Middlesbrough manager Tony Mowbray was happy to end a barren spell by edging past Leeds United with a single goal victory at The Riverside.
Curtis Main's 81st minute header separated the teams and Mowbray said: "It's nice to get a win, it's been a while for us in the league and we need to keep the points ticking along.
"It's nearly 20 years since we won at home against Leeds. It's a good achievement for this team and we deserved to win.
"We competed against a team that you have to compete with and, on the balance of play, it was right we came out on top.
"Other games can be more of a football game but Leeds put you under pressure, don't allow you to keep the ball and it becomes more of a physical battle. But we came out on top of that."
Goalscorer Main was later sent-off for dissent after being adjudged to have handled to which Mowbray added: "Without being over critical of the official, he got it wrong.
"Curtis is a young boy who is starting his career. He came to us as a free transfer from Darlington and some of the things he can do are breathtaking at times."
Goals from Tom Adeyemi and Marcello Trotta in either half at Griffin Park saw the Bees record their first win in eight games to stay in the play-off places.
Adeyemi put the Londoners ahead just before the break when he cut in from the left to send a rasping drive into the far corner from the edge of the box.
Trotta made sure of the points late on with a sublime curling effort from the corner of the penalty area after a great ball from Adam Forshaw.
The Italian almost made it three seconds later but saw his clever near-post flick blocked at point-blank range by Stevenage 'keeper Chris Day.
Brentford should have wrapped it up by half-time but Paul Hayes squandered two gilt-edged chances to make the scoreline more emphatic.
He twice sliced wide in the early stages when clean through as Brentford tried to make the early breakthrough.
The visitors barely threatened Simon Moore in the Brentford goal, the closest effort a Sam Hoskins header easily saved.
Harry Forrester tested Day with a curling effort which lacked power late on and Clayton Donaldson blazed over deep into injury-time.
