Nottingham Forest extended their cushion above the relegation zone to five points with a surprise 2-0 victory over high-flying Brentford at the Gtech Community Stadium.
After West Ham United’s 3-1 win over Sunderland saw them close the gap on Forest, the pressure was on Sean Dyche’s side to move away from the drop zone, and they responded brilliantly.
Igor Jesus handed the visitors an unlikely lead after 12 minutes, drilling across goal from a tight angle after meeting Ola Aina’s looping cross at the near post.
Brentford spurned several chances to respond, and Forest made them pay late on as substitute Taiwo Awoniyi sealed the win with a composed finish on the counter-attack.
Forest, who are unbeaten in their last three Premier League games, remain 17th, while Brentford are eighth, having missed the chance to move up the table.
How the match unfolded
The visitors survived an early scare when Kevin Schade burst past Aina inside two minutes to tee up Igor Thiago, whose attempted poke rolled narrowly wide of the post.
Forest then took the lead against the run of play as Aina’s clever delivery picked out Jesus, who controlled expertly on his chest before thumping a half-volley past Caoimhin Kelleher.
Brentford’s best first-half opening arrived in the 40th minute, with Mathias Jensen sliding substitute Dango Ouattara through on goal, but goalkeeper Matz Sels rushed out to smother it.
The Bees came close again deep into first-half stoppage time, as Sepp van den Berg rose to meet Michael Kayode’s long throw, steering his header agonisingly wide.
Brentford remained on top in the second half without testing Sels, and Thiago squandered another chance for them in the 76th minute, launching over from Vitaly Janelt’s cross.
And just three minutes later, Forest sealed the victory. Awoniyi, having received a wry pass from Morgan Gibbs-White, raced away down the right before skipping past Van den Berg and sliding his shot through Kelleher’s legs.
Bees missing their sting
Despite suffering a 2-0 defeat to Chelsea last time out, Brentford entered Sunday’s contest with confidence and knowing a victory could move them into the Premier League top five.
Keith Andrews’ side have defied expectations this season, and have a strong home record behind them, with just one league defeat at the Gtech this season.
Forest stunned the home faithful by sneaking into the lead after only 12 minutes, despite the Bees creating a series of half-chances prior. After Thiago fired wide, Mikkel Damsgaard was denied by a brilliant Aina block after rounding Sels inside the box.
Brentford suffered a further setback shortly before the interval when both Damsgaard and Kristoffer Ajer were forced off with injuries in a double substitution, though the introduction of Ouattara added a brief spark to their attack.
It was a game of near-misses for the Bees from there, with Ouattara and Yehor Yarmoliuk among those who spurned great chances before Thiago fired over late on.
Despite the defeat, Brentford remain well-placed to target the European places, and Andrews will want his side to dust themselves off quickly ahead of a high-octane encounter with Aston Villa next weekend.
Forest stand tall with massive victory
Forest’s season tells a wildly different story than that of their high-flying opponents’, as they arrived in west London after a mixed run of results.
Dyche's side followed their dispiriting penalty-shootout loss to Wrexham in the FA Cup with a hugely important performance to secure a goalless draw with Premier League leaders Arsenal, though a 1-0 midweek loss to Braga in the UEFA Europa League further dented morale.
With West Ham defeating Sunderland to cut the gap in the relegation scrap, the pressure on Dyche’s side only increased.
To make matters worse, Forest have endured something of a dry spell in front of goal, having failed to score in 11 matches this season.
But they displayed some great attacking fluency in the opening minutes, capped off by Jesus’ brilliant finish at the near post. With their tails up, they continued to test Brentford, as Jesus and Ibrahim Sangare nearly combined for a second – the latter fired wide.
Forest were the more clinical side when opportunities presented themselves, with Sels playing a massive role at the back to deny Yarmoliuk, while Awoniyi wrapped up the victory late on with his first league goal in a year.
Dyche’s side now turn their focus back to Europe with a trip to Ferencvaros, before returning to league action at home to Crystal Palace next Sunday.
Club reports
Brentford report | Forest report
What the managers said
Keith Andrews: "The way we conceded the goals doesn't sit well with me. We controlled large parts of the game, although we lost our way a bit after conceding the first. For large parts of the game I was content but you can't concede goals like that.
"Forest got the game they wanted, able to sit in and hit on the counter. We look at ourselves first and shouldn't be conceding that goal. If we're being critical and honest with each other it wasn't good enough."
Sean Dyche: "Resilience was the most pleasing aspect. Brentford have been brilliant at home. It was a game of two halves. We put pressure on in the first half and had to contain them in the second.
"They had a fast start and it's not an easy task but you have to find a balance between defending resolutely and hitting on the attack."
Next PL fixtures
Key facts
Brentford lost this exact fixture 2-0 last season and Sunday's defeat means it is the first time that they have been beaten in consecutive home league matches by Forest.
This was the first occasion Forest since March 1997 (v West Ham and Tottenham Hotspur) that Forest have secured consecutive top-flight victories in the capital having won 2-1 at West Ham in their last Premier League away game against a London side.
Forest head coach Dyche has won five of his seven Premier League meetings with Brentford (D1 L1), his highest win rate against any side he’s faced more than twice (71.3 per cent).
The Bees have lost just twice at home all season (W7 D3) and prior to Sunday were unbeaten in their previous seven at the Gtech Community Stadium (W5 D2). Only the current top three sides Arsenal and Manchester City (both 29) and Aston Villa (25) have earned more home points than Brentford 's 24 in the Premier League this season.