To add insult to injury, Lou Macari had been sent from the dugout for protesting too strongly about a tackle on Kevin Gray during the second half.
A very poor first half had seen Town trying to find their way through an unambitious Brentford side.
With so few opportunities, it was good to see the Terriers come out in the second half and attack the Bees.
Leon Knight signalled his intentions after just 3 minutes of the second half when he fired home from Andy Booth's flick-on only to see his goal disallowed because a foul had been commited on a Brentford defender.
Knight didn't have long to wait before chalking his name on the McAlpine scoresheet once again when, in the 54th minute, he pounced on a second rebound and put Town into the lead.
Olafur Gottskalksson had kept out Kenny Irons and Andy Booth with two great left handed reaction saves but he couldn't keep out the Chelsea man.
Town went on to dominate the second half with chances falling to Andy Booth, Leon Knight, and the hard-working Danny Schofield.
Steve Coppell didn't allow his visitors to subside, however, and made plenty of attacking substitutions which began to tell in the final 5 minutes of normal time when the Bees beseiged the Terriers' penalty area with a long ball bombardment.
Nathan Clarke, Kevin Gray, Thomas Heary and Steve Jenkins had been defensively solid but found themselves buckling under the intense pressure and it was with virtually the final kick of the match that Brentford scored an undeserved equaliser.
Paul Gibbs, who had threatened with some long shots earlier in the evening, had his powerful shot deflected for a corner deep into injury time and, with the Brentford 'keeper making up the numbers in the penalty area for the last gasp corner, a goalmouth melee ensued from which Ben Burgess stabbed home the equaliser.
The goal completely deflated the McAlpine atmosphere and, with scuffles breaking out on pitch at the final whistle, what should have been a glorious victory for Town ended in dejection.
Read Mel Booth's match report on Wednesday - have your say using the messageboard or the email reply form.
MATCH FACTS
Town (4-4-2): Margetson, Jenkins, Clarke, Gray, Heary, Holland, Irons, Mattis, Schofield, Booth, Knight
Subs not used: P. Senior, Moses, Dyson, Hay, Macari
Booked: Schofield
Scorer: Knight 54
Brentford (4-4-2): Gottskalksson, Ingimarsson, Powell, Evans (Hutchinson 84), Mahon, Owusu, Dobson, Gibbs, O'Connor (McCammon 80), Hunt (Rowlands 75), Burgess
Subs not used: Smith, Theobald
Booked: Rowlands
Scorer: Burgess 90
Referee: Graham Salisbury (Preston)
Attendance: 8,518 (302 Away)
See match points on subsequent pages
FULL TIME
95 mins: There were some ugly scenes before and after the final whistle as on-pitch scuffles broke out.
95 mins: Ben Burgess stabbed the equaliser in the dying seconds!! Gottskalksson had come up for the corner and, in the confusion, Town had conceded yet another late goal!
94 mins: Gibbs' shot took a deflection and went behind for a corner!
93 mins: Burgess beat Jenkins in the air but the Welshman still made the clearance.
92 mins: Steve Jenkins was there to clear from a long ball into the penalty area. Brentford were playing long and camping on the edge of Town's area!!
91 mins: Lloyd Owusu almost rounded Martyn Margetson, who had come out of his goal to meet him, but he was forced wide in the 4 minutes of added time!!
90 mins: Gray cleared well from the growing Brentford attacks - the Bees were camping in the Town half with incessant attacks on the Town goal.
89 mins: Leon Knight was upended in the Brentford half as the game went into added time.
88 mins: Lloyd Owusu's shot was cleared by Nathan Clarke as Town continued to defend the incursions by the Bees attackers.
86 mins: Knight chased a long ball deep into the Brentford half. He went round one defender but couldn't beat Gavin Mahon.
85 mins: Gray found Schofield after taking up the cross.
83 mins: Nathan Clarke intercepted a cross for the waiting Brentford attackers. Steve Coppell was planning to bring on another attacker!
82 mins: Andy Booth held up the ball and laid it off for Knight who crossed back for Booth to touch off for Mattis but Chris Holland, who had made a good run, was forgotten as the attack broke down.
80 mins: Mark McCammon came on as Steve Coppell decided to beef up his attack.
78 mins: Powell beat Andy Booth in the air as Town continued to attack. Powell stayed down with a head injury. Mark McCammon was being lined up to add extra height to the Bees attack.
76 mins: Steve Coppell rang the changes as he sought the equaliser.
74 mins: Town were working hard to retain the ball as they tried to get a second against the Bees who were in disarray.
72 mins: Chris Holland tried to find Andy Booth but the ball was intercepted. Danny Schofield had a shot on goal parried out but Andy Booth couldn't capitalise on the rebound and neither could Schofield when he closed down the defenders. Police officers had been called to keep the peace on the Town bench. Lou Macari had been sent off from the dugout and was asked to remain seated in the dugout.
71 mins: Gibbs beat Knight to the ball and cleared.
70 mins: Holland's cross was given away by Evans who looked to have had it under control. Leon Knight waited patiently for the final pass as several players converged on the loose ball but the Terriers were penalised!
68 mins: Margetson missed the ball but Heary completed the clearance as Brentford pushed on with the game becoming heated.
65 mins: A great ball by Chris Holland flew over everybody and fell to Leon Knight at the far post whose powerful shot was straight at the 'keeper. Heated discussions between Town staff and the fourth official continued on the sidelines.
64 mins: Danny Schofield beat Dobson but the ball was taken off him by Powell who powered into midfield.
