Brentford 1-1 Derby County
- Published
Wales international Joe Ledley was a free agent when he joined Derby on a short-term deal earlier this month
Ollie Watkins' close-range strike four minutes from time earned Brentford a point and prevented Joe Ledley from scoring a winner on his Derby debut.
The Wales international, who joined in September, headed the opener from Sam Winnall's knock down within 15 minutes.
The Bees had more than 80 per cent possession in a feisty first half but could only manage one shot on target.
But they continued to dominate and Watkins secured a draw with their second goal-bound effort.
Former Exeter forward Watkins scored with a neat right-foot finish from Florian Jozefzoon's left-wing cross to reward the home side's relentless pressure.
Neal Maupay and Chris Mepham had earlier both sent headers off target for the hosts and Nico Yennaris went close with a 25-yard free-kick.
But with the Rams looking set for a second away Championship win of the season, Brentford secured just their eighth league point of the season.
Brentford boss Dean Smith: "It was fully deserved even though we probably didn't create as many clear cut chances as we have in previous games.
"We were very patient and moved the ball a lot more quickly after half-time when we found a little more intensity. We had to because you can't just go chucking balls in the box against centre-backs of Derby's calibre.
"We looked at their bench and knew it was going to be tough but after the break we moved it around well and were brave on the ball, and that's not easy against a team of ex-Premier League players.
"We lacked a little bit of quality in the final third but got the luck our performance deserved in the end."
Derby County manager Gary Rowett: "It was a difficult game. We knew that from last year.
"I thought we started the game really well, wanted to play higher and with more intensity and we did that for 10 minutes. Then it became impossible not to drop and defend.
"If you look at the whole game it is frustrating when we had an opportunity to get out we didn't play with composure and quality.
"Ultimately, they have had two shots on target the whole game, they didn't create that much. It was a sloppy goal to give away. We had dealt with virtually everything they threw at us. To concede a goal like that was really poor."