Brentford 0 Rotherham United 1
Brentford drew a blank for the third home league game in a row as they slipped to defeat at Griffin Park.
Rotherham scored the only goal of the game in the 14th minute as Mark Bradley eluded a static Bees defence to head home a free-kick.
Clayton Donaldson, Sam Saunders and Adam Forshaw all went close in the first half while Matt Tubbs and Alex Revell wasted good chances to wrap up the game for the visitors after the break.
Bees substitute George Saville came close to rescuing a point in injury time but his effort from distance was spectacularly tipped behind by Rotherham keeper Scott Shearer.
Brentford, who recalled David Button in goal after his ban, made the brighter start, with Donaldson shooting at Shearer.
But they paid a costly price for poor defending as Bradley sneaked past his marker to head home Ben Pringle’s free-kick.
Uwe Rosler’s side took some time to recover from conceding as a physical Rotherham team gained the upper hand, but the Bees began to reassert themselves late in the first half.
After Donaldson had been denied by Shearer’s legs, Adam Forshaw drilled just over the top, Saunders saw a deflected effort palmed round the post and Marcello Trotta was denied a shooting chance only by Kari Arnason’s terrific challenge.
Rosler introduced Will Grigg at half-time for Trotta but the summer signing made little impact against a strong Rotherham backline.
Although Brentford had more possession in the second half, they were fortunate Rotherham lacked a killer instinct, with Matt Tubbs and Alex Revell both squandering great chances to double the lead.
Farid El Alagui came on for the final 20 minutes as Brentford chased the game and they almost snatched a draw, but fellow subtitute Saville’s terrific shot brought a brilliant, match-winning, save from Shearer.
Brentford (4-4-2): Button; Logan, Dean, Taylor, Craig; Saunders, Diagouraga (El Alagui 70), Forshaw, McCormack (Saville 75); Trotta (Grigg 46), Donaldson.
Subs not used: Saville, Nugent, Douglas, Fillo.
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This post was last modified on 05/10/2013