Keith Andrews Calls Forest Victory Brentford's 'Best Win' of Season

Keith Andrews believes Brentford's 2-0 victory over Nottingham Forest was probably their best win of the season, placing it above the convincing home victories against Tottenham and Chelsea.

The Bees had beaten both London rivals 3-0 earlier in the campaign, but Saturday's game offered little of the attacking freedom they enjoyed on those occasions. Forest made life difficult for much of the afternoon, leaving Brentford needing patience, concentration and two moments of quality to secure the points.

For Andrews, the way his players handled that challenge was particularly satisfying.

"It's probably our best win of the season because you've got to show different traits to some of the other games."

Brentford had endured a difficult week before Forest's visit, drawing 1-1 at Hull City on Sunday before travelling to Sunderland for Wednesday's Carabao Cup tie. The Bees were eliminated at the Stadium of Light after conceding three first-half goals, with Andrews making eight changes to his starting XI.

Forest, meanwhile, had not played since their draw at Ipswich Town nine days earlier.

"I think the schedule this week, for a start, hasn't been favourable to us. That's two cup rounds in a row where we've had the most condensed week out of anybody."

Andrews had warned about Forest's quality before kick-off, despite Oliver Glasner's side arriving in West London sitting in the relegation zone. Their results had been poor, but they were creating chances regularly without converting enough.

That pattern continued at the Gtech Community Stadium.

Forest enjoyed more possession and registered 15 attempts compared with Brentford's six, but their finishing let them down again. Ryan Yates missed a particularly good opportunity early in the second half, heading over from Morgan Gibbs-White's cross, while other promising attacks broke down before Caoimhín Kelleher was seriously tested.

Brentford had taken the lead through Nikola Milenković's own goal after half an hour, with Dango Ouattara beating Murillo before sending a cross into the area. Mathias Jensen almost doubled their advantage shortly afterwards when his free-kick struck the crossbar.

Brentford had considerably less space after the interval, and Forest's pressure forced Andrews' players to spend long periods defending.

The head coach praised the way his team handled an opponent that tried to make the pitch difficult to play through, highlighting the concentration required against Forest's attacking players.

"They've got some very talented players that you have to keep quiet and you have to keep your concentration and focus."

Brentford have not always dealt with difficult passages of play particularly well in recent weeks. The dismissals against Liverpool, the penalty conceded at Hull, and the defensive mistakes at Sunderland had all contributed to disappointing results.

Against Forest, the Bees showed more of the composure that Andrews had been asking for, particularly when his side struggled to get hold of the ball.

The bench contributions also helped. Aaron Hickey and Mikkel Damsgaard arrived shortly after the hour, with Jaidon Anthony following ten minutes later. Hickey's pass released Anthony down the right in the build-up to Brentford's second goal, which Igor Thiago finished via another deflection off Milenković.

It contrasted with the preceding period of Forest pressure, with Brentford taking advantage when they finally found room to attack.

Andrews was impressed by more than the two goals.

"There was also some smart play today and leadership on show from our players that I really, really liked. On so many levels, I think it's a brilliant win."

The result ended Brentford's four-match winless run in all competitions and brought a first clean sheet since September's victory over Chelsea.

It also marked the club's 100th Premier League match at the Gtech Community Stadium, with Brentford recording their third home league victory of the campaign before next Sunday's trip to Brighton.