THEY say that if at first you don't succeed, you should try, try and try again. (January 1)

Well, after 521 attempts and no fewer than eight near misses, Steve Fletcher was the toast of Dean Court on Saturday after finally grabbing the first hat-trick of his career.

The 32-year-old club captain was rewarded for his resolution and led from the front as Sean O'Driscoll's charges kicked off the new year with a stirring victory.

Working in tandem with Wade Elliott, Fletcher ensured Cherries tore Brentford apart in the first half and Bees boss Martin Allen was magnanimous enough to admit his side had been lucky to reach the interval just two goals in arrears.

Fletcher, who had netted twice on eight previous occasions, grabbed a first-half double, with an inspired Elliott the source of both goals in the fourth and 35th minutes.

Brentford - and in particular left-back Andy Frampton - had clearly not done their homework as wing wizard Elliott was allowed to run riot down the right flank and deliver a stream of teasing crosses upon which forwards thrive.

At times, Brentford's 18-yard box was more congested than Marks and Spencer as Cherries queued up to pepper Stuart Nelson in the visitors' goal.

Elliott set the tone as early as the third minute when he turned Frampton inside-out following a swift break, only to see his low cross just elude Fletcher.

But it was only a temporary reprieve for Frampton who again suffered at the hands of Elliott seconds later, the Bees defender falling over, probably as a result of dizziness, after he had been tormented by another mesmerising run.

Electing to shoot rather than cross, Elliott's well-struck drive proved too hot to handle for Nelson and after the goalkeeper had only parried, Fletcher was first to react and poked the ball home from close range.

The two sides then traded chances, with Deon Burton's snapshot flying wide for the visitors and Brian Stock's fierce 25-yard piledriver being charged down by Scott Fitzgerald.

Although Alan Connell had the ball in the net after 22 minutes, his effort was correctly ruled out for offside, while Nelson had to be alert to scoop up Fitzgerald's awkward headed backpass as Connell looked to pounce.

The Fletcher-Elliott double act again took centre stage when Cherries doubled their lead in the 35th minute. Elliott caused further panic among the visitors' ranks with another captivating run down the right flank and when his cross came over, Fletcher cleverly pulled away from his marker before planting a bullet diving header past Nelson from around eight yards.

Brentford were chasing shadows and Allen's men hardly had a kick in the first half as rampant Cherries threatened to run up a cricket score with every player bar Neil Moss fancying their chances.

John Spicer looked to get in on the act following a well-timed surge from the halfway line to inside the Bees 18-yard box, although the former Arsenal man was denied when Nelson beat away his stinging drive.

And Warren Cummings almost brought the house down when he ended a scintillating run by dispatching a rising drive narrowly over the woodwork as Nelson remained rooted to the spot.

Cherries looked destined to increase their lead on the stroke of half-time when Fletcher, who had earlier seen his header from an Elliott centre deflected over the top, unselfishly opted to pass to Neil Young rather than trying his luck for a third.

But despite teeing the ball up invitingly for his team-mate, Fletcher and the rest of the Dean Court faithful looked on as Young, who averages a goal almost every 100 games and is due one, shanked his effort horribly wide.

Fletcher said: "Some of the other lads said I should have shot, but it was all about us winning and not about me trying to score a hat-trick. I've always been unselfish and that's why I haven't scored as many goals as maybe I should have.

"Of course I knew I was on a hat-trick, but Youngy was in a better position than me and even though he's a right-back, he'll admit he should have scored."

Allen must have been one mad dog at the interval as he sent his players out early for the start of the second half and also made a double substitution with Jay Tabb and Alex Rhodes coming on for Burton and John Salako.

At his post-match press conference, Allen described the Bees' first-half showing as "pathetic" and felt his players had "embarrassed" him. He also said his side "should have been 5-0 down at half-time" and added that some of his players "went missing".

The Bees halved the deficit five minutes after the restart when one-time Cherries trialist Isaiah Rankin controlled Frampton's long throw at the near post before sending a looping effort into the opposite corner.

But Cherries quickly restored their two-goal lead when Fletcher raised the roof by completing his hat-trick after outjumping the Bees defence to meet Connell's high cross.

"I didn't make brilliant contact with the third one and it squirmed under the goalkeeper," said Fletcher. "It was the only chance I had in the second half."

Brentford refused to throw in the towel and Rankin grabbed a fine opportunist goal when he drilled an unstoppable right-foot shot into the top corner from 20 yards to complete a hat-trick of sorts against Cherries after scoring in the Bees' 2-1 win at Griffin Park in September.

Spicer, set free by Elliott's beautifully-weighted pass, saw his angled drive acrobatically saved by Nelson before the midfielder blazed the follow-up over the crossbar.

And Bees defender Michael Turner intercepted another Elliott pass which would have put Spicer in the clear before Nelson again came to the visitors' rescue when he saved smartly from the Cherries winger.

"I thought we were excellent and some of our football in the first half was fantastic," said O'Driscoll. "We wiped the floor with them in the first half and matched them blow for blow when it got a bit hairy and scary in the second half."

Fletcher left the ground clutching his £37.50 matchball, kindly paid for by Dr Mark Dennison who kept to his word after apparently saying at half-time that he would cough up if the targetman went on to complete his hat-trick.

Fletcher is erroneously credited with a hat-trick in a book entitled The Complete Record of the FA Cup. He is listed as having scored three times during Cherries' first round replay win over Notts County in November 1999. The scorers were Fletcher (2), Mark Stein and Steve Robinson (penalty).