Brentford Manager Mark Warburton considered the 1-1 Sky Bet League One draw away to Shrewsbury Town as “job done”.
The Bees extended their unbeaten league run to 18 games with the draw in Shropshire and remained top of League One.
The Brentford Manager described the conditions for the match as “atrocious” as it was played on a wet pitch with rain falling and a very strong wind blowing straight down the pitch.
Brentford played against it in the first half and Mark said they dominated the game when they had it at their backs in the second.
Marcello Trotta put The Bees in front, reacting quickest to tap in after his penalty had been saved.
Shrewsbury equalised as the clock ticked past 90 minutes when Tom Eaves capitalised as Tony Craig’s headed clearance cannoned off him and smashed home.
“We dominated play in the second half,” said Mark.
“I can’t think of many saves David Button has had to make in the second half, if any at all.
“We had some chances, got 1-0 up and were in good shape.
“Tony Craig has been outstanding today again, and all season.
“He got a ball that was a difficult to deal with and the guy hits it from 25 yards or whatever in to the top corner.
“We have to deal with it.
“The boys were disappointed, we dropped two points.
“But we are top of the table and it is in our hands.
“The conditions were atrocious.
“The players dealt with them well and dominated the second half.
“This was a job done.”
Mark said Brentford were comfortable in the first half, playing against the win, and were bright after the break playing with it.
He admitted conditions were difficult and long balls were not on.
“The goalkeepers struggled to get the ball out of the area,” he said.
“We looked to play.
“It was difficult.
“We looked short and looked short; you couldn’t go long because of the wind.
“We were comfortable in the first half, came out bright in the second half and got the win we wanted.
“I thought we could have nicked a couple more.
“At the end of the day, it’s a point, we are top of the league and that is the message in the dressing room.”
Mark said it was hard for his players to run against the wind but their style of play meant they took it out of the equation often.
“We tried to keep the ball on the floor and penetrate through midfield,” he said.
“It was hard for the boys to run against the wind.
“We were comfortable.
“They had some chances, David Button dealt with them.
“We were positive with the wind in the second half.
“We got the lead, which was important.
“We have scored many goals late in games so we will deal with that.
“We wanted to take shots in the second half, we did that.
“They defended well but we looked to be clever.”
Harlee Dean returned after a month out and played 90 minutes in the centre of defence.
Adam Forshaw has also been out for a month and played 40 minutes in midfield.
He replaced Nico Yennaris, making his Brentford debut, who had to come off with a dead leg.
“Harlee came through 90 minutes,” said Mark.
“I thought about playing him for 65 or 70 but Nico got a slight dead leg.
“It caused him problems so we had to make the change.
“Adam came on and looked good and Harlee got through 90 minutes.
“We are pleased with that.
“Nico did very well.
“He adapted well, kept it simple, looked after the ball and had a good debut.”
Brentford have won 15 of their 18 unbeaten games and have taken seven points from their last three in the past eight days.
Mark said Brentford’s players will come back in to training on Tuesday to prepare for their next game, at home against Crawley Town on Saturday, February 8.
“I think seven points from the last week is good and we are happy with 11 from the last 15,” said Mark.
“Now we move on to the next target.
“We are still top.
“That is our focus.
“Hopefully we will have a good week.
“We will be back in on Tuesday and look to next Saturday.”
Full post-match reaction to Brentford’s draw with Shrewsbury Town from Mark Warburton is available here for Bees Player subscribers.