Brentford 0 Fulham 0: Stalemate in west London derby

Brentford and Fulham played out a 0-0 draw in the west London derby at Gtech Community Stadium on Saturday lunchtime.

The Bees arguably had the better of the game, with Dango Ouattara forcing a sensational save from Bernd Leno in the 90th minute, but both sides had to settle for a point from the Premier League fixture.

Head coach Keith Andrews opted to stick with the same side that drew 2-2 against Everton last Saturday. Aaron Hickey returned to the matchday squad for the first time in nearly two months, having sustained a hamstring injury in February’s home defeat to Brighton and Hove Albion.

The first chance of the game fell to the Bees, 10 minutes in. A short corner from Ouattara was played to Mathias Jensen, who whipped a cross into the box; Igor Thiago got in front of his marker and, despite not jumping, nodded his header just wide at the near post.

Ouattara was the next to try his luck on the Fulham goal, when a clever pass around the corner from Mikkel Damsgaard found the forward in some space. A driving run into the final third opened up some options, but the former Bournemouth man opted to carry the ball slightly wider and have a shot and it was saved comfortably by Leno.

Ryan Sessegnon had the visitors' opening opportunity of the derby, when the full-back received a Tom Cairney pass on the half-turn inside the penalty area. He got the ball onto his left foot and fired towards goal, but he was crowded out by Michael Kayode and his effort flew over the crossbar.

The Bees went close five minutes before half-time, when another good cross into the box from Jensen, this time from a corner, was met by the head of Kevin Schade. Just outside the six-yard box, his shot was blocked by a Fulham player and cleared.

The hosts had their best chance of the game in addition time of the first half. Another set-piece was collected at the back post by Schade, who passed it to Keane Lewis-Potter. Saturday's left-back, standing on the edge of the six-yard box, cleverly dragged the ball away from two defenders, but got under his shot and it went over the bar.

The first real chance of the half came on 57 minutes, when Lewis-Potter put another good delivery into the area. It bypassed everyone in the centre of the box but reached Ouattara at the far post; he shifted it onto his strong foot and fired powerfully down the throat of Leno.

Damsgaard went incredibly close just after the hour mark. A long ball was nodded down well by Schade, and the Dane ran onto it inside the penalty area. He hit the bouncing ball first time with the side of his foot, and it looked as if it might just loop over Leno, but it bounced just wide of the goal.

Another corner, another chance for Brentford. This one came with 15 minutes to play, as Nathan Collins flicked Jensen's set-piece to the far post, but it just evaded Thiago and Ouattara and went out for a goal kick.

Harry Wilson had a golden opportunity at the other just after. He appeared to beat the offside trap and found himself completely unmarked in the six-yard box; he misjudged his side-footed effort, however, and it almost went out for a throw-in.

Jensen's free-kick almost went straight in, this time, as Andrews' side continued to push for a goal. An inswinging delivery from the midfielder nearly got Leno out, as he acrobatically tipped the ball out for a corner.

Leno was forced into his first real save of the game, and it was a fantastic stop by the German. Lewis-Potter found himself in an advanced area and picked out Ouattara in a central area inside the box. The forward got a good shot away, but the sprawling Fulham keeper sensationally dived and pushed it over the bar.

Brentford (4-3-3): Kelleher; Kayode, van den Berg, Collins, Lewis-Potter; Yarmoliuk, Jensen, Damsgaard; Ouattara, Thiago, Schade

Subs not used: Valdimarsson, Hickey, Pinnock, Nelson, Ajer, Donovan, Bentt, Shield, Stephenson

Fulham (4-2-3-1): Leno; Castagne, Bassey, Andersen, Sessegnon (Robinson 81); Cairney (Bobb 81), Lukić; Wilson, Smith Rowe (King 67), Iwobi (Chukwueze 40); Muniz (Jiménez 67)

Subs not used: Lecomte, Reed, Berge, Diop

Attendance: 17,171