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Hot on the tail of Brentford’s win over Stevenage in the re-arranged match at Griffin Park, fan video reaction from that game above, the Bees tackle the return fixture this Tuesday evening. The memories of last season’s trip to Stevenage and the two-missed-penalties-fiasco will still be raw for many Brentford supporters. The events of that less-than-memorable afternoon came on only the second competitive visit to North Hertfordshire – the first had taken place in August 2010, when Robbie Simpson’s fourth goal in six matches secured a 1-0 Johnstone’s Paint Trophy win for the Bees.

Prior to that, you have to go back to August 1996 when, in the immediate aftermath of the Football League’s refusal to admit Stevenage after their Conference title success, David Webb took his squad to Broadhall Way for a pre-season friendly. Kevin Dennis and Carl Asaba were the goal-scorers in a 2-2 draw that saw Australian goalkeeper Simon Miotti make an appearance on trial, but fail to secure a contract.

In the absence of anything further to test the memory in connection to Stevenage, Mark Croxford looks back to Brentford’s last game to be played on Tuesday 5th March recalls a great away win on an appalling night, weather-wise, at Hull City.

Hull City 0, Brentford 1 (Tuesday 5th March 1996)

Following a poor start to the season, fortunes had begun to change and, coinciding with the arrival of the on-loan Scott Canham from West Ham, a run of just one defeat in 10 matches had started to haul the team away from the lower reaches of the table.

The trip to Boothferry Park in Humberside – which was never the nicest of places to visit at the best of times, let alone on a dark, dank and thoroughly miserable evening – came three days after a goal-less draw on the south coast at Brighton and the game looked almost certain to be heading for the same result, despite the home side having dominated throughout.

With Hull already all-but-doomed to relegation, they shaded the first-half and took total control after the break until the dying seconds when a strike that could be classed in the ‘freakish’ category won the match. Hull City’s Simon Trevitt blasted a clearance against the foot of Ijah Anderson and the ball ricochetted back in volley-like style, straight over the head of the Tigers’ ‘keeper Roy Carroll and into the net.

The win lifted Brentford four places up to 15th position in the table and made it their highest league placing since September.

The post-match activity was described amusingly but aptly by reporter Colin Young in his match review:

… “Manager David Webb rushed his players onto the team bus under cover of darkness. Leaving Boothferry Park by the speed of light, Webb must have feared that any hold-up would see his side charged with daylight robbery after stealing this game from under the noses of poor Hull.”

In a more reflective mood Webb later said,

“It was a horrible game and 2,000 people deserved more for coming out on a night like tonight. Ijah deserved it, if anyone did. If anyone showed willing, it was him. He showed he deserved to score although he was supposed to have moved further forward before that, anyway!”

The line-up was: Kevin Dearden, Lee Harvey, Ijah Anderson, Gus Hurdle, Jamie Bates, David Greene, Paul Abrahams, Paul Smith, Nicky Forster, Martin Grainger and Robert Taylor

Subs: Carl Hutchings, Joe Omigie and Tamer Fernandes

 

Mark Croxford