Daniel Bentley said he couldn’t have asked for more from his first two home matches as a Brentford player after taking maximum points and keeping two clean sheets. The Bees followed up Saturday’s 2-0 success against Ipswich Town with a 1-0 win over Nottingham Forest under the lights tonight to move into the top six in the early Sky Bet Championship table. Speaking to Bees Player after the match, Daniel said the week had seen a great return from two difficult fixtures.
“We couldn’t have asked for better,” said Daniel. “If you had offered that to us before the two home games we would have snapped your hand off. They were two difficult games and two difficult opponents. We have had to withstand some pressure but we have defended well and the boys have worked hard. They are no mugs and they are two experienced Championship teams. For us to have two wins and two clean sheets is fantastic and we will take that forward.”
Tuesday’s victory over Nottingham Forest, a fourth win in five games for The Bees over The Reds, came courtesy of a first-half Scott Hogan goal. Dean Smith’s side had to withstand a lot of pressure in the second-half and while Dan admitted it wasn’t the greatest of performances he praised the way the whole team dug in to get the result.
“First-half we started really well and were very much on the front foot,” said Dan. “I think we lost our way a little bit towards the end of the half and were under a little bit of pressure. In the second-half I thought we looked a little short of ideas in terms of soaking up pressure. We couldn’t get the ball out of our half. There were a couple of times we had to soak up a good five or ten minutes of pressure. In the end the boys worked really hard and we defended valiantly. That’s the reason why we have come away with three points and a clean sheet.”
Dan made a number of fine saves to keep Forest at bay, none better than the one in injury time to deny Britt Assombalonga when he looked destined to snatch a point for Forest at the death. Dan’s performance was warmly received by the Bees faithful at full-time and the former Southend United man hopes he can continue to have that kind of relationship with the fans moving forward.
“That is my job and that is what I am here to do,” said Dan. “I will always be confident in making saves and trying to help the team out in that way. The relationship that I have with fans is important. I have always tried to make sure that I have a good relationship with the home crowd and it’s great to be liked by them. For them to sing my name is fantastic and it is a real privilege. If my performances have gone some way to help that relationship, and the respect that they have for me, develop, then that’s great.”