A SECOND-half Gary Jones strike gave Grimsby Town a vital three points against Brentford at Griffin Park.

The home side dominated the first half in terms of possession and chances created but the Mariners also showed signs of improvement after two consecutive defeats.

And when Jones put Town ahead on 57 minutes, they still had a lot to do to ensure a happy trip home from west London.

Grimsby were forced to defend in their own half for most of the remainder of the game but they did so superbly, ensuring few serious problems for Phil Barnes as he kept his first clean sheet of the season.

Town had chances to double their advantage, notably through the impressive Danny North.

But in the end, one goal was enough to take the Mariners two points clear of the League Two relegation zone.

Town boss Alan Buckley was forced to make at least one change, with Tom Newey suspended after collecting his fifth booking of the season at Huddersfield last Saturday.

Nick Hegarty replaced him at left back in what was one of four changes to the team from Tuesday's dismal surrender to Darlington.

Barnes made a return in goal after Gary Montgomery had proved to be a more than able deputy in the last few games.

In front of him was a back four of Ryan Bennett, Rob Atkinson, Nick Fenton and Hegarty, while the midfield was Sam Hird, Paul Bolland, James Hunt and Ciaran Toner.

Jones had recovered sufficiently from illness to return in attack, leading the line alongside North.

And that meant the fit-again Martin Butler began on the bench, joined by Montgomery, Justin Whittle, Danny Boshell and Isaiah Rankin.

The home side made four changes from the team that lost to Morecambe in midweek, with ex-Town loanee Lee Thorpe having to settle for a place on the bench as Alan Connell was preferred in attack.

Midfielder Gary Smith was making only his second start of the season for Terry Butcher's side who, like Town, were desperate for the three points after a poor recent run of form.

The west Londoners had lost their previous four games in all competitions without registering a single goal.And that sequence included a 7-0 thumping at Peterborough two weeks ago.

But they started the afternoon in eighteenth in the table, a slightly less precarious position than the Mariners, who at kick off sat just three goals outside the relegation zone.

Town were immediately on the back foot after Barnes was called into action with just ten seconds on the clock.A shot came in from Ryan Dickson almost straight from the kick off but the Mariners keeper turned it round for a corner.

And it was the hosts who kept up their pressure over the opening exchanges, with Gary Smith also going close from 20 yards.

A scrappy opening ten minutes ended with a Brentford corner but it was overhit and Town were able to clear.

Grimsby's first real attacking move saw Hegarty move forward down the left before passing to North.The youngster then tried to play a one-two with Jones but the return ball was intercepted.

Then Toner tried to bring in Bolland but again, an interception was made, this time by Ben Starosta.From it, the hosts broke and the move ended with the winning of another corner as Fenton got back to challenge.

On 17 minutes, Brentford were awarded a free kick for a foul by Hunt and Dickson's inswinger was headed just over by Matt Heywood from six yards as Town struggled to deal with the set piece.

Then North had an ambitious left-footed shot blocked from 18 yards as the Mariners got the ball into the Brentford box for the first time.

Ross Montague beat Fenton on the left side soon afterwards before crossing to Connell, but Bennett got back to challenge before the striker could shoot.

Town then had an extended spell of possession that led to a half-chance for North.Jones flicked on and his strike partner swivelled and shot.North seemed to be stretching for the ball though and the shot went wide.

Then the Mariners strikers combined again when North looked to be in on goal after another Jones flick-on, but he couldn't get to a loose ball ahead of home keeper Simon Brown.

Brentford won their fifth corner a minute later and it fell to Montague seven yards out and unmarked.He just had to deflect the ball past Barnes to put his side ahead but the shot didn't have direction and went wide.

Bolland saw the first yellow card of the afternoon when he brought down Darius Charles on the Town right.But the Bees couldn't forge an opportunity from the resulting free kick.

Grimsby had their best attacking move of the game so far on 34 minutes when a methodical build-up led to Hird crossing low to North.Unmarked, the striker turned and shot but the attempt was well off target.

Town then had a huge let off when a mistake by Toner almost led to an own goal.A cross came in and the winger, stood on his own inside his own box, miscued a clearance and watched it go over the head of Barnes, who appeared to think it was going wide.

