Kevin O’Connor’s Development Squad came from two goals behind to win 4-3 against Watford on Monday afternoon at Jersey Road.
Two goals from Alex Jakubiak and a strike from Ashley Charles had the Hornets comfortably ahead with 15 minutes to go. The Bees scored four goals in the remaining time, including three in quick succession during added time, to collect the points in dramatic fashion.
Brentford were a dominant force in the first half, which went by without a single goal being scored.
The home side had two early chances to take the lead, first when Jan Holldack blasted the ball over the bar and then Tom Field had a header saved by goalkeeper Nathan Gartside.
Holldack went closest when he exchanged passes with Westbrooke on the edge of the box, broke through the back four but was then thwarted by Gartside at close range.
The Hornets made few chances but almost had an unlikely lead when Bernard Mensah latched onto a free-kick from George Byers. The Watford forward flicked the ball on at the near post but it missed the target by inches.
The Golden Boys, managed by Harry Kewell, took the lead barely a minute after half time. Charles cut inside from the left before unleashing a swirling shot at goal from 30 yards. The ball dipped away from goalkeeper Billy Granger and found the back of the net.
Immediately, Brentford tried to hit back. Jermaine Udumaga got down the left flank, then pulled the ball square for Montell Moore to divert over the bar under heavy pressure. Moore then turned provider for a similar chance, this time Holldack was on the end but also missed the goal.
The Bees hit the post after an hour as Holldack burst clear one-on-one; Gartside managed to guide his shot onto the left upright.
Watford scored a second after 72 minutes, Jakubiak getting on the end of a Dennon Lewis pass as they pulled off a swift counter-attack. He then had the chance to score another from 12 yards soon after Yoann Barbet tripped a yellow shirt inside the box. Sending the goalkeeper the wrong way, he made it 3-0 from the spot.
An instant response came from the Red and White stripes. A deflected shot by Westbrooke was acrobatically tipped onto the bar by Gartside, who couldn’t recover in time to stop substitute Bradley Clayton bundling home a goal.
More than 10 minutes before the final whistle, Moore was left in a heap by an aerial challenge by the centre-circle. After treatment from the physios he was escorted off the pitch and replaced by Herson Alves. This stoppage meant a lengthy period of added time was to come.
With this in mind, O’Connor encouraged his side to push forward and attack the tiring Hornets. Two minutes from the end of regulation time, this almost came undone, when Granger did well to parry Jerry Amoo’s curling shot wide of his left post.
The comeback began with 92 minutes on the clock. Holldack drove towards the corner flag, then cut back and drilled a low ball across the face of goal. Nipping in at the near post to score, clipping the ball over two defensive challenges, was Alves.
The team rushed the ball back to the centre spot to get the game going again. Watford lost possession under pressure from Barbet and he knocked it back down the other end. A period of build-up play was halted when the ball was knocked over the top of the back four. Gartside came to collect it but his covering defender had already decided to nod it back, causing it to drop neatly for Josh Laurent to touch into an unguarded net.
Riding their momentum, Brentford pushed forward again. Watford had the look of a team that had been utterly shell-shocked and couldn’t clear the ball from the final third. In the seventh minute of stoppage time, Clayton scored the winner. A swarm of yellow and red shirts were knocking the ball around each other on the edge of the box, Mergim Quarri emerged with it on the left wing. He got his head up and found Clayton in the middle, the forward took one touch to control it before smashing in a winner.
Brentford: Billy Granger; Tom Field, Josh Laurent, Yoann Barbet, Dan O’Shaughnessy; James Ferry (c) (sub Bradley Clayton 59 mins), Jan Holldack, Zain Westbrooke; Montell Moore (sub Herson Alves 84 mins), Jermaine Udumaga, Courtney Austin (sub Mergim Quarri 84 mins)
Subs (Not used): Gradi Milenge, Saika Jatta
Watford: Nathan Gartside; David Sesay (sub Charlie Rowan 57 mins), Alfie Young, Jorell Johnson, Josh Doherty; Carl Stewart, George Byers, Ashley Charles (sub Jerry Amoo 67 mins); Connor Smith (sub Dennon Lewis 45 mins), Bernard Mensah, Alex Jakubiak
Subs (Not used): Matthew Hall, Michael Folivi