The honey pulled from the pot by Ian Wright before kick-off might have been sweeter, but the prospect of Swansea away was not enough to stop the duelling Bees of Barnet and Brentford from producing a classic FA Cup tie to complete Fourth Round weekend.

Darren Currie's team continue to fly the flag for non-league, with the National League side, who beat Sheffield United of the Championship in the third round, simply refusing to yield against another team from the second tier of English football.

They trailed at half-time but fought back courageously and took the lead with two goals in three minutes from Shaq Couthirst at the start of the second half. Brentford leveled at 2-2 with a disputed penalty when Ollie Watkins tumbled to the ground as he tried to wriggle past full-back David Tutonda.

Barnet's anger was enhanced by the television replays which showed there was no contact, but there was no video assistant referee in operation and Watkins apologised to Tutonda after Neal Maupay had converted from the spot.

'It was a wonderful dive,' smiled Currie, although Brentford boss Thomas Frank took issue with the suggestion.

'He is one of the most honest players I know,' snapped Frank. 'For me he's not a diver.'

Substitute Henrik Dalsgaard released Sergi Canos for Brentford's third before Dan Sparkes produced a magnificent free-kick, curled over the wall with his left foot and into the net off the bar to equalise in the 75th minute and ensure the enduring image of a terrific game was not a row about a penalty.

'A wonderful free-kick at any level,' said Currie. 'Dan has a beautiful left foot. He is a dead ball specialist, although he's probably not shown it as often as he'd like.

'I'm glad the penalty didn't define the outcome. It almost did but I thought it was brilliant, what a game, I loved it.

'This is not just what the FA Cup is about, this is what football's about for me. It should be exciting and it should excite the fans. Everyone enjoyed it, it was great to watch and we'll have another go at it next week.

'Why can't we go there and win it? We can achieve anything with this group of players if they believe in themselves.'

Brentford dominated the opening exchanges and twice rattled the frame of the Barnet goal when the game was goalless with a header by Yoann Barbet and a fierce drive from Moses Odubajo.

Watkins fired them into the lead, five minutes before the interval, when he collected a pass on his chest, turned towards and smashed a drive low into the net from 25 yards.

'One Bees in London' sang the away supporters but Barnet started the second half with two goals inside three minutes by Coulthirst, the goal hero at Bramall Lane in the previous round.

His first came with the help of a pass from Ephron Mason-Clark and the second courtesy of good fortune when the ball spilled in his direction from a scramble in the goalmouth.

Then came the penalty, the goal by Canos and the Sparkes free-kick which served up a frantic closing stage. Odubajo hit the woodwork again and on loan goalkeeper Will Huffer made crucial saves as the non-leaguers hung on to delight most of the 6,215 crowd, a record at the Hive.