But at the last minute, the ball spun back towards goal, leaving the Mariners stopper to scramble back and push it out for a corner just before it crossed the line, denying the hosts an opening goal just as their supporters were beginning to celebrate.

At the other end, Jones won a ball in the air and headed down for North to run clear and shoot from the edge of the area.The effort lacked power though and keeper Brown gathered comfortably.

Bolland then gave away a free kick 30 yards from goal after a mistake at the back by Hird with two minutes left of the first half.Dickson's shot cleared the wall but was caught by Barnes.

One minute of added time was played before the first half was brought to an end by referee Paul Melin.

It had been an opening 45 minutes where both sides could have opened the scoring but the hosts had looked the most likely to break the deadlock.

Terry Butcher's side had caused the most problems, with eleven shots to Town's four and six corners without reply.

But the Mariners had had their chances too, with North looking lively up front with Jones.

And that, coupled with some good passages of play when in possession of the ball, meant that Town would be confident of stepping it up after the break and coming home with a win.

No substitutions were made by either side at the interval and it was Grimsby who made the better start to the second half, moving forward with purpose in the opening minutes.

Town won a free kick in the centre circle but it was cleared and Brentford broke with a long ball forward.Barnes came out of his area to clear.

Then the Mariners had a good chance when Hunt's flick was cleared for a corner.That was then headed towards goal by Atkinson but it was cleared off the line by Osbourne.

Despite not having the lion's share of possession, Grimsby had created the better chances of the second period so far and on 57 minutes, they took the lead.

Again, it was the two strikers who combined as North got to the by-line before pulling the ball back across the face of goal.

JONES took it on and looked to have missed the opportunity to shoot.But he recovered to slot the ball under Brown and into the net from inside the six-yard box.

Brentford responded with a spell of pressure and Starosta had a shot saved by Barnes before pulling a low cross across goal that eluded everybody.

Town were being forced to defend as the hosts looked to get something from the game to halt their losing run.

The Londoners won another corner on 68 minutes but Bennett was in the right place to clear before a long ball from Charles went all the way through to Barnes.

Brentford were playing long balls from defence in an attempt to create goalscoring chances without using their midfield.

But it was Town who had the chance to extend their lead when North turned and passed to the overlapping Hird.

He crossed for Hunt but the midfielder's header was cleared for a corner.

Brentford made the first change of the afternoon when Lee Thorpe was brought off the bench to replace Ross Montague with 16 minutes still to play.

Hird and Hegarty combined to almost create an opening for Town but it was still the home side who were pushing forward in search of an equaliser.

Alan Buckley made his first substitution with ten minutes to go, replacing North with former Brentford striker Isaiah Rankin.

North had given a much improved performance from the last two outings and he was afforded a generous ovation by the 335 travelling Mariners supporters.

Terry Butcher responded by making another change, bringing on Ricky Shakes for Charlie Ide and changing the formation to accommodate three strikers for the final stages of the game.

Town had been forced to do a lot of defending but they were still looking for the second goal that would kill off Brentford's hopes of getting anything.

Sammy Moore was introduced for the last three minutes in place of Gary Smith and Town had a let-off when Barnes punched a cross straight up into the air before claiming it at the second attempt as the home attackers closed in.

Toner conceded a free kick on the half-way line as three minutes of added time were signalled.Town brought ten players back to defend the set piece but the referee blew for a foul on Bennett by Thorpe as the ball was delivered into the box.

And in the second of those extra minutes, the home side almost had their leveller.A scramble ensued in the six-yard box after Heywood's low cross.Nobody got control of the ball initially but Toner stepped in and cleared magnificently for a corner.

Justin Whittle made a return to action for the dying seconds in place of Hunt before the final whistle blew to give the Mariners a precious three points.

Town had battled hard all afternoon against a Brentford side who were just as desperate for the victory.

And with Dagenham also collecting maximum points, the win was made even more important ahead of next week's showdown with bottom-placed Mansfield at Blundell Park.

Brentford: Simon Brown: Starosta, Heywood, Osborne, Charles; Ide, O`Connor, Smith, Dickson, Connell, Montague.

Subs: Masters, Thorpe, Shakes, Poole & Moore

Town: Barnes, Atkinson, Bennett, Fenton, Hird, Toner, Hunt, Bolland, Hegarty, North, Jones.

Subs: Boshell, Rankin, Whittle, Montgomery, Butler.