THERE was something horribly ironic as the final whistle blew on Cherries' 2-1 defeat at Brentford. (Sept 4)

Even the most ardent Cherries fans would struggle to say they deserved anything from the game on the balance of play - but two unpunished acts of cheating made it a difficult pill to swallow.

As the track What Have You Done Today to Make You Feel Proud blared out across the PA system at Griffin Park, Brentford midfielder Stephen Hunt must have been listening with a smug grin.

Hunt was at the centre of two highly controversial second-half incidents that left a bitter taste in the mouth of the Cherries players and supporters.

Just beyond the hour mark, with Derek Holmes' header having just hauled Sean O'Driscoll's out-of-sorts team back in the game, Hunt broke through the left channel into the Cherries penalty box.

As Neil Moss raced out to close down the angle, the Brentford man attempted to con the referee Richard Beeby with a blatant dive. There was no ifs or maybes - he dived as he tried to cheat his way to a spot-kick.

He even smiled as he admitted the dive to a young supporter after the game as he signed an autograph. A fine example to set an impressionable youngster.

Beeby failed to keep his end of the bargain as an incensed Moss protested at the attempt to win a penalty. A yellow card should have been the decision for "an act of simulation" in referees' speak but Beeby was more preoccupied with preventing Moss from throttling his opponent.

Two minutes later, with a few tempers already simmering on a blazing hot afternoon, Hunt and Beeby were at it again.

Holmes was left clutching his head by a mid-air collision causing the official to stop play. No problems there.

In usual circumstances on a drop-ball restart, the two players will agree who kicks it back to which goalkeeper.

Hunt apparently agreed with Neil Young to send the ball back to Moss but the cheeky little scamp - at least that is one printable term -instead chose to race away down the Cherries right flank.

Three Cherries players were in pursuit but it was Young who caught up with him and did what most with a sense of fair play would have done in the situation - chopped him down at knee-height.

Beeby suddenly found his missing cards and flourished the red one at Young - his second of the season - leaving O'Driscoll's already depleted ranks missing yet another valuable troop - believed to be for the next four matches.

It could perhaps be argued that the 31-year-old should not have allowed himself to give the referee the chance to do it and exact his revenge with more subtlety at a later point in the game, but regardless, he was ordered off.

Hunt meanwhile, did not last much longer as a bout of cramp - or fear for his personal safety - meant his withdrawal by Bees boss Martin Allen.

Before the match a 100-year-old gentleman Bill Axby was introduced to the crowd in full Brentford kit. Good old sportsmanship was presumably more commonplace when he was born in 1904.

Chasing the game with 10 men, it never looked likely that O'Driscoll's side would rescue a point from the remainder of the contest.

In the first half, Cherries had the appearance of a side licking their wounds at the sale of their influential skipper Carl Fletcher.

New captain Marcus Browning did the job manfully, but the loss of the Welsh international was evident as the side failed to get going at all in the opening period.

Ex-England international John Salako, who won five caps under Graham Taylor more than a decade ago, was the class act on the field and provided the early spark for the home side. But although a couple of dangerous crosses caused a few hearts to flutter, Moss was rarely extended.

Cherries meanwhile had to wait for 25 minutes for their first effort at goal - as James Hayter jinked to smash high and wide - and two minutes later for even their first corner of the game. The visiting defence were left occasionally ruffled and the otherwise excellent Eddie Howe was partly at fault as Brentford took the lead just past the half-hour mark.

Howe should have gained more distance with the clearing header but could only find former Dean Court triallist Isiah Rankin.

The striker fed Stewart Talbot whose low drive would probably have been pouched by Moss, but for a deflection from Brian Stock, which wrong-footed the keeper.

The London club could have extended their lead as Moss produced two quality saves - first from Salako with a reflex block and second when he clawed away a crossed free-kick from his bottom corner.

Cherries presumably had a fierce dressing down from O'Driscoll at the break as they emerged with an added tempo to their game.

Holmes managed their first shot on target moments after the restart but they were hit with a severe body blow a minute later as Rankin stooped to head home Salako's free kick two yards out as he snuck in unmarked.

As Brentford threatened to go for the jugular, Holmes reduced the arrears with his first goal of the season to give Cherries hope.

Stock's free kick battered the defensive wall for Young to pump a left-footed chip back into the box. The big Scotsman sprung the offside trap to plant a powerful header high beyond Stuart Nelson in the Brentford goal.

What should have then set up an engaging second half, was overshadowed by messrs Hunt and Beeby shortly afterwards.

Moss stood firm in the face of the waves of red and white stripes attacking his goal.

The 29-year-old goalkeeper produced a string of stunning saves - the pick of them his tip on to the crossbar from Scott Fitzgerald's full-blooded volley - as he, and some desperate last-ditch defending, kept the score at 2-1.

On the positive side, 17-year-old James Coutts looked bright on his full league debut when he replaced Garreth O'Connor 14 minutes from time. And fellow youngster James Rowe acquitted himself well.

However, Steve Purches, who was rushed back from his recent ankle operation to take a place on the bench, was called upon at half-time to replace Karl Broadhurst in a tactical switch.

His early return to first-team action, enforced by the sale of Fletcher and the glut of other injuries, was cut short moments from the end with another whack on the same troublesome ankle to give the manager yet another headache on how he will get a side out next weekend.

Purches' departure left Cherries playing out the remaining time with just nine men having already used their three substitutes.

If the crippling financial restraints placed on O'Driscoll continue, it may be more than just a freak one-off.