Five talking points from Brentford's draw with Middlesbrough

Brentford played out an enthralling 1-1 draw with play-off chasers Middlesbrough at Griffin Park but ended the game with 10 men after 75th minute substitute Romaine Sawyers' late red card.

Boro took the lead on 21 minutes when the impressive Adama Traore cut in from the left and rode two challenges before planting an unstoppable low drive just inside the near post.

But the Bees stormed back into it just after the half-hour when midfielder Lewis Macleod beat Darren Randolph in the visitors' goal with an almost carbon-copy strike from the edge of the box.

The west Londoners were the better side in the second half and Sawyers nearly bagged a winner with a fine drive that the Boro keeper just tipped wide.

Brentford had to see out the final four minutes of injury time a man down after Sawyers picked up two yellow cards in the space of five minutes and Grant Leadbitter forced a good save from Dan Bentley that would have given the Tees-siders a victory they did not deserve.

Below are five talking points to emerge from a pulsating contest at Griffin Park.

Mighty Macleod

There will not be a more popular Brentford goalscorer this season than Lewis Macleod.

The 23-year-old has had horrendous luck with injuries, which have limited him to just 20 league appearances in three years.

Much like when Scott Hogan scored against Bristol City in April 2016, there was added joy from the Bees fans who knew the difficulties Macleod had gone through.

It would be fair to say that his time at Griffin Park has been one step forward followed by two steps back, through no fault of his own and if there is one player who deserves a run of good fortune it's him.

Since returning to fitness, the midfielder has had to bide his time as either a substitute or not even being named in the squad.

Macleod admitted his frustrations earlier this week in an interview with GetWestLondon and Saturday was his first start since October 15 2016 in the 3-1 defeat at Newcastle United.

And he showed exactly what he was made of with a commanding performance until he was substituted with 15 minutes remaining.

The former Rangers man was a worthy man of the match and let's just hope he is over his injury jinx for good.

Managing the referee

There were a number of inconsistencies with Simon Hooper's performance and, once again, it was Brentford that were on the rough end of them.

In the first half, the official blew for half-time when Brentford had a corner. In the second, he allowed Middlesbrough to take the set piece before blowing for full time.

It was noticeable that, when there was a big decision to be made, the referee was surrounded by Middlesbrough players.

Muhamed Besic was lucky not to be sent off after a late and dangerous challenge on Henrik Dalsgaard. Boro players surrounded the official and he was only booked.

The tackle appeared worse than the one that saw Sergi Canos sent off at Derby where, again, the Rams players surrounded the referee demanding a dismissal.

Contrast that to when Britt Assombalonga ran into Romaine Sawyers, the Boro players crowded the official again and Hooper caved into their demands, issuing a second yellow card and then a red.

On no occasion, did Brentford players really get around the match official and Smith said after the game: “I thought the FA had issued an edict about that so it’s up to them to enforce it. It’s a shame we have to talk about that because I thought we were very good today.”

Yes, the FA have issued that edict but when have you actually seen a referee properly shoo players away when they do that or brandish a yellow card for it? It happens so rarely that teams know they can get away with it.

Middlesbrough exploited Hooper's weakness and were able to get those minor details to go their way, rather than Brentford's.

It would appear that Smith doesn't want to see his players crowd the referee and, while that is noble of the Bees, it is leading to those sorts of decisions going against them.

If you can't beat them, join them.

Tricky Traore but Bees show their steel

Adama Traore was the best opposition player to visit Griffin Park this season and he gave the Brentford players a tough afternoon.

Indeed, Ryan Woods and Romaine Sawyers, for his first yellow, had to resort to cynically bringing him down and breaking up the counter attack.

It's something that Middlesbrough, especially under Aitor Karanka, would do to the Bees and irritate them in the process.

This was something they didn't really do against Cardiff City on Tuesday night but it is something they need in their game to succeed.

Woods, in particular, showed his class after his early yellow card to remain strong and dominate the midfield, while also dealing with the threat of Traore.

It was clear to see why Traore is so highly rated on Tees-side and, if they were to stay in the Championship next season, Boro will face a difficult task keeping him away from Premier League sides.

Clarke shows his worth

Josh Clarke has started as both a right back and a left back in the last two games and his performance on the left, especially defensively was excellent.

Picked to counter the threat of Traore, he forced the highly-rated Boro winger to move over to the right flank instead.

Every time Clarke has come up against a tricky winger, whether he's on the right or left hand side, he has impressed.

He silenced Jota when the Bees beat Birmingham at St Andrews in November while he kept Ryan Sessegnon in his back pocket when Brentford claimed a thumping west London derby victory.

The full back needs to improve with the ball at his feet as there were a number of loose touches that broke up the Bees' momentum.

Given his limited experience at left back, it was another fine performance from Clarke.

Nearly men

Brentford celebrate Ollie Watkins' goal (Image: Getty Images Europe)

There are a number of reasons why Brentford will, almost certainly, miss out on the play-offs but there is one factor that stands out as the most crucial and that is they just fail to click where it matters.

In a number of games, the Bees have done the majority of things well except for key moments.

For the Bees to score, they pretty much have to do everything right but, when it comes to opponents going forward, they seem to get the bounce of the ball, a fluffed clearance or similar.

Neal Maupay summed this up on Saturday with his performance. His work rate was superb and he displayed a lot of his battling qualities winning the ball back and creating space. Unfortunately, he lacked the finishing touch. He'll have games where he makes less of an impact and scores twice. It just wasn't his day.

Brentford 1-1 Middlesbrough

When it comes to viewing the season as a whole, it's a tough one.

On the one hand, it can be viewed as a good season given that the Bees have, once again, proven themselves to be a decent Championship side. When you think 10 years ago, the west Londoners were an average League Two team it shows how far they have come.

But, on the flip side, there is a feeling that this campaign could also be filed as a missed opportunity.

You can look at the amount of points dropped from winning positions (24) to the games where Brentford have fallen foul to a moment of quality (Norwich) or come up against sides in irresistible form, such as the teams played this week.

If this team were a work of art, you'd think it was a good painting but lacking a little something that stood it out from the rest.