Defender Ethan Pinnock labelled Brentford’s goalless draw with Fulham “a tightly contested game” and admitted the Bees lacked a “special moment” to break the deadlock in Saturday’s west London derby.

Bryan Mbeumo went closest for Brentford, striking the woodwork during the first half, while Raúl Jiménez spurned the visitors’ best chance, clearing the crossbar having been found in space by fellow second-half substitute Adama Traoré.

“It was a tightly contested game,” said Pinnock. “Both teams were good in their structure and difficult to break down. It was a game of few chances. We just lacked that special moment to undo them or do something in the final third.

“The key was to try and stop the transitions. They’ve got a lot of pace up front, so from their goalkicks we wanted to get really tight. First and second balls, we had to compete. If the ball did get played over us, we had to sprint.”

Despite playing in the centre of defence, Pinnock has made just three fouls this season.

Asked why that is, he responded: “I think it’s just being aware of who you’re playing against. If you’re up against a physical striker, you’ve got to try not to get in a fight and figure out other ways to win the ball – anticipate it and read the game.

“Being a centre-back, and being last man quite a lot, I get caught in one-on-one battles sometimes, so to not give away too many fouls is important.”