Brentford marked their 100th Premier League game at Gtech Community Stadium with a 2-0 win over Nottingham Forest, thanks to a Nikola Milenkovic own goal and Igor Thiago’s close-range finish.
Milenkovic turned Dango Ouattara’s low cross into his own net on the half-hour mark, before Mathias Jensen rattled the crossbar with a free-kick. Having weathered a spell of Forest pressure after the break, the Bees doubled their lead through Thiago on 76 minutes.
Head coach Keith Andrews made one change to the side that started the west Londoners’ previous Premier League game against Hull City, with Vitaly Janelt returning from suspension to replace Aaron Hickey in midfield.
Hickey moved to the bench, with Benjamin Fredrick dropping out of the matchday squad.
Brentford threatened after four minutes when Neco Williams headed Janelt’s in-swinging corner clear at the near post, but only as far as Mamadou Sangaré, whose sweetly struck volley whistled just over the crossbar.
At the other end, Williams’ cross was blocked before James McAtee’s effort deflected into the path of Liam Delap. The striker attempted an ambitious shot on the turn but, leaning back, sent the ball well off target.
Forest threatened again on 18 minutes when Morgan Gibbs-White drove forward following a turnover in midfield, but Sepp van den Berg headed his effort from distance away.
A minute later, Williams’ delivery from the right dropped to Jair Cunha, who was still in an advanced position following a corner, but the defender could not react quickly enough to turn the ball towards goal.
Jensen then slipped Thiago through at the other end. Under pressure from Murillo, the striker took his shot early but dragged it wide of Matz Sels’ left post.
Kristoffer Ajer raced across to block Delap’s shot after the forward was released down the right side of the box, before McAtee drifted in from the flank and took aim from just outside the area - his effort bouncing inches wide of the far post.
Andrews’ side took the lead on the half-hour mark. Ouattara received the ball on the right and skipped past Murillo on his way into the Forest penalty area before his low cross from the byline was inadvertently turned into his own net by Milenković.
Jensen came close to doubling Brentford’s advantage on 36 minutes. Kevin Schade was released by Keane Lewis-Potter and tripped by Milenkovic on the left edge of the Forest penalty area.
Jensen and Janelt stood over the resulting free-kick, with the former lifting a dipping effort over the wall and against the crossbar.
Caoimhín Kelleher made a brave stop two minutes after the restart. Gibbs-White made first contact with a cross from the right before the Brentford keeper dived at Delap’s feet to gather the loose ball, winning a free-kick in the process.
Gibbs-White delivered an inviting ball into the Brentford box on 54 minutes, but Ryan Yates sent his stooping header over the bar.
Moments after coming on, Arnaud Kalimuendo raced towards goal and saw his shot from the left side of the box blocked by van den Berg.
Williams whipped in the resulting corner, which Gibbs-White met with a header towards goal, but Thiago was on hand to clear.
Having soaked up a spell of Forest pressure, Brentford doubled their lead on 76 minutes.
Two of Andrews’ substitutes combined in the build-up. Hickey fizzed an inch-perfect pass out to Jaidon Anthony on the right and the winger took the ball in his stride before picking out Thiago in the penalty area. The striker’s shot deflected off Milenkovic and struck the underside of the crossbar on its way past Sels.
Brentford saw out the closing stages to secure their third win of the Premier League season.
Brentford (4-3-3): Kelleher; Kayode, Ajer, van den Berg, Lewis-Potter; Janelt, Sangaré (Hickey 62), Jensen (Damsgaard 62); Ouattara (Anthony 72), Thiago, Schade (Wilson 84)
Subs: Valdimarsson, Collins, Diouf, Nunes, Schuster
Nottingham Forest (3-4-2-1): Sels; Milenković, Murillo, Jair Cunha; Aina (Muñoz HT), McAtee, Schlager (Yates HT), Williams; Gibbs-White, Ndoye (Kalimuendo 65); Delap (Wood 65)
Subs: Victor, Diomande, Sangare, Hudson-Odoi, Netz
Attendance: 17,108
Andrews: ‘I’m very proud of the performance’
Keith Andrews praised Brentford’s patience and adaptability after his side beat Nottingham Forest 2-0 at Gtech Community Stadium.
“I’m very proud of the performance,” said the head coach. “We showed different ways of playing today.”
The victory rounded off a busy week for the Bees, who travelled to Hull City and Sunderland before hosting Forest.
“We’ll never, ever make any excuses, but the scheduling doesn’t do us any favours when it comes to cup competitions. A lot of travel,” Andrews continued.
“They’ve had nine days prep for this game and they’re a very difficult team to play against. You’ve got to be switched on throughout the game and not get frustrated.
“It was never going to be the prettiest of games today – I knew that. The big message to the players was stay patient, stay true to who we are, do the basics of the game really well.”
Thiago thanks fans after Forest victory
Igor Thiago thanked Brentford’s supporters after scoring in the Bees’ 2-0 victory over Nottingham Forest.
“It’s a good feeling,” said the striker. “We did well to get three points.
“I’m delighted to score one more goal for Brentford. I must thank the fans because they have been so supportive of me for the whole journey.
“When people believe in you, you feel like you can go even more.
“So, I want to say to them: keep believing in me, keep trusting in me, and in the end everything will go well.”