Brentford 1-1 Port Vale

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Brentford and Port Vale shared the spoils at Griffin Park in an entertaining draw.

Brentford had the better of the first half but the visitors' goalkeeper, Mark Goodlad, kept them at bay with fine saves from Rowan Vine and Mark McCammon.

Vale almost broke the deadlock after 27 minutes when Lee Ashcroft hit the post from 15 yards.

But Brentford took the lead after 56 minutes when Stephen Hunt was tripped in the area by Vale captain Matt Carragher.

The referee pointed to the spot and Hunt picked himself up to fire the penalty high into the net, giving Goodlad no chance.

The Bees almost extended their lead three minutes later when an Ijah Anderson cross from the left found Eddie Hutchinson unmarked in the area, but his header hit the post and rebounded to safety.

Vale equalised after 68 minutes. Steve McPhee smashed an effort against the post but Billy Paynter was on hand to toe-poke the loose ball home from 10 yards.

Another McPhee effort in the area was tipped onto the crossbar by goalkeeper Paul Smith after 79 minutes.

The home side made three late substitutions but could not score a winner and had to settle for a point.

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Brentford: Paul Smith, Dobson, Roget, Sonko, Anderson, Hutchinson, O'Connor, Fullarton, Hunt, McCammon, Vine. Subs: Julian, Evans, Williams, Peters, Marshall.

Port Vale: Goodlad, Brightwell, Carragher, Collins, Charnock, McPhee, Cummins, Durnin, Ashcroft, Paynter, Angell. Subs: Delaney, Rowland, Boyd, Armstrong, Burns.

Referee: P Armstrong (Berkshire).