A frustrated Thomas Frank admitted his Brentford side “100 per cent” should have held on for three points against ten-man Blackburn on Saturday.

Jacob Davenport’s 87th-minute equaliser denied the Bees victory in the first match played in front of fans at the new Brentford Community Stadium as the visitors earned a point despite having Darragh Lenihan sent off in the first half.

Ivan Toney converted the resultant penalty to equalise for the hosts following Joe Rothwell’s opener and Sergi Canos’ superb strike into the top corner – his first goal since April 2019 – put the Bees ahead just after the hour mark.

But there was a sting in the tail for Brentford as Davenport’s deflected strike found its way past David Raya to leave Frank disappointed.

“100 per cent (we should have won), that’s not in doubt,” he said. “Especially after the penalty and the equaliser.

“We know it’s not easy (against 10 men) to snap your fingers and do it but after going 2-1 up, of course we need to win.

“They didn’t want to come forward so it was only going to be us making a mistake, and unfortunately that happened.

“At 2-1 up, I think we could have gone a bit harder and committed more forward passes. It is that balance – they didn’t want to come, so we were passing it around and trying to see the game out.

“But they got a second ball in the box, a deflected shot and a goal. We need to do better, there’s no doubt about that.

“It’s all about emotions. We know it’s never over before the final whistle. They started on top but we bounced back against a very good side.

“We are disappointed we didn’t get the three points but we cannot dwell on that for more than 24 hours, we need to move on as the next game is coming. We need to learn from this in terms of seeing games out.”

Despite his side’s late disappointment, Frank was delighted to welcome fans for the first time this season and hailed the Bees faithful for the atmosphere they created.

“It’s so good to have them in here and I hope they really enjoyed being here in our new home,” he said.

“They made a fantastic atmosphere – it sounded like more than 2,000. Hopefully the next 2,000 that are coming on Wednesday night (against Derby) can cheer even louder because we need them.”

Goalscorer Canos was also pleased to be playing in front of a crowd, crediting the supporters with inspiring his long-awaited return to the scoresheet.

Canos found the net nine times in the 2018/19 season but went scoreless last term and was yet to break his duck this time around until the weekend.

His strike was arguably worth the wait as the Spaniard cut inside past several defenders and arrowed a terrific strike into the top corner, with Canos relieved to have lifted the weight from his shoulders.

“I have been waiting for this goal for a long time,” he said. “There were a lot of emotions – I think I cried a little bit! It’s just a shame we couldn’t get the win.

“Having fans back is amazing. I am a completely different player (in front of fans). When I hear them on the touchline, I feel amazing. Every time I got the ball, they lifted me. It was great.”

Brentford are sixth in the table going into yet another round of midweek fixtures in a hectic Championship campaign.

On Wednesday, the Bees are back on home soil as they welcome a Derby side fresh from a 1-0 victory at Millwall on Saturday, the strugglers’ first win since Wayne Rooney took interim charge.