Prior to kick off the award for Players Player of the Year was awarded to Michael Turner and the Most Improved player was to Kevin O’Connor.
Hull were in dreamland after 35 seconds when after a Barmby corner was headed against the bar and in by Leon Cort. (Brentford 0-1 Hull) The Brentford players had looked nervous, especially the ones making their debut, and this was what they did not need.
Hull looked to double their advantage quickly afterwards but could not get the final ball and shot. Barmby had a shot from 18 yards which went way over the bar and hit the Brook Road Upper Stand. Ryan Peters had a shot which went wide and he had another long range effort which went just wide. Peters was looking very lively.
Chris Hargreaves was booked for unsporting behaviour. Russell Fry’s game was over after 32 minutes and was replaced by Junior Lewis.
Ryan Peters was booked for a strong challenge on Stuart Elliott. It was not long before Brentford had an equaliser. A Jay Tabb corner was met by the head of debutant Jerrome Sobers who diverted it into the back of the net from 6 yards. (Brentford 1-1 Hull). The home fans livened up at that point and got behind their team with more passion than I have seen at Griffin Park for some time.
Ademole Bankole produced save of the day with a stop from Kevin Ellison which looked as if it was going in. Ian Ashbee was booked for a challenge on Jamie Lawrence and the game edged out into a 1-1 draw at half time.
3 awards were given out at half-time. Stuart Nelson won Brentford’s player of the month and Sam Sodje scooped two Player of the Year awards from the Chronical and Griffin Park Gold.
Hull brought on Marc Joseph for Ian Ashbee who was on a yellow card.
Brentford came to a massive roar from the crowd and they wanted a win. Like in the first half Hull started the stronger and nearly took the lead when Fagan shot over the bar.
Martin Allen brought on George Moleski for Ryan Peters, who was lucky to stay on the field, and the he brought on Ryan Watts in the 78th minute.
Hull pushed the Bees back into their own half as they pushed for their winner and won a succession of corners. It was a big moment for Big Ben Burgess as he came on to a great reception from both the home and away supporters.
The fans in Braemar Road upped the volume and Brook Road followed suit pushing Brentford forward for that priceless winner. The fans in the New Road upped the volume and were pushing Brentford forward.
Brentford scored their second goal on 86 minutes, and what a goal it was too, Jay Tabb controlled the ball superbly got to the edge of the area and struck the ball into the top left corner and sent the Bees fans into delirium. (Brentford 2-1 Hull) Every fan near me was hugging each other and celebrating and it was hard to concentrate on the game while shouting my lungs out.
Brentford held on to a 2-1 win and some members of the crowd invaded the pitch out of sheer joy.
The full squad came out to applaud the fans for their work this season and Martin Allen gave us a speech about how we qualified for the next competition. It really was a great site and most Bees fans stayed there celebrating.
Brentford
A Bankole, K Osborne, J Sobers, S Fitzgerald, A Myers, J Lawrence, C Hargreaves, J Tabb (90 C Ide) , D Charles, M Harrold (78 R Watts) , R Peters (56 G Moleski)
Subs: G Moleski, C Ide, A Steele, C Masters, R Watts
Hull
B Myhill, S Wiseman, L Cort, D Delaney, A Dawson, K Ellison (72 B Burgess) , I Ashbee (45 M Joseph) , R Fry (32 J Lewis) , S Elliott, N Barmby, C Fagan
Subs: M Joseph, B Burgess, M Duke, R Edge, J Lewis
Ref: U Rennie
Att: 9604
Possession:
Brentford 52% - 48% Hull
Shots:
Brentford 8 – 10 Hull
Corners:
Brentford 3 - 6 Hull
Fouls:
Brentford 13 – 15 Hull
Bookings:
Brentford 2 -1 Hull