Barnet 3-3 Brentford: Dan Sparkes stunner earns hosts FA Cup replay

Ollie Watkins scored the opener for the Championship side in the opening period before Shaq Coulthirst scored a brace in three second-half minutes to put the National League side ahead.

A controversial penalty enabled Brentford to get back into the tie before Sergi Canos gave the visitors the lead.

But Sparkes provided a moment of magic in a pulsating tie to keep the lowest-ranked team in the competition and earn a replay against opponents three tiers higher in the English football pyramid.

Barnet saw off Championship side Sheffield United at the last stage, and on Monday faced another side from England's second tier - also playing in red and white - as they aimed to reach the fifth round for the first time in their history.

Emboldened by a record crowd at a home they have called their own since 2013, Barnet began the game on the front foot.

But it was their opponents who began to take control, rattling the frame of the goal twice.

First Yoann Barbet thought he had scored, only to see his header crash off a post.

Then, midway through the opening period, Brentford right-back Moses Odubajo cut in from the touchline and unleashed an unstoppable strike from distance, but a post intervened again.

Barnet defender Dan Sweeney had played a starring role for the hosts to keep the score level and, at the other end, brought Luke Daniels into action for the first time. Leaping highest from a corner, his bullet header was turned away by the Brentford goalkeeper.

Sweeney's chance kick-started a brief spell of domination for the hosts, only for Brentford to land what seemed a sucker-blow with just five minutes of the half remaining.

Watkins drifted inside on his right before unleashing a 25-yard curling effort that left goalkeeper Will Huffer diving in despair.

"There's only one Bees in London," sang fans of Brentford, who share the same nickname with Barnet, as the Championship side took a slender lead into the interval.

Yet, within five minutes of the second half, it was the home support suddenly in full voice.

Ephron Mason-Clark was the provider on the right-hand side, twisting and turning before finding Coulthirst, who toe-poked home.

Coulthirst, whose goal saw off the Blades in the previous round, slid on his knees, and it was not long before he was dramatically celebrating his second.

Following a desperate scramble in the Brentford box, the ball fell to the striker who again made no mistake to make it two goals in 192 seconds.

On the hour mark, this compelling tie took another twist when Brentford were awarded a controversial spot-kick.

Watkins fell in the area, but TV replays suggested there was no contact from David Tutonda.

With no VAR available, the penalty stood and Neal Maupay sent Huffer the wrong way.

The non-league side had every right to feel hard-done by, and their misery would be compounded when Canos then scored a fine breakaway goal.

But Sparkes struck to get Barnet level again as the substitute somehow managed to get his free-kick up and over the ball and into the back of the net.

The visitors went in search of a winner, with Daniels denying Maupay and Odubajo hitting a post for a second time on the night, but Barnet hung on to force a replay, with a trip to Championship side Swansea awaiting the winners.

Barnet 3-3 Brentford: Opta facts

• The 3-3 draw between Barnet and Brentford was the highest score draw in the FA Cup involving a non-league side and a side from the top two tiers since November 1926 – non-league Weymouth recording a 4-4 draw away to second tier Reading in a first round tie in November 1926.
• Brentford are unbeaten in their last 14 matches against Barnet in all competitions (W9 D5) since a 3-6 defeat in the Football League Trophy in December 1991.
• Barnet are just one of two non-league sides to score 3+ goals in the fourth round or later of the FA Cup since 1986 (also Lincoln City v Brighton in 2017).
• Brentford have conceded 3+ goals against a non-league side in the FA Cup for the first time since a 3-0 loss to Telford in the second round in 2004.
• Barnet are one of three non-league teams to score 3+ FA Cup goals against a side from the second-tier or above since 1992 (also Lincoln v Brighton in 2017 and Forest Green v Derby in 2009).
• Barnet's Shaquile Coulthirst has scored six goals in his last seven FA Cup appearances, including goals in successive games against Championship opponents.
• Neal Maupay has scored in five of his last eight games in all competitions for Brentford (6 goals).
• Brentford’s Ollie Watkins scored his first goal from outside the box since netting against Stoke in August 2018.