Smith hails Brentford’s fighting spirit after dramatic derby

Brentford boss Dean Smith hailed his side’s never-say-die attitude after Neal Maupay’s last-gasp equaliser rescued a point in the derby at Fulham.

Smith’s team had been denied a clear penalty in the first half when Stefan Johansen blocked a Yoann Barbet free-kick with his arms in the box and the visitors had kept the hosts quiet prior to Aleksandar Mitrovic putting Fulham ahead.

“I thought it was the least we deserved,” said Smith. “Our first-half performance was outstanding.

“The second half was even, but then Mitrovic pulls out an unbelievable strike of Premier League quality.

“But the lads don’t give up and we thoroughly deserved the goal at the end.”

Brentford remain four points off the play-offs with three games remaining.

Smith said: “There are still teams around us who have to play each other and we’ve got a big west London derby against QPR. We’ll be going all out to win that one.

“We’ve been playing catch-up since not winning for the first eight games. I’m really proud of the team. The lads don’t give up.

“We’re disappointed that we don’t have the points tally we feel we deserve, but we are playing catch-up after a slow start to the season.”