Thomas Frank was left pondering mixed emotions after Brentford left it late to snatch a dramatic 4-3 win over Ipswich on Saturday, writes Will Castle.

In what had been a back-and-forth contest, the Tractor Boys looked on course to come away from the Gtech Community Stadium with a hard-fought point after Liam Delap poked home with four minutes to play, levelling the score at 3-3.

But it was Bryan Mbeumo who came to the rescue for Brentford, whose 96th-minute cross evaded everyone on its way into the far corner, sealing the spoils for the hosts.

That said, Frank was far from all smiles at full-time, with defensive fickleness once again at the forefront for the Bees, forced to salvage a 2-0 deficit from the first half.

“I’m completely split," he admitted. "I’m happy because we cannot take anything for granted for winning in the Premier League, we’ve been so good offensively for a lot of the minutes in the game, and for showing the mentality to come back.

“Also, it’s then being so irritated about the first 40 minutes which I think is 40 of our worst minutes in the Premier League, against a good Ipswich team who did well.

“In the last five minutes of the first half and in the second half, clearly we were the better team, but we didn’t kill the game. It’s not that we didn’t try to go for the [goal to make it] 4-2. We tried to get it but it didn’t come for whatever reason.

“Then they equalised and you thought we were close to losing two points. They equalised with their one chance of the second half.

“The reaction is fantastic, the personality and the character is fantastic; so big credit to the team for that.”

Another cause for concern for Brentford fans was the absence of defender Kristoffer Ajer, who was an omission from the team sheet to face Ipswich.

But in an act that has eased fears of another long-term injury, Frank has provided a positive update on the fitness of the Norwegian.

He said: “It is a minor foot injury. We maybe could have pushed him through the game today but it is not worth it.

“We rested him today, and probably will rest him again on Tuesday [against Sheffield Wednesday in the Carabao Cup], and then he should be fit and available for Fulham.”