Tuesday 16 August 2016 23:14, UK
Brentford boss Dean Smith hailed his side's resilience as they withstood a second-half Nottingham Forest revival to take the points with a 1-0 win at Griffin Park.
Scott Hogan's first of the season was enough to clinch the three points for Brentford, who made it four second-tier home wins on the trot for the first time since 1951.
Bees boss Smith said: "It was nice to get two clean sheets and two home wins on the spin. We worked very hard for that - you have to in this league because no one will roll over and give you the points."
Smith felt most of the chances created in a second half dominated by the visitors were of his side's own making, but hailed the competitive edge and team spirit that got them over the line.
His heart was in his mouth as Forest striker Britt Assombalonga raced clear deep into injury time but saw his one-on-one chance to celebrate the birth of his daughter thwarted by a superb stop from former Southend team-mate Daniel Bentley.
"We were masters of our own downfall at times because of our decision making and I felt we created most of their chances. People were giving the ball away in the last five or six minutes, but Daniel Bentley was very composed which was just as well," said Smith.
"We didn't look after the ball well enough in the second half but we defended very well and looked organised, which made it difficult for Forest to create too much themselves. We had to re-organise and I'm glad the players did it themselves rather than me having to do it with substitutions."
Smith was delighted for striker Hogan, who ended last season in blistering form: "It will do him good to get off the mark, but just as important for us is that he got minutes on the pitch," he added.
Forest boss Philippe Montanier said his side's lack of a clinical edge in front of goal meant a frustrating evening, compounded by the 87th-minute sending off of Damien Perquis for two yellow cards.
He said: "We were in control of the game and had many opportunities to score, but the story is always the same. It was a frustrating evening but I was pleased with the character of my side.
"We lacked efficiency to score goals and unfortunately that reflects the whole game. I thought Britt would score late on but we had too many opportunities to score and if you don't there's a danger you can always concede one goal.
"We made mistakes and that is frustrating but the mentality is good and we are trying too hard to achieve victories in what is a difficult moment for us."