63 mins: Paul Gibb hit a Brentford free kick wide after the Bees won it dubiously. Lou Macari had earlier been incensed at the decision.
60 mins: Irons' corner was poor and cleared by Evans.
59 mins: Chris Holland's shot/cross fell to Andy Booth but he missed the tap-in with Danny Schofield and Leon Knight lurking in the background! The Terriers were completely over-running the Bees.
58 mins: The crowd were behind the home side as they started to exploit gaps in the Bees defence.
56 mins: Brentford were roused and pushed on for the equaliser, Evans' corner was poor and well cleared into the Kilner Bank by Dwayne Mattis.
55 mins: Andy Booth was flagged offside as the Town fans continued to celebrate the goal!
54 mins: Leon Knight scored his fifth Terriers goal after Kenny Irons and Andy Booth had forced Gottskalksson into two wonderful left handed saves but the Icelandic 'keeper couldn't keep out the predatory striker as he gleefully finished the second rebound!
53 mins: Evans tried to get past Gray and Jenkins but he couldn't find a way through and Town counter-attacked.
52 mins: Heary's cross to the back post was headed by Schofield, coming in for a diving header, but Gottskalksson made a good save!
51 mins: The Brentford free kick was cleared by Dwayne Mattis for a corner. Paul Gibbs had plenty to choose from but his corner was cleared by Jenkins.
50 mins: Schofield was harshly booked for a tackle after he had tracked back.
49 mins: Brentford were shaken by the second half shock and immediately push up on the attack but found Town defending well. Schofield couldn't reach a break-out ball on a Town counter-attack.
48 mins: Leon Knight pounced and fired home from another Andy Booth flick on but the referee disallowed it because a Bees defenders was being held!!!!
47 mins: Andy Booth flicked on for Leon Knight who tricked his way into the area but was forced wide by Ingimarsson as Town continued to pressurise their visitors. Kenny Irons gave the ball away to end the attack, though.
HALF TIME: A very dull first half was punctuated only by a chance for Andy Booth which wasn't on target and some industry from Danny Schofield who had two half chances from the left of midfield.
Their visitors were, as expected, very solid at the back but were also strangely unadventurous as they fended off Town's promptings with very few counter-attacks of their own.
It seemed that both sides were happy with the point earned so far.
44 mins: 1 minute of added time was indicated after a floated header went wide after an incisive Bees attack resulted in the half chance.
43 mins: Gavin Evans' attempted chance sailed well wide from a distance to ironic jeers from the Town crowd.
42 mins: Gottskalksson intercepted a flick-on by Booth before it could reach Knight.
41 mins: Danny Schofield charged down an attempted clearance and almost latched onto Kenny Irons' through ball after Dwayne Mattis had collected the loose ball and passed to his midfield partner.
40 mins: Leon Knight forced Gottskalksson into a save after Town broke on the counter-attack.
39 mins: Ben Burgess' effort was headed behind by Andy Booth for another Bees corner.
38 mins: Town were penalised for shirt-tugging. Gavin Evans stepped up and struck the ball goalwards but Heary headed the ball behind for Brentford's first corner of the match.
35 mins: Burgess' shot from within the penalty area was charged down. The Bees were becoming more confident and started to come out on the attack more often.
31 mins: Thomas Heary's free kick was well dealt with by the Bees. Andy Booth was getting little change out of the giant Brentford central defenders.
27 mins: A Town free kick was played square by Irons and struck well by Jenkins but came to nothing.
26 mins: Margetson collected an awkward, dipping cross which flew into his area.
25 mins: Andy Booth's far post header went out of play after a great move by Schofield who beat his full back and pulled in a good cross. Andy Booth had earlier been playing too wide.
24 mins: Gray headed clear from a probing Bees attack. Clarke and Owusu almost butted each other in an aerial challenge.
23 mins: A dull opening was not being helped by the isolation that the Town strikers were facing up to against a tight Bees defence.
20 mins: Town won a corner after Knight ran on to a Heary long ball and managed to reach it and win the corner off a defender. The corner was well telegraphed, though, and Gottskalksson had an easy catch to make.
19 mins: Schofield beat the offside trap but the through ball meant for him was put out.
18 mins: Heary was penalised for pushing during a Brentford attack. Andy Booth made the eventual clearance.
14 mins: The Bees broke free and attacked well but Town completed the clearance via Kenny Irons.
13 mins: Knight's hooked cross across the penalty area was missed by all and Gottskalksson heaved the ball clear.
12 mins: Danny Schofield was flagged offside in a late decision as the Terriers looked more composed in attack.
11 mins: Schofield's shot tested Gottskalksson but the Icelandic 'keeper got in the way of the ball and made the save.
9 mins: Town first attempt at goal saw Schofield's attempted shot fly well over Gottskalksson's goal.
8 mins: Clarke headed away from Owusu's attempted flick.
7 mins: A scrappy period of play saw possession exchanged regularly between the sides.
4 mins: Burgess combined with Ingimarsson but Clarke was doing a good job of makring Owusu who was looking for the through ball. Town were finding it hard to win and retain possession.
3 mins: Booth won a header from a Town free kick but the ball was hacked away.
2 mins: Clarke nicked the ball from Owusu who had gone past Holland.
Steve Jenkins was fit to start the game for Town after recovering from a calf strain. Ade Moses, who scored at the weekend, made way for the Welshman. John Thorrington and Chris Beech were still missing through injury.
