Ed Aarons’ match report has arrived, so I’ll leave you with that. Thanks for your company and emails – goodnight.
Ivan Toney's reaction
It means a lot. It’s been a long time coming. I manifested this when I was out, and I’m here now: I’m buzzing to be back. When I left my house today I thought, ‘We’re winning today and I’m scoring.’ And I made it happen, so it’s good.
[On the free-kick] I practise them in training. Everyone batters me when I hit the stands or they go in the car park, but I delivered when it mattered. [On moving the ball] I think you have a yard either way, so I just moved it and then bent it round the wall.
I’m so glad to be back playing with the lads. I’ve missed it so much – the fans, everything – and the boys fully deserved the result. I’m glad for Neal to get the winner because he works hard in training and we’ve got a partnership. I’m sure we’ll get a lot of goals together.
Toney has talked a brilliant game all week. He put himself under a lot of pressure with all those interviews, but his talk:walk ratio was beyond reproach. Vital as the goal was, it was the breadth and subtlety of his performance that really stood out. He is, excuse me, a damn fine centre-forward.
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That was a really entertaining game, which swung one way and then the other before Neal Maupay settled it with a superb hooked shot. Danilo scored an even better goal to put Forest ahead early on, and Brentford were a bag of nerves until Ivan Toney equalised with a swaggering free-kick.
They were a different team after that and probably deserved the win in the end. Ben Mee and Chris Wood traded accomplished headers in the second half and then Maupay… I was going to say he stole the show, but he didn’t. He did score the winner though.
Full time: Brentford 3-2 Nottm Forest
Peep peep! Ivan Toney has inspired Brentford to a crucial victory, just like he said he would.
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90+7 min: Brentford substitution Brentford continue to kill time in the Forest half, and then they waste a bit more by bringing on Yegor Yarmolyuk for the quietly excellent Mathias Jensen.
90+5 min Forest can’t generate any attacking momentum. This game looks done.
90+3 min Dasilva wastes a few seconds near the byline and then holds Forest up by fouling Aguilera (I think).
90 min There will be ten added minutes. One more twist isn’t beyond the realms, especially with that much injury time, but Brentford have been reasonably comfortable since retaking the lead.
89 min: Double substitution for Brentford Josh Dasilva and Kristoffer Ajer replace Keane Lewis-Potter and Mads Roerslev.
88 min A Forest player accidentally stands on the hand of Roerslev, who looks in a fair bit of pain as he receives treatment.
87 min “Shaping up to be a strange old relegation battle, especially with the Everton and Forest situation,” says Max Williams. “Who’s going down? The three promoted teams most likely but God knows what happens with the points deductions. As a Palace fan it feels like we picked a good season to be crap while also wasting a great opportunity to finish higher than 10th for once.”
I think Luton will stay up because they have a lot of (relatively) winnable home games to come. The points deductions, actual and potential, make it really hard to judge though. It’s the algorithms I feel for: they have to work out the percentage chance of a points deduction and then factor that into the percentage chance of relegation. Still, in technology we trust.
86 min: Forest substitution Brandon Aguilera replaces Gonzalo Montiel.
85 min Tavares shoots over form distance. A bad idea, poorly executed. Though Forest haven’t played badly – a draw wouldn’t flatter them – they have missed the wit of Morgan Gibbs-White and the dynamism of Anthony Elanga.
84 min Jensen, who has been quietly excellent, has a pop from 25 yards. It’s well struck but straight at Turner.
80 min: Just wide from Mangala! Chris Wood, who along with Toney has been the best player on the pitch, holds the ball up and touches it off to the onrushing Mangala 20 yards out. This time he swishes just wide with his left foot, having done so with his right in the 66th minute.
78 min Wood combines nicely with Dominguez and hits a shot from the edge of the area that is blocked. The ball spins up towards Collins, who feels a bit of contact from behind and falls over like Willem Dafoe in the Platoon poster. The referee gives the free-kick. It probably was a foul, I don’t know why I’m making it sound like Collins dived.
76 min A win today would move Brentford up to 14th, six points clear of the relegation places. There’s a long way to go – they have a grisly run of fixtures until mid-March – but it would give them so much confidence. And a confident Brentford have been pretty good at taking points off the bigger teams. What they’d given for another league double over Manchester City, who they play twice in February.
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74 min: Double substitution for Forest Sergio Reguilon and Shandon Baptiste replace Neal Maupay and Mikkel Damsgaard.
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71 min Rui Pedro Silva, a member of the Forest backroom staff, has been booked.
GOAL GIVEN! They were checking whether the ball hit Maupay’s hand after he controlled it. VAR decided not – but the Forest players are all around the referee. The replays we’ve seen suggest Maupay controlled the ball onto the chest, not the arm.
