Kenya international Clarke Oduor was introduced in the second half as Barnsley suffered their first home loss under coach Valerien Ismael, against Brentford on Tuesday.
The 1-0 defeat at home came as Ivan Toney scored his 11th goal of the season that gave Brentford the slim win away. Toney collected a Mathias Jensen’s corner and fired into the right-hand corner for the only goal of the encounter in the 66th minute.
Jack Walton saved Oduor’s side from conceding another goal after saving a late effort from Marcus Forss. The victory was the first for Brentford in four matches as Barnsley lost the first match after five games under Ismael.
Oduor was brought on in the 72nd for Alex Mowatt as Ismael made three changes after they had gone behind, but the substitutions failed to have much impact on the game.
Referee Darren Bond dismissed Barnsley’s calls for a penalty after Victor Adeboyejo's cross hit Vitaly Janelt in the last moments of the tie.
Brentford are now unbeaten in the last six games and the clean sheet against the Tykes was their third in a row. Ismael explained how his charges should now tackle the next opponent after surrendering three points to Brentford.
“We expected the best opponent in possession with a lot of quality. It is not easy to press an opponent like that because they are very calm and try to lure you,” Ismael told BBC Sport.
“We need another approach to be more patient, and aggressive in some others.
“Out of possession we were really good but in possession, we were not clinical enough in some situations. We have to work on this. It is a bit frustrating, but it was another level for us. It was like chess.”
On his part, Brentford head coach Thomas Frank lauded his charges for picking up the victory.
“It was a very good win and I was very pleased with the performance. Ivan is doing a good job for us,” Frank said. “I think we looked very solid, structured and mature in more or less everything we did.
“I loved the patience in the first half because Barnsley are a very good side and I'm very impressed with them. They have made it unbelievably difficult for a lot of teams and they press with extreme intensity.”
Barnsley, now 14th on the log, will face Blackburn Rovers on December 1.
