Huddersfield Town paid the price for a terrible first half as they slumped to a 4-2 defeat at Brentford.
The Bees were three up by the break, and while Joe Lolley pulled a goal back inside the first minute of the second half, a controversial penalty allowed the home side to snuff out any real chance of a fightback from David Wagner's side, for whom Kyle Dempsey's stoppage-time strike came too late.
It meant a hugely disappointing outcome for the 1,004 Town fans in a 10,262 crowd who gave great support throughout the game.
Teams
Huddersfield: Steer, Smith, Hudson, Paterson, Carayol, Miller, Crainie, Lolley, Holmes, Chilwell, Lynch
Brentford: Button, Colin, Bidwell, Dean, Woods, Judge, Swift, Diagouraga, Vibe, Tarkowski, Canos.
First Half
Brentford took a firm grip of the game right from the off and never let up during a distinctly one-sided first half.
The London side went ahead in the fifth minute when on-loan Liverpool winger Sergi Canos shot home on the turn from John Swift's pass.
Town continued to come under pressure and Danish striker Lasse Vibe twice tested Jed Steer before finally beating the keeper in the 21st minute.
The visitors claimed offside but referee Philip Gibbs waved play on as Vibe ran on to James Tarkowski's pass and drilled the ball home.
Brentford's third goal arrived in the 31st minute after skipper Mark Hudson handled as he tussled with Vibe.
The free-kick was out in the Brentford left, but Alan Judge managed to find the net with a low shot which went through a crowded penalty area.
Second Half
Town, with Kyle Dempsey and Nahki Wells on for Duane Holmes and Ishmael Miller, gave themselves a lifeline within 30 seconds of the start of the second half.
Joe Lolley initiated and finished the successful move, shooting home from Wells' neat pass to reduce the home lead to 3-1.
But the fightback was over in the 54th minute, when Ben Chilwell was ruled to have pushed Judge in the penalty area.
Former Blackburn man Judge drilled home the spot kick to restore the three-goal cushion, then Maxime Colin shot narrowly over.
But Town gave a much better account of themselves than in the first 45 minutes and Wells came close with a low shot which brushed the right-hand post, then put another effort inches wide.
Dempsey finally forced a second three minutes into time added on when he crashed home the rebound after Jamie Paterson's shot was parried by keeper David Button.
Good Day
It came too late to make a difference to the outcome, but Kyle Dempsey claimed his first goal since moving from Carlisle United in the summer and put in a positive performance after replacing Duane Holmes at half-time.
Bad Day
This was the heaviest of David Wagner's four defeats in six Championship games as Huddersfield Town's head coach. The German made four changes after the win over Rotherham United, but his side failed to turn up until the second half.
Stat of the Game
Shots
11
Brentford shots
11
Huddersfield shots
Opta
