Brentford suffered their first home league defeat since November when they were beaten 1-0 by Nottingham Forest on Tuesday night courtesy of Joe Lolley's first-half strike.

Thomas Frank's side had been enjoying a fine run of Championship form which had seen them win three of their last four games, but the Bees lost ground in their play-off bid as Sabri Lamouchi's men produced a resolute display at Griffin Park.

Brentford had the chance to move within three points of the automatic promotion spots with another victory in West London, but they have now dropped to fifth in the standings ahead of their trip to face Hull on Saturday afternoon.

Lolley handed Forest the lead with his 14th-minute strike in the midweek clash, and the visitors then restricted Brentford's threat throughout the remainder of the match as they earned a hugely important victory in their own promotion bid.

Here, we take a look at three things we learned about Brentford in the match...

Brentford need to learn how to grind out results

Brentford have climbed into the Championship promotion hunt as a result of their ability to blow teams away with their attacking exploits, but the Forest match served as a timely reminder that this along may not be enough to win promotion.

Yesterday evening represented a key clash for both sides in their respective promotion attempts, and Forest displayed their capability to adapt their performance to the opponents as they did everything they could to frustrate the Bees on the night.

Ben Watson produced a particularly effective performance in the centre of midfield as he regularly broke up play, while always controlling the centre of the park on a night where Forest asserted dominance in many aspects of the game.

There must be an effective Plan B

This all means that Brentford need to start developing other possible paths to victory if their initial plan does not work, with last night's encounter proving Frank's side currently do not quite have this in their locker.

The fact Frank only made one substitution in what was a like-for-like midfield swap between Mathias Jensen and Emiliano Marcondes suggests there was a lack of viable alternatives on the bench who could make the difference for the Bees.

It is crucial that the West London outfit continue to develop other facets to their game from now on as, while they often look like seeing off sides with ease, the Forest clash proved that this will not always be the case.

Can you score maximum points in this Brentford quiz? Have a go now!

Jansson was sorely missed by the hosts

This is now the third consecutive match where the Bees have needed to manage without their star centre-back Pontus Jansson, and it perhaps comes as no coincidence that Frank's men have failed to win any of these matches.

Jansson has been integral to Brentford's vastly-improved defensive record this campaign and, while the London side have only conceded two goals in these last three games, they have certainly missed Jansson's commanding leadership from the back.

The Sweden international could have provided some of the qualities to help his side grind out a much-needed result last night, and the Bees will now be desperately hoping he shakes off his injury problem in time for the Hull match.