LIKE good comedy, timing is crucial to success in the Championship.

Rival supporters dubbed this the Championship’s ‘Tinpot Derby’ as Brentford and Cherries continue to defy convention and push for promotion to the Premier League.

But by the end of the afternoon there was precious little mirth to be found in the Brook Road Stand.

The away end at Griffin Park had provided the perfect vantage point for a pair of first-half horrors as Cherries ended up with no reward for their part in a pulsating advert for the Football League.

How sections of the home crowd may have allowed themselves a chuckle at the collective hesitation that allowed Jonathan Douglas to swivel and net, or the manner in which Artur Boruc pushed Alex Pritchard’s dipping free kick inside his left upright.

But to laugh too heartily or cite those as the only meaningful moments would be to do both teams a disservice.

Brentford’s players, rocked by the news that boss Mark Warburton would be replaced this summer, refused to down tools and played as if their lives had depended on it.

Playmaker Alex Pritchard, on loan to the Bees from Tottenham Hotspur, produced a sparkling and at times unstoppable display for a side seemingly galvanised by the upheaval.

Whether the hosts, who lost 2-1 to Watford and 3-0 at Charlton in their previous two outings, would have put on such an inspired show had Warburton’s future remained uncertain is open to debate.

So many times such quirks of fate have worked in Cherries’ favour – the 8-0 annihilation of Birmingham a case in point.

Cherries were off colour, without question, but to write this off as a poor performance would be unfair on the team that had more of the ball and an equal number of chances as their eye-catching hosts until late in the day.

Callum Wilson spurned a golden opportunity when his first-time shot from a low Simon Francis centre hit the legs of David Button and within seconds, Cherries paid the ultimate price.

Pritchard’s initial low cross was cleared as far as Yann Kermorgant on the edge of the box but the Frenchman’s loose touch under pressure found its way back to the Spurs star.

Matt Ritchie, who was to have an afternoon to forget, allowed the ball to skip across to Douglas who stepped inside to lash past Boruc from close quarters.

Kermorgant was booked by referee Mike Dean for simulation in the penalty area, while Brentford’s energetic attack continued to carry clout with Boruc forced to parry Jota’s curler to safety before Pritchard poked the rebound wide.

But amid the flurry of activity, Cherries found some much-needed composure and levelled with a well-crafted move from deep on the half hour.

Steve Cook found Charlie Daniels to clip a ball into Marc Pugh who evaded the attention of Toumani Diagouraga to scramble home at the second attempt having hit Button’s near post.

Buoyant Brentford refused to lie down and when stand-in full-back Stuart Dallas sent Andre Gray scampering down the left to round Boruc, Cook somehow stretched to divert the angled effort away from the empty goalmouth.

Ritchie, already on a yellow card, was lucky to make it to half-time having lunged at Dallas but referee Dean, the villain of the piece for both sets of supporters by the end, let off the winger with a final warning.

The Bees, however, were in no mood for leniency as Pritchard pouched the goal his performance had warranted.

Wilson charged back into his own half and needlessly crashed into Alan Judge some 30 yards from goal.

Undeterred by the distance, Pritchard hit a fierce, dipping free-kick which Boruc misjudged to push into his own net seconds before the interval.

Eyebrows were raised by Fraser’s half-time introduction for Ritchie but the diminutive Scot gave Cherries a new lease of life, drawing a fingertip save from Button before hitting the side-netting on the follow-up.

Gray and Pritchard continued to link well and the former should have netted number three from a corner.

Andrew Surman’s close-range nudge was smothered at the near post by the in-form Button, while Fraser was enraged to be booked by Dean for simulation when seemingly upended in the box by Tony Craig.

Who knows whether that planted the notion that it was not to be Cherries’ day but from there, Brentford looked the likelier to score.

Indeed, after Jota had rattled the crossbar, Boruc more than atoned for his error with a string of fine saves that could have added a flattering gloss to the final result.

The Pole covered all the angles with a Schmeichel-esque stop from Jota and beat away efforts by Pritchard and the Spaniard during the dying embers.

But he could do nothing when Pritchard cleverly centred instead of shooting from an acute angle for substitute Chris Long to seal the deal at the far post.

STAR MAN - STEVE COOK

A PICTURE of calm composure amid the hullabaloo of an epic tussle at Griffin Park.

It is unlikely that either Cook or his Cherries colleagues will face a more intense test than a Brentford side fired up to prove a point in front of a boisterous crowd. 

But as the Bees swarmed forward, Cook stood tall. 

The former Brighton man held his nerve, stretching to make challenges that seemed impossible to win and saved a certain goal from Andre Gray. 

Error apart, Artur Boruc excelled between the sticks. Ryan Fraser injected pace and purpose to Cherries’ attack, while Simon Francis made an impact at both ends on his return from illness.

MATCH FACTS AND STATS

Bees: Button, Odubajo, Craig, Tarkowski, Dallas, Douglas, Diagouraga (McCormack, 74), Judge (Toral, 60), Jota, Gray (Long, 69), Pritchard.

Unused subs: Dean, Saunders, Smith, Bonham (g/k).

Booked: Odubajo, Dallas, Craig.

Cherries: Boruc 7, Francis 7, Elphick 7, Cook 8, Daniels 6 (Smith, 76), Ritchie 5.5 (Fraser, h-t, 7.5), Surman 7, MacDonald 6.5, Pugh 7.5, Kermorgant 6 (Pitman, 62), Wilson 6.

Unused subs: Ward, Gosling, Stanislas, Camp (g/k).

Booked: Kermorgant, Ritchie, Wilson, Fraser.

Referee: Mike Dean (Wirral).

Attendance: 11,459 (including 1,632 away supporters).