Bees 3 Shrewsbury 1

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Rhodes scores his first hat trick!

A Jordan Rhodes hat-trick in the first half sealed an impressive win for in-form Brentford

It was a great performance on a day when most of the teams around us also won. Andy Scott kept faith with the team which beat Aldershot in the week.

Rhodes first goal was a terrific strike from outside the back, before he seized onto a poor backpass for his second and completed his hat-trick with a headed goal (right foot - left foot - head, how versatile is that?). Shrewsbury's consolation goal came from Grant Holt in the second half.

The win sees Brentford retain second place in League Two

Brentford: Hamer, Halls (Williams), Phillips, Bennett (Osborne), Dickson, Newton, O'Connor, Bean, Wood, MacDonald, Rhodes.

Subs not used: Simon Brown, Poole, Hunt,

Player ratings:
Hamer 7 - coped well with what he faced but didn't have too much to do. no chance with the goal.
Halls 7 - showing his class as he gets back to full fitness. has the ability, needs to always have the bottle. could do well in the next league up.
Phillips 7 - another strong game. great partnership with Bennett.
Bennett 7(Osborne 73) - great leadership, glad to be here for the rest of the season.
Dickson 7 - did nothing wrong, got forward well.
Newton 7 (Williams 73) - nice linking with Halls.
O'Connor 7 - deserves his place in midfield now.
Bean 8 - where are his doubters. strong in the middle, won most 50/50s.
Wood 8 - great delivery, boy has adapted well to league 2.
MacDonald 9 - such a grafter, deserved a goal himself and could easily have got one.
Rhodes 10 - great finishes. pure class.

Thanks to beesotted for the match report

February 2, 2009