (Sparkes 75)
Holy moly! Sparkes lets fly and it’s a quite brilliant strike. What a hit! Off the underside of the bar and in!
74 min: Coulthirst wins a free-kick right on the left corner of the Brentford box …
GOAL! Barnet 2-3 Brentford (Canos 72)
Ah, the first bit of real quality from Brentford and it puts them 3-2 up. Dalsgaard picks out Canos, who is charging through the middle. He takes a lovely touch to move the ball away from a sliding defender then calmly tucks the ball home.
Updated
69 min: Subs: Henry off, Dalsgaard on for Brentford. And Fonguck off, Sparkes on for Barnet.
68 min: Rico Henry’s cross is well cut out by Johnson. I’d be stunned – stunned, I tell you – if we don’t get at least one more goal here.
66 min: A terrific move from Barnet – the increasingly impressive Mason-Clarke finding Alexander, whose cross is nodded straight at Daniels by Coulthirst.
64 min: A final replay from behind the goal suggests that was certainly a dive from Watkins. Barnet need to get the injustice out of their minds, though – this is still there for the taking.
63 min: … Daniels claims it but in the process he’s injured two of his defenders. Both very gingerly get to their feet.
62 min: The more replays you see, the more that looks a dive from Watkins. No matter now, we’re back at all square and Barnet have a corner …
Updated
GOAL! Barnet 2-2 Brentford (Maupay 60pen)
Maupay calmly finishes low to bring Brentford level.
Penalty to Brentford!
59 min: Tutonga trips Watkins amid a huge scramble … or does he? Replays suggest not but the referee has pointed to the spot …
Updated
57 min: Wow. Jeanvier overhits a cross-field ball by about 30 yards. Brentford brains are frazzled. Deep breath required.
55 min: The Hive is bouncing now. A crazy 10 minutes. Brentford’s defending has been dire since the break.
54 min: This is remarkable. Six Brentford defenders fail to deal with a routine cross and after a brief, mad scramble the ball breaks to that man Coulthirst, who slams the ball home. It’s 2-1!
Updated
GOAL! Barnet 2-1 Brentford (Coulthirst 53)
Oh my word!
Updated
GOAL! Barnet 1-1 Brentford (Couthirst 50)
The National League side are level! Mason-Clarke finds some space in the right channel, tries a few stepovers then fires the ball in to Coulthirst. And the man who scored the winner at Bramall Lane in the third round pokes home to send the home fans wild.
Updated
48 min: “I’m not very footbally but keep an eye on Brentford because my Dad alleged that he was the junior team goalie somewhere in the time of Ron Greenwood and Jimmy Hill,” writes Peter Gibbs. “I realise by telling you this that other MBMers may debunk this claim. Then again, my dad also told me that I was supposed to be made a director of Leyton Wingate but the owner (?) died on the golf course before he made it happen.”
47 min: … which is cleared. Rather brilliantly there’s a microphone somewhere in the ground that is picking up a Barnet fan or possibly coach who is screaming – and I mean screaming – at the home players.
46 min: Watkins forces a corner …
Peep! Off we go again.
The players are back out. Second half here we come!
An email! Here’s Neal Butler: “Your earlier comment about Europe playing The Final Countdown three times reminded me of this old sketch from Big Train.”
Some half-time Big Train for you all. Lovely.
Peep! PEEEEEP!! That’s half-time. Barnet aren’t out of this, not by a long chalk.
45 min: There’ll be a minimum of two minutes of added time. Barnet don’t want half-time at the moment, though. They’ve been great since falling behind.
44 min: Mason-Clarke gets in behind on the Barnet right but his cut-back falls between three teammates. That was a chance.
43 min: Coulthirst does brilliantly on the break, flicking a long ball on and then getting on the end of it himself. Barbet does brilliantly to get back and challenge the striker and when the ball breaks to Taylor he thrashes the ball wide.
41 min: Robson pings an effort at goal from distance but it’s high and wide.
GOAL! Barnet 0-1 Brentford (Watkins 40)
And the Championship side take the lead. Maupay was guilty of holding on to the ball too long a moment or two ago, but Watkins lets fly from close to 30 yards out and sees his effort zip past Huffer and nestle in the bottom corner.
Updated
38 min: Maupay picks Sweeney’s pocket and is through on goal but Barnet scramble back to deny the striker space.
37 min: The first yellow card of the game goes to Odubajo, who is guilty of pulling back an opponent as Barnet break.
35 min: Here’s the full draw for round five:
33 min: There’s a pause for breath as Tutonda gets some treatment for a knock. He’s fine to continue.
30 min: Mason-Clarke gets half a sight of goal as Coulthirst causes havoc in the Brentford defence. His shot is weak, though, and Daniels gathers.
