Brentford were held to a 0-0 draw at Derby as they bounced back from their 3-1 defeat at Newcastle on Saturday.

The Bees probably edged the 90 minutes but neither side can really claim they deserved all three points.

After the errors at St James' Park, there was a more assured performance from the visiting defence as they repelled the Rams at will.

Brentford can feel hard done by after they were denied a 'stonewall penalty' when Romaine Sawyers was brought down by Ikechi Anya but had to settle for a point.

Below are five talking points to emerge from the draw at the iPro Stadium.

Bees cut out the errors

Newcastle United's Dwight Gayle and Brentford's John Egan battle for the ball during the Sky Bet Championship match at St James' Park, Newcastle.

A string of unforced errors from Brentford gifted Newcastle all three points on Saturday and these were cut out at Derby.

John Egan struggled at St James' Park but produced a much stronger performance on Tuesday night to repel the Rams.

In difficult wet conditions, some passes did go astray but it was a much more clinical performance from the west Londoners.

Barbet at left back

Yoann Barbet

Yoann Barbet returned to the Brentford starting line-up in an unfamiliar left back role but he produced an assured performance and a game-saving tackle to deny Tom Ince in the final minutes.

The Frenchman has been vying for the spot with Andreas Bjelland but, with Harlee Dean suspended, the Dane moved into his preferred centre back role.

Barbet arguably looked more assured on the left than Bjelland, partly helped by his additional pace, and may well have staked his claim for Saturday's visit of Barnsley.

Bjelland in the middle

Andreas Bjelland

Andreas Bjelland was named as captain and made his first league appearance in his preferred position.

A clean sheet means he has done enough to keep the shirt for Barnsley, meaning regular skipper Harlee Dean may have to settle for a place on the bench.

Derby days against QPR and Fulham after the contest against the Tykes are made for the Englishman so an extended break may benefit Dean ahead of those two games.

Not clicking in front of goal

Brentford - Scott Hogan
Brentford - Scott Hogan

Brentford were sharper from the first whistle than they have been in recent weeks but are still unable to grab an early goal.

The Bees' fastest goal came after 29 minutes and that is the fourth slowest in the league; Fulham, Wolves and Derby, who have scored one first half goal this season are below them.

Given how both sides start games, especially in front of goal, it was hardly surprising that the first half was not exactly a classic.

The Bees have failed to completely click as a team when going forward with the final ball lacking on occasions, although it was a perfect ball from Hogan to Sawyers, who was then brought down by Anya for what appeared to be a clear penalty that was turned down.

Sublime Sawyers

Romaine Sawyers

Romaine Sawyers had his best game in a Brentford shirt since joining from Walsall in the summer.

The Saint Kitts and Nevis international has been ponderous on the ball but has added the sharpness that comes with Championship experience to his game.

He linked up well with Scott Hogan, who showed the selfless side to his game by making a few dummy runs to free up space.

Excellent support

Brentford fans

After 2,788 Brentford fans made the long, and expensive, trip to Newcastle on Saturday 624 fans ventured north again to Derby.

Bees supporters were helped by 888Sport's magnificent gesture to help subsidise away coach travel for midweek games.

However, to take time off work and not return to west London until the small hours, unless fans stayed overnight, deserves respect.

Fans now have a month to save money for the next long-distance away day – the trip to Blackburn on November 19.