Dean Smith was full of praise for Alan Judge after he made his first start since breaking his leg on August 9 2016.
The Irishman was one of six changes for Brentford and he performed well for 70 minutes before he was replaced by Neal Maupay.
And the Bees head coach was pleased with what he saw from the 2015/16 player of the season.
Smith said: “He did very well. He's rattled on my door a few times asking why he's not starting. It's been difficult.
“We have a number of advanced midfielders who I felt could play as they're ahead of him fitness wise. Friday, I didn't think we played well on a heavy pitch.
“It was the right time to start him today and he didn't let me down, that's for sure.”
Smith admitted that, fitness wise, Judge could have carried on but felt that bringing on Maupay and Nico Yennaris, who replaced Josh McEachran, would make an impact – which it did.
“He could have stayed on and done 90 minutes. I felt we needed fresh legs to get the goal and we got it with Neal,” Smith added.
“Some substitutions come off. Some don't. It was a great performance.”
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