Peterborough United are back top of Coca-Cola League Two after a hard-fought 2-1 victory at a vastly improved Brentford with Aaron Mclean moving on to 29 goals for the season and Craig Mackail-Smith notching another strike.

Posh got the game underway at a blustery Griffin Park and the wind would be in the faces of Darren Ferguson's men in the opening 45 minutes as they attempted to make it eight successive league victories.

Brentford carved out the first opportunity of the game on six minutes as a looping header from Nathan Elder picked out the on-rushing Glenn Poole but the Bees top scorer volleyed wide of Joe Lewis' near-post.

Posh responded well and should have made it 1-0 moments later as Craig Mackail-Smith threaded the ball into the path of Josh Low, but he saw his close-range shot superbly saved by Simon Brown. The deadlock was broken on 10 minutes and it was top scorer Aaron MCLEAN who did the damage, powering home a header from an excellent Claude Gnakpa cross past the despairing dive of Brown.

Alan Connell immediately sent a dipping free-kick wide of the upright after a foul by Boyd was punished by rookie referee Mr Ward. A Low shot was blocked by Ryan Dickson on 21 minutes but the Bees were having a good spell and looked decent in possession.

Former Torquay striker Connell hooked a volley over the crossbar after Pead made good progress down the right and sent a swirling cross into the box. Hyde volleyed wide from 25-yards after Low's cross had been only half cleared.

Elder was afforded a free-header on 37 minutes from a left-wing Smith cross, but he powered his effort well over the crossbar as the elements started to play their part. Morgan was cautioned for a rash lunge on Smith on the edge of the area and from the resulting free-kick Connell floated it over the wall, but Lewis made a comfortable save.

Lewis made a superb fingertip save to flick an Elder header onto the top of the crossbar, using all of his extra inches to reach the powerful effort. Posh were looking for the half-time interval as Brentford continued to dominate.

Mackail-Smith had an early chance to increase the advantage after a teasing cross from Low, but he saw his header well saved by Brown as Westwood continued to struggle with a niggly thigh injury sustained in the first 20 minutes.

Stone fired over on the half-volley on 50 minutes as Hyde lost possession in midfield to the powerful Bennett as the Bees threatened a leveller. A snap-shot from Mclean went wide at the other end two minutes later.

Low saw a low shot saved by Brown after bursting onto a Mclean flick and the winger was in impressive form, delivering some excellent crosses into dangerous areas in the penalty box. Posh made it 2-0 on 57 minutes as a long ball from Morgan was flicked on by Mclean superbly and MACKAIL-SMITH used his pace to get in behind Osbourne and steer the ball past Brown.

The Posh faithful behind the goal enjoyed the '9-0 on aggregate' chant but in truth this was a much more closer game than the one at London Road earlier in the campaign when the Bees were destroyed 7-0.

The Bees showed that by reducing the arrears on the hour mark as CONNELL was afforded plenty of room in the box and he fired past Lewis via a slight deflection from Westwood. Poole fired well over the top from a free-kick moments later and Posh need to settle it down once again as the home support have come to life.

The Bees were playing some excellent football and Lewis had to be alert to deny a fierce low shot from Poole and it is funny how a game can change in a minute, Posh were coasting but now have a real battle on their hands from a resurgent home side.

Boyd blasted over from a half-cleared Keates corner as Posh responded in decent fashion, but the game was still incredibly open and full credit to Andy Scott's side who were contributing to an excellent League Two fixture.

Charlie Lee replaced Hyde with 20 minutes remaining as Westwood was handed the captain's armband. Poole lashed a shot high and wide on 77 minutes as Posh tried to cling on to their one-goal advantage.

Mackail-Smith was cautioned for a needless foul on Brown on 83 minutes as the fans nervously looked across at the scoreboard as the clock ticked down. Adam Newton replaced the excellent Low in stoppage time as the game entered four minutes of over-time.

Keates saw a shot saved by Brown deep into stoppage time before the Bees won a late free-kick after a foul by Morgan. Mackail-Smith had a shot saved late on after an incisive counter-attack as Posh saw out the game for their eighth successive away win.

Final Score: Brentford 1-2 Peterborough United

Referee: Mr G Ward (Surrey)
Attendance: 4,049 (675 Posh fans)