Brentford 0-0 Middlesbrough: Boro extend unbeaten run at Brentford
- Published
Ivan Toney endured a frustrating afternoon, failing to add to his tally
Middlesbrough extended their unbeaten run to 10 games with a useful point in a Championship stalemate at Brentford.
The Bees came into the game having scored in each of their nine previous league games, but failed to breach the visitors, with Vitaly Janelt firing wide after a perfect ball in by Henrik Dalsgaard and Ivan Toney wasting a free-kick as he chased an 11th of the season.
Boro have the tightest defence in the division - having conceded only five goals - and maintained that run with a sixth clean sheet for Marcus Bettinelli this season.
Chuba Akpom might have won it for Neil Warnock's side but turned the ball wide after Jonny Howson had galloped down the flank and crossed.
Thomas Frank's Brentford have so far failed to hit the heights of 2019-20, and are 11th in the Championship despite the hot streak enjoyed by Toney, although this was a fourth game without defeat.
They had won the previous three meetings between the sides, but Boro under Warnock are a tougher nut to crack, and the veteran extended his personal run without defeat against the Bees to seven matches.
Brentford head coach Thomas Frank:
"It was always going to be a very tight game and it went more or less as I expected. If we had won the three points it would have been a really good three points.
"We played a good game, not a top game, but we didn't give anything away and they only had a half-chance. But Middlesbrough play in a completely different way to every other team in the division and their players are aligned with that."
"We knew they'd be like that, but it was still 3-1 to us in terms of chances and if we take just one of them we win a tight game. That's the fine margins we need."
Middlesbrough manager Neil Warnock told BBC Radio Tees:
"When you play Brentford away you have to be happy with a point and a clean sheet.
"But it's tinged with a bit of disappointment because we could have won the game, we had to win battles and we did.
"It's a difficult time at the moment and fans have got to gave something to look forward to and I think we're giving them that at the moment."