A second-half equaliser from Mark Davies earned Bolton Wanderers a 2-2 draw against Brentford, who remain three points outside of the Championship playoffs.

Brentford had the better of the early stages but Emile Heskey should have put Bolton ahead after 11 minutes after being played in on goal, only to shoot wide of the target.

Alex Pritchard, recalled to the Brentford side, sent a free kick over the crossbar before Bolton's Dorian Dervite headed against a defender when well placed in the penalty area.

Liam Feeney came agonisingly close to an opener for Bolton after rounding David Button and seeing his shot cleared off the line, but, with 10 minutes to go before half time, Brentford took the lead through Pritchard's finish at the back post.

It took Bolton just four minutes to get back on level terms through Adam Le Fondre, who latched onto a pass from Heskey before finding the back of the net.

Just before the break, though, Brentford regained the lead through Jonathan Douglas, who applied the finishing touch at the back post, much like Pritchard did for the opener.

Bolton provided a positive response at the start of the second half, but too often their final ball was poor and that eased the pressure on the Brentford defence.

However, with 20 minutes remaining, Wanderers found their equaliser when substitute Davies capitalised on a weak back-pass before rounding Button and tapping into an empty net.

Needing a win to boost their playoff hopes, Brentford pushed for a winner, but after Stuart Dallas and Jake Bidwell both squandered chances, Bolton held on to record an impressive point.