"A goal of rare quality!" 🙌
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) January 20, 2024
Neal Maupay finds the back of the net with a superb finish 👏 pic.twitter.com/Pb3HdtqULG
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So much for Maupay lacking confidence: this is a thrilling goal! Toney found Roerslev, who swung a routine cross towards the penalty spot. Maupay’s first touch took the ball away from Omobamidele, and he swivelled to hook a brilliant shot back across Turner with his left foot. But it’s being checked by VAR for handball.
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GOAL! Brentford 3-2 Nottm Forest (Maupay 68)
What a goal from Neal Maupay!
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68 min: Chance for Forest! This game is anyone’s now. Hudson-Odoi’s cross is touched off deftly by Wood to Mangala, who charges onto the bouncing ball and slashes just wide from 15 yards.
67 min Toney is booked, perhaps harshly, for catching Omobamidele as they jumped for a high ball.
That’s another excellent striker’s goal from Chris Wood. Danilo won a 50/50 with Damsgaard a bit too easily and found Hudson-Odoi on the left. He flashed a terrific cross into the middle, where Wood ran across Mee and flicked an accomplished header into the fast corner. His touch was so deft that at first I wondered whether the cross had gone straight in; replays showed that Wood definitely got a touch – and that he knew exactly what he was doing.
"He just can't stop scoring" 🔥
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) January 20, 2024
Six in six for Chris Wood ✅✅✅✅✅✅ pic.twitter.com/cpVOK1Ywvc
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GOAL! Brentford 2-2 Nottm Forest (Wood 65)
Woodigol strikes again!
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62 min “A ‘couple of yards’?” sniffs Andy Flintoff about my description of Toney’s goal. “It was about one ball diameter, so perhaps a foot at most.”
My point exactly. (I’m crap at measurements.)
62 min: Forest substitution Neco Williams replaces Ryan Yates. Not sure what that means tactically.
59 min Toney – I know, I know, but he’s been a class apart in this second half – plays another brilliant pass, this time to leave Maupay one v one with Omobamidele in the area. Maupay is a bit indecisive, betraying his scoring record in the last couple of years, and Omobamidele puts the ball behind for a corner.
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Lewis-Potter won a corner on the left, which was taken by Jensen. He curled a fine ball to the near post, where Mee got away from his marker Montiel and flashed a header past Turner. That’s an emphatic finish.
"Montiel loses him!"
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) January 20, 2024
Ben Mee gives Brentford the lead 🎯 pic.twitter.com/SoUoQyAGKn
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GOAL! Brentford 2-1 Nottm Forest (Mee 58)
Brentford have come from behind to lead!
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56 min: Chance for Brentford! Toney’s excellent pass releases Roerslev on the right. His early cross is missed by Maupay and reaches Lewis-Potter, who mishits the ball into the ground and wide from about 10 yards. That was a whole lot more than a half-chance.
55 min Forest appeal for a penalty when Danilo’s cross hits Roerslev. The ball bounces back to Danilo, whose clever stabbed pass is flicked extravagantly wide of the near post by Mangala. I think he had more time than he realised.
54 min Montiel is booked for something or other, I missed it.
53 min Toney pulls into the inside-right channel, 30 yards from goal, and cracks a fantatsic cross towards the far post. Lewis-Potter gets the wrong side of the defender, Montiel I think, but can only stud it straight at Turner. A half chance at best.
While Toney hasn't dominated the game, he has produced six or seven moments of real class.
51 min Danilo is booked for catching Collins as they both went for a bouncing ball. The contact was soft enough to preclude a VAR upgrade. Talking of which…
“I hate myself for saying this but... isn’t ball placement/movement after the ref draws the line something that should be checked by VAR when reviewing the goal?” says Justin Madson. “I’m so sorry for asking this, but with all the small things that VAR does look at surely something as clear as someone moving the ball illegally would be on the table?”
Well, I have no idea. (You’re welcome.) But in theory I guess it should be something they could get involved in. It’s a hard thing to spot in real time, though. I know I didn’t see it until Dan Naylor emailed in about it. Anyone got Dermot Gallagher’s number?
50 min A decent start for Forest, with plenty of possession at the start of the half. As it stands, both teams are walking towards a stick/twist dilemma.
47 min “To be fair, the Saudi league was offering a lot of money and many footballers are probably too busy training to keep up with current events,” says Liz White. “Meanwhile in Miami, everything seems to be working out for everyone.”
46 min Toney is fouled on the left wing within 20 seconds of the restart. Jensen’s wicked ball in is superbly defended at the near post by lord knows.
46 min Peep peep! Brentford begin the second half. Ryan Yates, who hurt his knee just before half-time, is back on the field.
Replays show that Toney moved the ball (and the foam line) a couple of yards to the right for the free-kick, as mentioned by Dan Naylor in the 37th minute. Whether it made a difference, who knows, but you can understand why Forest might feel pisse aggrieved. You can also understand why Toney will not give one solitary ess.
"I don't believe the wall was set up right..." 🧱
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) January 20, 2024
Could Nottingham Forest have done more to stop Toney's strike? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/eWqzlzrUsf
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Half-time reading
Just one question: what did they think it was going to be like?
