Ollie Watkins’ early goal helped Brentford close the gap on the Sky Bet Championship’s automatic promotion spots to five points with a hard-fought 1-0 win over leaders West Brom.
Watkins was the difference between two teams in an intriguing contest that ebbed and flowed in spells either side of the break.
The hosts’ early breakthrough changed the complexion of the game, with Thomas Frank’s side happy to win the duels in the middle of the park, defend calmly and hit the Baggies on the break.
Albion’s first worthwhile effort on goal was a long-range free-kick from Grady Diangana on the half hour, but home keeper David Raya dealt with it comfortably beneath his bar.
The Baggies’ engine room of Jake Livermore and former Brentford playmaker Romaine Sawyers struggled to impose themselves on the game and were forced deeper and deeper as the half wore on.
At the other end, Watkins was inches away from making it two as he tried to latch on to Fosu-Henry’s cross but saw his close range volley blocked.
West Brom thought they had levelled in the 53rd minute, Zohore turning onto Pereira’s zipped pass to smash a volley against the bar from the edge of the box as his side continued to find pockets of space they failed to before the break.
Brentford had a chance to put the game to bed minutes later but Dasilva volleyed substitute Shandon Baptiste’s angled cross agonisingly wide.
The game opened up in the last 20 minutes and Ethan Pinnock had to put his body on the line to block Diangana’s goal-bound drive.
They nearly did not have to when Johnstone slipped as he went to collect Semi Ajayi’s back pass in what would have been a bizarre end to a high-quality game played in surreal conditions.
