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VENUE Kenilworth Road ATTENDANCE 6,861 REFEREE A Marriner (Birmingham) MATCH DATE 8 January 2005 KICK OFF TIME 15:00

LUTON TOWN Marlon Beresford   Kevin Foley   Chris Coyne   Curtis Davies   Sol Davis Ahmet Brkovic   Calvin Andrew 82   Steve Robinson   Enoch Showunmi 88   Kevin Nicholls   Paul Underwood Steve Howard   Rowan Vine   SUBS NOT USED Dino Seremet   Peter Holmes   Russell Perrett

BRENTFORD Stuart Nelson   Jamie Lawrence   Jay Tabb 82   Michael Turner   Scott Fitzgerald   Andrew Frampton   Isaiah Rankin   John Salako 90   Stuart Talbot   Chris Hargreaves   Eddie Hutchinson   Ben May   Deon Burton   SUBS NOT USED Andy Myers   San Lee   Alan Julian

Match Report	8 January 2005
Luton Town 0 - 2 Brentford

LUTON TOWN 0 N/A  BRENTFORD 2 Chris Hargreaves '71 Jay Tabb '89

HAPLESS HATTERS CRASH OUT OF THE FA CUP...

Brentford made it two wins over the Hatters in just over a month as Luton Town slumped out of the FA Cup at Kenilworth Road.

Chris Hargreaves and substitute Jay Tabb hit second-half goals to give Bees their second 2-0 win over Luton in short succession following their home League success at Griffin Park in December.

It means that Martin Allen's men are still the only side to beat Luton in the Hatters’ last 14 games.

Luton could point to a disallowed Steve Howard goal in the first-half and an Ahmet Brkovic header that hit the top of the bar in the second.

But Brentford's spoiling tactics frustrated the hosts and also sparked a confrontation between both sets of players on the field at the end of the first-half and in the tunnel as they left the field.

The Hatters welcomed back their four rested first-teamers Chris Coyne, Ahmet Brkovic, Rowan Vine and Steve Robinson at the expense of Russell Perrett, Steven O'Leary, Enoch Showunmi and Peter Holmes after the 2-2 draw at Peterborough United.

With Brentford stringing five across the middle, the game started with a messy midfield battle that saw Deon Burton fire a 20-yard effort well over in the fifth minute and Steve Howard hit a left-footed snapshot just wide from 15-yards in the seventh minute after Sol Davis' long free-kick.

After the scrappy opening, Vine lit up proceedings in the 23rd minute when he raced on to Howard's flick-on, bundled his way past Jamie Lawrence then turned Scott Fitzgerald, but saw his left-foot shot from 10-yards pushed around the post by Stuart Nelson.

From the resulting Paul Underwood corner, Howard volleyed home amidst a huddle of players, but the goal was disallowed for a foul on Michael Turner.

Howard almost scored legitimately eight minutes before the break when he found space in the area to connect with Steve Robinson's in swinging free-kick, but he put his header wide from eight-yards.

The half ended with an ugly melee between the players after Ben May went in late on Marlon Beresford and Sol Davis was booked after the shoving that ensued.

The players then appeared to clash in the entrance of the tunnel as they left the field and were followed by four police officers. Police then moved amongst the Brentford away fans as the temperature rose.

Despite the drama, the second-half continued in the same disjointed manner as the first with play bogged down in the midfield until Robinson hit a 25-yard effort just over the bar for Luton in the 58th minute.

Brentford responded with May setting up Burton for a 20-yard strike four minutes later that Beresford saved low to his right.

Burton then found space on the right in the 68th minute to cross for Turner to flick on for May who could only back-heel wide from four-yards as the ball fell behind him.

"But the visitors took the lead in the 71st minute"

But the visitors took the lead in the 71st minute when Curtis Davies slipped when dealing with a routine long ball down the left and Isaiah Rankin ran in on goal but saw his shot blocked by Coyne. However, the ball bounced for Chris Hargreaves to rifle home left-footed into the top corner from 16-yards.

The Hatters hit back and two minutes later Kevin Nicholls saw a shot deflect for Brkovic to loop a header on to the top of the bar and over from eight-yards.

"But as Luton pushed on, the visitors exploited the gaps at the back"

But as Luton pushed on, the visitors exploited the gaps at the back and substitute Jay Tabb was able to run clear on to Rankin's pass and slide past Beresford to put the result beyond doubt.

Newell's Comments	8 January 2005
Luton Town 0-2 Brentford "We are out of the cup and there is nothing else to say really. We are disappointed to lose any game and this one means the end of our cup run. "I don't think that there are many teams in this division who can out play us but Brentford came here and out fought us, they defended in numbers, kicked it long and frustrated us. "We had the ball in the net and it was disappointing that it was ruled out because that can be a turning point in matches. If we had taken the lead they would have had to come out and played then. "It has been a very frustrating day but we have to deal with it. There is no point looking for faults, they are the same players who have done well for us all season and we have faith in their character and ability. "We have played better this season but we are getting to the time of year now where the pitches cut up, it is not ideal and it wasn't a day for playing football. "The players are disappointed but that is to be expected because they wanted to get through to the fourth round. At the end of the day we have lost a game but we have to take it on the chin and bounce back. We are back in league action next week and we can fully focus on that now.

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