Barnet 0 Brentford 0 (Barnet won 5-3 on penalties)
There will be no Wembley return in the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy for Brentford, who bowed out after losing on penalties at Underhill.
Goalkeeper Dean Brill was the hero for League Two strugglers Barnet, producing several fine stops during the match before Jonathan Douglas blazed over in the shoot-out.
It took Lawrie Sanchez’s men through to a southern-area final against Swindon – who beat Southend – and sent last season’s beaten finalists packing.
Brentford trio Gary Alexander, Sam Saunders and Jake Reeves all scored with their penalties, but Douglas, who took their second kick, was unable to convert his.
It condemned Uwe Rosler’s men to a bitterly disappointing cup exit – their second in the space of three days following Saturday’s FA Cup defeat against Conference outfit Wrexham.
Their magnificent 6-0 demolition of Bournemouth in the previous round raised hopes of another trip to Wembley and a chance to atone for last season’s loss there against Carlisle.
They certainly started like they meant business against Barnet, swarming all over their opponents in the opening stages.
But they were unable to find the net, with Niall McGinn firing just over the Barnet bar before Saunders and Marcus Bean also went close.
Defender Marcel Eger then missed a great chance when he failed to score with a header from Saunders’ free-kick.
Brentford continued to dominate after the interval but the outstanding Brill kept them at bay.
The former Luton man pulled off a fine double save, keeping out Clayton Donaldson’s header and then Tounami Diagouraga’s attempt to volley home the rebound.
Brill did well again to deny Donaldson one-on-one, before Barnet almost broke the deadlock when Clovis Kamdjo was denied by Shaleum Logan’s clearance.
That proved to be a mere stay of execution for Brentford, who fell short despite an amazing record in shoot-outs.
They prevailed on penalties against MK Dons earlier in the competition and in last season’s against Leyton Orient, Swindon and Charlton, not to mention in the Carling Cup against Everton.
This time, however, they came unstuck.
Mark Hughes, Ricky Holmes, Sam Deering and Izale McLeod all scored with their penalties to give team-mate Danny Senda the chance to take Barnet through, and he made no mistake.
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This post was last modified on 09/12/2011