Dean Smith paid tribute to the resilience of his Brentford squad after they picked up a fine 1-1 draw at Fulham.

The two sides battered each other to a standstill in a highly entertaining game full of fast, flowing football.

The home side made a strong start, overrunning the Bees, with Tom Cairney scoring the opener after eight minutes.

After weathering the storm the Bees came back into the contest with Nico Yennaris playing a one-two with Konstantin Kerschbaumer to fire home the equaliser.

Tom Cairney's first half penalty was brilliantly saved by Dan Bentley and the stopper denied the Whites' talisman again early in the second period but, after that, it was all Brentford and Lasse Vibe and Florian Jozefzoon had chances to win however both sides settled for a hard-fought point.

Here are five talking points to emerge from the game

Injuries mounting as season nears end

BRENTFORD, ENGLAND - APRIL 22: Ryan Woods of Brentford and Conor Washington of Queens Park Rangers in action during the Sky Bet Championship match between Brentford and QPR at Griffin Park on April 22, 2017 in Brentford, England. (Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)

The contest was a game too far for Ryan Woods who was not fit enough to line up at Craven Cottage thanks, in part, to being kicked up in the air on a weekly basis.

Rico Henry also broke down in training ahead of the game while Maxime Colin, rated as 50 50, was unable to come through in their final training session ahead of the contest.

When you consider Lewis Macleod, Alan Judge and Josh McEachran all have long term injuries it means the Bees are six key members down. You could argue that all six would have been in the starting XI if fit.

With the season drawing to a close there is no point in Dean Smith risking another long term injury to his squad as he prepares for next season.

Chance for others to step up

Konstantin Kerschbaumer had another chance to show what he could do in a west London derby.

With the Bees reportedly closing in on a right back, Josh Clarke needed to prove that he could deal with one of the top teams in the division.

With the impressive Rico Henry also out, it handed another opportunity for Tom Field against the Whites; the side he made his debut against this time last season.

The Austrian had his work cut out against Fulham's midfield three of Tom Cairney, Kevin McDonald and Stefan Johansen.

Defensively, it was a struggle but Kerschbaumer produced a delightful ball for Nico Yennaris to equalise.

While Clarke and Field both had a difficult start against the raw pace of Floyd Ayite and Ryan Sessegnon.

The pair won't have come up against faster players in those positions this season and the pair's lack of experience caused problems at the start but they grew into the game and the Whites pair were eventually substituted.

They'll learn from this experience and be even better players for it.

Brilliant Bentley

Dan Bentley saved Tom Cairney's penalty

Dan Bentley has had a quiet few games thanks to the performances of those in front of him but when his side needed him at Craven Cottage he stepped up to the plate.

Tom Cairney will be cursing the Bees keeper tonight having seen the former Southend man save his penalty as well as tipping his top corner bound effort over the bar.

The Fulham man's penalty was heading for the bottom corner but somehow the stopper got his hands to it before gathering the rebound. It was a great save more than a poor penalty although, of course, a perfect penalty is impossible to stop.

Two best footballing sides go toe to toe

Only the most hard nosed Brentford and Fulham fan would fail to concede that the other doesn't play good football in a way that is entertaining to watch.

In my opinion the west London pair are the best footballing sides in the division and they pretty much beat each other into a standstill.

Fulham had the better of the first half but as the game grew on Brentford came into it and were worthy of their draw.

The finale awaits

It's been a long season for Brentford's squad, staff and supporters as well as for myself but it all comes to an end next Sunday against Blackburn.

Brentford are one point shy of last season's tally and it would be ideal to claim all three points against Rovers to move above that and potentially secure an eighth placed finish, depending on other results.

That said, whatever happens next week the west Londoners will have finished above at least 10 sides that have played top flight football in the last 25 years. An achievement to be proud of.