**Thomas Frank said he was “very pleased” with Brentford’s display in their 2-1 defeat at Newcastle.**
The Bees, who had won five away matches in a row, levelled through Bryan Mbeumo’s penalty after Alexander Isak had put Newcastle ahead.
Mbeumo, near the edge of the six-yard box, was poised to clear Jacob Murphy’s ball in from the right but slipped at the vital moment, enabling Isak to score from close range.
Mbeumo made amends by equalising from the spot midway through the second half after Yoane Wissa had been brought down by keeper Nick Pope.
But, after Ethan Pinnock had hit the post, Sandro Tonali’s breathtaking goal secured the points for the Mapgies.
Tonali, with either a mishit cross or a contender goal of the season, scored from near the right-hand corner flag.
In the final minutes, substitute Mikkel Damsgaard missed a great chance when he fired over, and Pope produced a fine save to deny Kevin Schade.
And Brentford appealed in vain for a penalty right at the end after Damsgaard went down following a challenge by Bruno Guimaraes.
Bees boss Frank said: “To win a game like this – to win a tight game against a good team – you need some of the margins to go your way.
“The first goal, Bryan slips. Ethan, inside of the post. Tonali, one-in-a-million cross going in, and for me the Damsgaard penalty.
“Unfortunately we got on the wrong end of those. But the performance, I’m very pleased with it.”
Brentford, 11th in the Premier League table, face a west London derby at home to Chelsea on Sunday.