29 min: “Look no further than the 64th Grey Cup, the final game of the Canadian Football League’s 1976 season where the Ottawa Rough Riders faced the Saskatchewan Roughriders,” writes Glenn Shepherd. “Ottawa won 23-20!”
28 min: Brilliant block from Alexander as the ball drops to Canos on the edge of the Barnet box. This is a cracking Cup tie.
27 min: That goes down as a great chance for the home side. It was a fine save but Sweeney will think he shouldn’t have given him the chance.
Updated
26 min: … Sweeney meets it with a thumping header that Daniels does superbly to turn away.
25 min: Taylor does superbly to skitter onto Robson’s pass and cut back across goal. Cleared. Corner to Barnet …
22 min: A stunning effort from Odubajo cannons back off the woodwork! The Brentford wing-back cuts inside and spanks a curling effort onto the inside of the same post that Barbet hit earlier. Almost the same spot in fact. Again the ball pings across goal and away to safety.
20 min: Da Silva cuts inside and hammers a shot at goal – it’s straight down Huffer’s throat and the keeper gathers despite an awkward bounce.
19 min: Johnson clears as Henry fires in another low cross. Barnet desperately need to release the pressure.
17 min: Brentford are just beginning to crank up the pressure. Rico Henry threatens on the left and it takes some scrambling in the Barnet backline to clear.
15 min: Maupay gets his foot on the ball, on the half-turn, inside the Barnet box but Sweeney is across quickly to smother the danger.
14 min: It’s all got a little bit scrappy, which will suit the non-league team just fine.
11min: Canos’s throughball towards Maupay is overhit but a moment or two later Sweeney nips in to cut out a a dangerous header from Watkins.
9 min: … my word, how did that stay out? Watkins delivers to the near post where Barber flicks on with his head. The effort thuds onto the inside of the near post and bounces away across goal to safety.
8 min: … Barbet slaps his first effort into the wall, then sees his follow-up deflected away for a Brentford corner …
7 min: Watkins is hauled down on the edge of the Barnet area by Robson. A very dangerous position this …
6 min: “Bristol City v Swindon – The Robins v The Robins,” suggests Don Blandford. Is there a ground called The Nest or similar?
5 min: Barnet have started vert well here. Elito sidefoots in a cross but it’s far too close to Daniels.
4 min: Elito looks to get away down the Barnet left but is outmuscled by Konsa.
Updated
2 min: … a Brentford head meets it and the Championship side look to break but it comes to nothing.
1 min: “Millwall v Guiseley?” suggests Michael Watson. “Lions v Lions at the Den.” Yes, absolutely. Meanwhile, Barnet have started on the front foot and have an early corner …
Peep! Off we go then.
The players emerge from the tunnel to the guitar intro of Sweet Child Of Mine.
The fact that it this is the Bees facing the Bees at the Hive is obviously pleasing – I’m racking my brain to think of any other nickname v nickname at [insert apt ground] examples but I’ve got nothing. Please help: john.ashdown@theguardian.com
Europe’s The Final Countdown blares out at the Hive. A colleague of mine here at Guardian Towers once went to see Europe live in convert and they played The Final Countdown three times, which always strikes me as a) hilarious and b) absolutely understandable.
The draw
The winner of this game faces a trip to Swansea in the fifth round.
The teams
#BarnetFC line-up versus @BrentfordFC 🐝👇 pic.twitter.com/61ekGUzTMB
— Barnet FC 🐝 (@BarnetFC) January 28, 2019
1⃣1⃣Here's how we lineup at The Hive tonight #BNTBRE | #BrentfordFC pic.twitter.com/KbABd9bTMM
— Brentford FC (@BrentfordFC) January 28, 2019
Preamble
It’s finally time for surely the tie of the round (on one level at least): The Bees v The Bees at the Hive.
It’s been 10 years since these sides were in the same division but the last time the teams met was just over seven years ago and also came in a cup competition, with Barnet dumping Brentford out of the JPT on penalties after a 0-0 draw at Underhill.
And just for belt-and-braces, historical fact fans, Barnet have never – NEVER – beaten Brentford inside 90 minutes. That said, they’d never beaten Sheffield United before and happily ousted the Blades in the third round with a superb performance at Bramall Lane.
While Barnet were providing one of the shocks of the round, Brentford were squeezing past League One Oxford thanks to a late Neal Maupay penalty at Griffin Park. That game, though, has proven the first of a three-match winning run and Thomas Frank’s side haven’t lost since 15 December.
That has pushed Brentford away from the Championship relegation zone, so it’s 17th in the National League v 18th in the Championship this evening – a gap of 70 league places by my count.
It could be very interesting. Kick off is at 7.45pm GMT but before that, come join me over here for the FA Cup fifth round draw.
