Sammie Szmodics and George Hirst gave Town a two-goal lead before the Bees hit back twice just before the break to leave the half-time scoreline 2-2 between the Blues and Brentford at the Gtech Community Stadium.
Town made six changes with skipper Sam Morsy, who has a hamstring injury which is not expected to keep him out behind today, Jack Taylor, who also has a knock, and Omari Hutchinson, who is ill, joining an already lengthy injury list featuring Axel Tuanzebe (hand), Ben Johnson (thigh), Massimo Luongo (ankle) and Jacob Greaves (hamstring).
Harry Clarke came in at right-back for his full Premier League debut with Dara O’Shea moving into the centre alongside Cameron Burgess with Luke Woolfenden on the bench.
In midfield, Jens Cajuste, who came close to joining Brentford in the summer, and Kalvin Phillips started with Conor Chaplin skippering as the number 10, while ex-Bee Chiedozie Ogbene was on the right and Szmodics on the left and Wes Burns and Jack Clarke on the bench.
Hirst was handed his full Premier League debut as the central striker in a tactical move with Liam Delap among the subs along with Christian Walton and Cieran Slicker, Town naming two keepers illustrating the lack of fit outfield players. Striker Ali Al-Hamadi, who is continuing to have groin problems, is also on the bench.
Brentford made two changes from the team which lost 2-1 at Manchester United last week with Yoane Wissa returning to the XI following an ankle injury with Kevin Schade dropping to the bench, while Mads Roerslev came in for Kristoffer Ajer, who was missing from the squad.
Ahead of kick-off, both sides took a knee in support of the Premier League’s No Room For Racism campaign.
Unlike three of Brentford’s other recent opponents, the Blues managed to survive the opening minute without conceding, the Bees having kicked off. And unlike Wolves, Town repelled the Bees during the second minute.
From there, the Blues had the better of the early exchanges, taking the game to the West Londoners and winning a couple of corners with the Town support away in the corner at the other end making plenty of noise.
The Bees, however, began to take charge and on seven Christian Nørgaard and then Bryan Mbeumo saw efforts blocked.
As the clocked ticked past 14, there was a minute’s applause for 14-year-old Brentford fan Holly West, who recently died of cancer.
The Bees were seeing most of the ball but without threatening until the 19th minute when Nørgaard flicked a near-post header from a corner on the left which struck a Town player before Aro Muric blocked and then claimed at the second attempt.
Neither side had created another opportunity before the Blues went ahead in the 29th minute.
Phillips played a ball forward to Hirst between Brentford’s centre-halves, the striker turned away, then fed Szmodics, who was breaking towards the area to his left and the former Blackburn man confidently curled his shot beyond Mark Flekken and into the corner of the net.
The Town fans were still celebrating their side’s opening goal when they scored their second. After Ogbene had tussled with a defender just over halfway, Chaplin picked the ball up, took it forward and to the left before playing a superb pass between two Brentford defenders to Hirst on the right of the box and the ex-Leicester striker deftly clipped the ball past Flekken.
While the celebrations for Town having established a 2-0 lead for the first time this season were continuing, Ogbene underwent treatment having pulled or perhaps torn a muscle in the build-up. The Irish international eventually left the field on a stretcher and Wes Burns took over.
Three minutes after the goal, the Blues, who were now well in the ascendency, weren’t too far away again, Burgess looping a header from a corner to Flekken. Soon after, Leif Davis shot well over.
Town went even closer to a third goal in the 39th minute when Szmodics stole the ball from Nørgaard following a goal-kick on the edge of the area and took it into the box but Flekken saved well with his feet.
On 42, Davis was booked for taking too long over a throw-in and two minutes later, the Bees pulled a goal back.
Keane Lewis-Potter rode challenges down the left before feeding Vitaly Janelt, who cut it across to Wissa, who had got away from Davis at the back of the box, and the DR Congo international beat Muric to claim his fourth goal of the season.
And two minutes later, a minute into time added on, the Bees levelled. Mikkel Damsgaard played a ball from the right in behind Burgess for Wissa, who stabbed it under Muric, who slowed it up. and Clarke behind him inadvertently diverted it over the line as he sought to clear. After a VAR check for offside, the home fans’ roar signalled their side were back on terms, Clarke having been credited with an own goal.
That was the last action of an at times pulsating half. Town had started positively before Brentford had seen most of the ball prior to the Blues going in front and then doubling their lead three minutes later.
Town had chances to increase their advantage further before the Bees’ late sucker punch at the end of the half, scoring two goals in two minutes.
The home side had unsurprisingly finished the half the stronger but it would be a huge surprise if there weren’t more goals in the second half, probably at both ends.
Brentford: Flekken, Roerslev, Collins, Pinnock, Van den Berg, Nørgaard, Janelt, Damsgaard, Mbuemo, Wissa, Lewis-Potter. Subs: Valdimarsson, Meghoma, Mee, Konak, Trevitt, Yamoliuk, Jensen, Sscade, Carvalho.
Town: Muric, H Clarke, O’Shea, Burgess, Davis, Cajuste, Phillips, Ogbene (Burns 35), Chaplin (c), Szmodics, Hirst. Subs: Walton, Slicker, Woolfenden, Townsend, Broadhead, J Clarke, Al-Hamadi, Delap. Referee: Lewis Smith (Wigan). VAR official: Peter Bankes.