Watford and Brentford U21s served up a six-goal thriller in their Development League Division Two clash at Clarence Park.

A hat trick from Alex Jakubiak – the last in the dying moments of the game – clinched a 3-3 draw for Watford in an extraordinary contest in St Albans.

Two goals in three second half minutes from Andy Gogia had put Brentford into a 3-1 lead before Jakubiak’s second on 64 minutes had given the Hornets hope.

A penalty from Bradley Clayton with the last kick of the first half had earlier cancelled out Jakubiak’s opener.

Chances were frequent for both sides in a very even first half.

Watford’s George Byers had a couple of opportunities, and the skipper will be disappointed to not have converted either of his two clear-cut chances, with Nik Tzanev saving both in the Brentford goal.

At the other end, Nathan Gartside made a fine save in a one-on-one situation early on, followed up by an impressive double save later in the half.

But it was Watford who drew first blood in the 23rd minute, when a sloppy backpass to the Brentford goalkeeper wasn’t dealt with and Jakubiak sneaked in to tap it into the empty net.

Brentford looked dangerous throughout the first period, with attacks often coming down the right side, through right back Josh Clarke.

However, it took a penalty on the stroke of half time for the visitors to equalise, Clayton sending the keeper the wrong way.

Brentford came flying out of the blocks in the second half, with Gogia giving the Bees a 3-1 advantage.

The first was slotted calmly into the bottom corner, when the winger found himself with time and space in the box.

Three minutes later, a well-taken finish put the icing on a swift counter attack.

Jakubiak fired home his second goal of the game to give Watford a chance to force their way back into the game.

The centre-forward was played through with one defender to beat, and took the shot early to beat the oncoming goalkeeper.

Brentford came very close to restoring their two goal cushion, but Gartside denied them once again with an outstanding stop from close range.

In response, Watford were inches away from an equaliser, when Byers attempted an audacious effort from 35 yards when the goalkeeper was caught in no-mans land.

The equaliser eventually came for Watford deep into injury time after a scrappy battle in the penalty area.

Both teams deserved to come away with a point as there was nothing to separate the sides throughout the 90 minutes.

However, the Bees will be disappointed to have dropped the two points in the dying seconds of the match.