Penalty decision angers Bees boss Smith

Brentford boss Dean Smith felt his side were denied the chance of a victory at Derby by referee Scott Duncan.

A disciplined display from the Bees saw them take a point away from the iPro Stadium in a goalless draw.

However, Smith was angry that Mr Duncan waved away claims for a penalty in the second half after Romaine Sawyers appeared to be brought down by Ikechi Anya.

He said: “I’m bitterly disappointed because we should have had a stonewall penalty in the second half which wins us the game.

“I could certainly see it from 60 yards away – if I could see it then they [the officials] should. That’s their job, they’re professional people. But hopefully it’ll even itself out over the season.”

Smith took heart, though, from a solid performance in which he believed his side had the better opportunities.

He said: “We wanted more intensity with our closing off the ball – I thought we got that and restricted them to long-range efforts.

“We didn’t have as much ball as we would normally, but that was part of our plan because we felt we could hurt them on the counter.

“We still had a number of chances – Romaine’s hit the post and the goalkeeper’s made a great save from John Egan’s header.”