Brentford boss Dean Smith is adamant his side’s first home win of the season can galvanize them to kick on in the Championship.

The Bees secured a 1-0 triumph over Millwall at Griffin Park courtesy of a Romaine Sawyer goal, before Dan Bentley produced a string of goalkeeping heroics to seal all three points for the hosts.

The Brentford stopper pulled off two superb saves before denying Lee Gregory from the spot with ten minutes remaining.

Having picked up just nine points from 11 games, Smith’s men went into the local derby seeking a crucial win and the manager was quick to praise his side’s resilience in what was a tricky encounter with the Lions.

"Our character has never been in question for me and it's nice to get the first win at home, which we can use as a springboard,” said Smith. 

"When you play against a side as physical and aggressive as Millwall, you need some protection and you expect some degree of consistency.

"I was really pleased to get over the line today. We needed that at home for our supporters, and the last half an hour turned into a proper derby and a bit of a battle.

"If we showed any sort of composure, I thought we could have gone and killed the game at 2-0.”

And while he bemoaned the penalty decision given against his side, the head coach was equally full of praise for his first-choice goalkeeper.

“We became embroiled in an emotional battle and we're thankful that Dan Bentley saved their penalty,” said Smith.

"I didn't think it was a penalty, and if it was it was right on the edge of the box rather than inside the box.

“Dan's put that to bed and I don't have to come and moan about a decision because he made a really good save.

"I'm not even sure it was a foul, let alone inside the box. If it was in the box it was offside anyway, but there were a lot of decisions that raised eyebrows.”