Bees were ‘average’ before late goals – Smith

Brentford boss Dean Smith admitted the scoreline flattered his team after their 5-0 victory against Preston.

The Bees are fifth in the Championship table after a superb win at Griffin Park, where Scott Hogan scored a hat-trick.

But Preston were very much in the game before Harlee Dean’s 74th-minute goal made it 2-0.

Smith said: “I enjoyed the result and enjoyed the last 16 minutes, but before that I thought we were quite average. We had to grow into each half, which I thought we did.

“We were probably a bit fortunate to be 1-0 up at half-time. You could see a few of the lads were tired.

“Games change as they go on and at 0-0 and 1-0 it was very tight. I thought the second goal was important for us.

“We relaxed after that goal and it gave the team a lot of confidence.”

Striker Hogan continues to impress and has scored five goals in three matches.

“His movement is fantastic – and his finishing’s not bad!” Smith declared.