Manager Uwe Rösler said he was “gutted” after his Brentford team drew 2-2 with Leyton Orient.
The Bees were held to a draw by the East London side on an incident packed night at Griffin Park.
Brentford fell behind when Martin Rowlands lashed in a free kick from 35 yards but got themselves ahead through goals from Paul Hayes and Clayton Donaldson, both scored when the visitors failed to deal with corners.
Brentford had a penalty appeal turned down early in the second half and Jake Bidwell was sent off for a second bookable offence.
The left back was cautioned in the first half for kicking the ball away and then in the second for a shirt pull – he was the only outfield player cautioned on a night where more than 20 fouls were committed.
Uwe said his players “fought like lions” to preserve their lead but Lee Cook scored a late equaliser.
“I am gutted about the result,” said the Brentford Manager, speaking to Bees Player after the final whistle.
“In general we were not good enough in stopping crosses.
“It is one of our problems this season; we are allowing the opposition to put too many balls in.
“We should close down people better, work as a pair and double up.
“There was a period where too many balls came in, they got a free kick out of that and it was deflected in to the top corner.
“We couldn’t do anything about that.
“We came back in to the game, looked good on set pieces.
“The plan was to create set pieces, with Sam Saunders in the team.
“We got two goals out of it.
“It was difficult to play most of the second half with ten men.
“We got the lead but didn’t finish the job off.
“The players fought like lions with ten men but they scored in the last two minutes.
“We can be disappointed but now we have to move on.”
Uwe partnered Paul Hayes and Clayton Donaldson in attack, leaving Marcello Trotta on the bench.
He also named Harry Forrester as a substitute, selecting Sam Saunders to start in a 4-4-2 system, a change from the 4-2-3-1 The Bees have used regularly recently.
He said the team was selected to win the game against Leyton Orient and did not even consider the FA Cup with Budweiser Fourth Round tie against Chelsea coming up on Sunday.
“The team selection was nothing to do with Sunday,” said Uwe.
“The league is the priority.
“We need Harry in good shape until April.
“We cannot just throw him in to every single game and hope he will perform like he has done in the past.
“At the moment we have to pick and choose the games for him.
“Sam Saunders has been good when he has come on.
“He has been good in training.
“I didn’t feel we needed an extra man in midfield today.
“We desperately wanted to win the game and set up to do so, with two strikers.
“My plan was to bring Harry on but what happened on the pitch dictated the substitutions.
“I had to bring off Tom Adeyemi, we didn’t want to risk him getting injured, we wanted to give him 65 to 70 minutes.
“Today the decision out there by another party dictated my substitutions.
“We have to pick and choose the right players for Sunday.”
Uwe said he did not think referee Paul Tierney had to send Jake Bidwell off and described the decision as “harsh”.
“We talked before the game about being calm, staying disciplined, sticking to the plan,” he said.
“As a defender you put yourself under pressure when you kick the ball away.
“It can end up like this.
“I think it was a very harsh decision, he didn’t really stop the counter attack.
“He didn’t really pull him back; there was a minor contact on the shirt.
“The referee looked and saw the player was already booked and booked him a second time.
“It was a harsh decision.
“We have to talk about the first yellow card.
“Jake has been terrific, his head will stay on.”
Leyton Orient were also awarded a penalty, which Simon Moore saved, while Brentford had one turned down.
Uwe told Bees Player he thought Orient’s penalty was right but, having seen a different angle, changed his mind afterwards.
He was, however, more concerned with the one his team didn’t get.
“I tried to show the referee another penalty,” said Uwe.
“The Leyton Orient defender has his arm high up and he clearly makes contact with the ball.
“Both the referee and linesman were in a good position but no-body gives it.
“It was very strange.”
Uwe’s full post-match interview is available for Bees Player subscribers to view here.