Nottingham Forest have defied the doubters throughout this season but are enduring an untimely wobble at the worst possible moment.
Forest are struggling to sustain what has been an electric campaign under Nuno Espirito Santo and this was a third defeat in the last four Premier League matches.
After two successive scraps against relegation, Forest could never have envisaged fighting for a Champions League place in the final weeks of the season.
Yet the stakes are now so high that nerves are jangling, and Brentford boosted their own hopes of European football next season with a deserved victory.