Emyr Huws gave Town a 26th minute lead and Nico Yennaris equalised a minute before half-time for Brentford as the Blues and Bees drew 1-1 at Portman Road. The visitors came closest to winning it in the second half when Myles Kenlock cleared a Sergi Canos effort off the line, while Cole Skuse had the Blues’ best chance.
Top scorer Tom Lawrence returned after his two-match ban to an otherwise unchanged Town side with Freddie Sears dropping to the bench.
For Brentford, Lasse Vibe was back from injury and came into the attack for Konstantin Kerschbaumer, who was on the bench with Romaine Sawyers switching to midfield, while Canos took over from Florian Jozefzoon.
Fans were late getting into the ground after a suspected gas leak delayed the opening of the turnstiles by half and hour until 2pm, however, the match itself kicked-off on time.
The Bees started very brightly, Yennaris finding Canos with a raking pass in the opening minute but Blues skipper Luke Chambers got a cross to block.
The corner came to nothing but the visitors continued to make the early running and soon afterwards Chambers was forced to turn the ball behind as Canos sought to cut back from the byline. ""From the flag-kick Jordan Spence blocked Maxime Colin’s strike, then a subsequent Jota effort also found a Town defender in the way.
The Blues threatened for the first time in the seventh minute when Christophe Berra and Jonas Knudsen both rose high but the ball was diverted the wrong side of the post.
On 10 Lawrence was fed through on goal but Bees keeper Daniel Bentley saved and the flag had been raised in any case. Soon after, the on-loan Leicester man hit a cross-shot from the left which flew wide.
After Brentford’s early pressure Town had got more into the game and were looking the more dangerous side, although without having forced Bentley into a serious save by that stage.
In the 19th minute Lawrence cut in and hit a shot from the left which was blocked, then a defender took the loose ball away from Spence just inside the box.
But on 26 the Blues went in front and as against Norwich last week following a long spell of passing.
Eventually Huws tapped the ball wide to Lawrence on the right from where the Leicester loanee looked to cross deep into the area. However, he hit it straight at the on-loan Cardiff man, who took it down and hooked his second goal for the club past Brentford keeper Bentley, who had been caught unawares.
There was a big scare for the Blues in the 35th minute when Chambers was caught in possession on halfway by Canos and the Bees broke through Vibe. However, Berra did superbly to block the Dane’s first strike and then Sawyers’s subsequent effort from the edge of the box.
As half-time approached the visitors put the Blues under a sustained spell of pressure and in the 44th minute they levelled when Sawyers played a clever ball in behind the Town defence for Yennaris, who burst into the box and beat the advancing Bartosz Bialkowski.
The Blues had one opportunity to restore their lead in the moments before the break but Berra headed Lawrence’s freekick from the right wide.
The Bees had deserved their equaliser shortly before half-time having been in charge and probing for an opening for a number of minutes prior to Yennaris’s goal.
Having repelled the visitors’ early pressure, Town had got themselves into the game and had got on top by the time Huws got his goal, although while rarely playing particularly fluid football, before allowing Brentford to get back in charge in the spell in which they scored their goal.
The Blues created their first opportunity of the second period in the 51st minute when Lawrence and McGoldrick exchanged passes on the right before the Welshman teed up the Irish international. However, the Blues number 10’s shot was mishit and struck a defender.
Brentford went close on 54 Chambers when was caught in possession and Canos brought the ball forward down the Bees left before cutting in and hitting a shot which Berra diverted wide.
Soon after, the visitors brought on Yoann Barbet for the injured Andreas Bjelland, then Town swapped Grant Ward for Toumani Diagouraga.
Just before the hour mark Canos hit a shot from distance, which flew not too far over Bialkowski’s cross-bar.
Brentford had been comfortably the better side in the second half and in the 68th minute they were inches from going in front. Canos exchanged a one-two with Vibe and broke into the box on the left. Bialkowski took the sting out of his shot but the ball was still going to cross the line until Kenlock hooked it away ahead of Yennaris.
The Bees swapped Canos for Florian Jozefzoon, then Town withdrew Huws in favour of Kevin Bru, before the visitors switched Vibe for Justin Shaibu.
On 73 Lawrence fed McGoldrick inside the area on the right but John Egan blocked his shot from a tight angle. Four minutes later, Jota played in Jozefzoon but Chambers stuck in a foot to send the ball into Bialkowski’s arms off the Brentford sub.
With nine minutes remaining Kieffer Moore replaced an increasingly Lawrence, who never looked like hitting the heights of his performances prior to his enforced two-match break.
Town came close to winning it in the 87th minute when Skuse, Bru and sub Moore exchanged passes on the edge of the area and the Bristolian, who had been Town’s best player on the day, found himself in unfamiliar territory, in on goal inside the box. However, Bentley was able to claim his low effort at goal as he stretched.
Neither side threatened in four minutes of injury time and Town’s fourth match in succession ended 1-1. The Blues last drew four games in a row during a run which eventually reached five early in the 1992/93 season.
On the balance on the second half, which the Bees dominated, Town will have been happier a not overly exciting game ended level.
The Blues, who surrendered a lead for the fifth time in the last six games, never hit the heights of the performances against Reading and Leeds.
Town are now without a defeat in their last six games but have won only once in their last 10 in all competitions.
There were few chances at either end with both sides really having one serious chance in the second half, the Canos opportunity cleared off the line by Kenlock for the Bees and the Skuse's for Town.
The result sees Town climb one place to 15th, still nine points from the relegation zone, ahead of Tuesday’s home game against Wolves.
Town: Bialkowski, Spence, Chambers (c), Berra, Knudsen, Kenlock, Skuse, Ward (Diagouraga 57), Huws (Bru 71), Lawrence (Moore 81), McGoldrick. Unused: Gerken, T Smith, Pitman, Sears.
Brentford: Bentley, Colin, Bjelland (c) (Barbet 56), Yennaris, Egan, Woods, Sawyers, Vibe (Shaibu 72), Henry, Jota, Canos (Jozefzoon 69). Unused: Bonham, Kerschbaumer, Clarke, Cole. Referee: Scott Duncan (Northumberland). Att: 15,863.