Half time: Brentford 1-1 Nottm Forest
An interesting arm-wrestle at the Gtech Community Stadium. Danilo’s early goal, a nonchalant long-range volley, quietened the home crowd – but only until the returning Ivan Toney took advantage of a dodgy Forest wall to equalise with a precise free-kick.
That led to Brentford’s best spell of the half, during which Keane Lewis-Potter clattered the bar, but Forest weathered the storm and went into the break as equals.
Toney played well. He made the goal look routine and played a handful of excellent passes. Just as importantly, the manner and timing of his goal relaxed his teammates, who started the game very nervously.
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45+4 min Toney pulls out to the right and pokes a good square pass to Damsgaard in the area. His cutback almost falls for Maupay, but it doesn’t, so there.
45+3 min In fact it was a clash of knees that put Yates on the deck, so it should be something he can run off.
45+1 min Yates is limping heavily and holding the back of his right thigh. That doesn’t look good. Forest are already down to the bare bones.
45 min Four added minutes.
44 min Toney tries to score from the left wing with a driven lob. He gets the length right but not the line; the ball goes well wide of the far post.
43 min Both players are okay to continue.
41 min There’s a break in play after a clash of heads between Maupay and Dominguez.
40 min Montiel’s fast cross is punched away the diving Flekken. This is a decent little spell for Forest, who were under the pump for the best part of 15 minutes.
38 min Tavarez swishes a wobbling long-range shot that is saved at the second attempt by Flekken.
In other news, this is quite the coincidence.
April 29, 2023 - Ivan Toney scores from a free-kick v Nott'm Forest, his final shot at the Gtech Community Stadium before his ban
— Sky Sports Statto (@SkySportsStatto) January 20, 2024
January 20, 2024 - Ivan Toney scores from a free-kick v Nott'm Forest, his first shot in competitive football since returning from his ban pic.twitter.com/DaDn980VKE
37 min “On replay it looks like Toney moved both the spray line and the ball to get it around the wall!” says Dan Naylor.
36 min Forest’s first decent attack since the equaliser. Mangala breaks down the left and screws a low cross towards Dominguez. He spins the ball round Mee, a beautiful first touch, but he runs out of room and Flekken claims.
33 min “Turner should have had the guy laying down in the wall, then it would actually cover a straight shot at goal,” says Justin Madson. “Not helped by the player at the end leaning into the middle of the wall instead of staying straight up. Incredible strike by Toney, he got all of that one and punished Turner for his wall positioning.”
Sky have just shown footage of Yates asking Turner whether he should move further to the left to cover a near-post shot. Turner said no, so I guess the goal will go down as his mistake.
31 min: Lewis-Potter hits the bar! The corner is swung beyond the far post to Toney, who volleys it back into the six-yard box. The ball ricochets off a defender towards Lewis-Potter, who twists to smack a close-range volley off the underside of the bar. A scramble ensues before Forest force the ball away.
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30 min Two more corners on the left for Brentford, who have really pinned Forest back since Toney’s equaliser. The difference a goal from a talisman makes.
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28 min “Surely the most important European fixture in this time-slot is Leipzig v Leverkusen,” says Joe Pearson. “Always wondered why the Grauniad tends to ignore important continental matches (other than El Clasico and, to a lesser extent, Der Klassiker). I thought you guys were against Brexit.”
Brexit, but not Brentford. It has the square root of bugger all to do with me, but I’m not sure an English newspaper could scrap this game to cover Leipzig v Leverkusen. Ideally they’d do both, but I guess we’re in the middle of a long cost-of-printing criss.
27 min Lots of Brentford presusre now, including a couple of corners in quick succession on the left. Moments later Toney wins a header 25 yards from goal and guides the ball through to Maupay, who is waiting for the ball to drop when Murillo eases him aside. Maupay goes down but it looked a fair challenge.
24 min Janelt’s lofted cross skims the head of Montiel at the far post, a crucial touch with Toney behind him and about to launch into a scissor kick. The move was started by a really deft touch from Toney to Maupay.
22 min That goal has changed the mood, and you’d bloody hope so too. Brentford look much more relaxed.
Toney runs straight to the touchline to collect and display a shirt that reads ‘For You Uncle Brian’. It was an excellent, precise free-kick, though the Forest wall looks dodgier with every replay. The gap at the near post was far too big for a player of Toney’s quality. In some ways it was quite an easy finish.
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Toney strolled up, almost like he was taking a penalty, and curled a low shot around the wall and into the net at the near post. Turner, who was on the far side of the goal, didn’t move.
"Back with a BANG!" 💥
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) January 20, 2024
Ivan Toney scores on his return! 🔙 pic.twitter.com/QmarvV2OvK
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GOAL! Brentford 1-1 Nottm Forest (Toney 19)
Guess who’s back.
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18 min Mangala is booked for fouling Damsgaard just outside the penalty area, slightly to the right of centre. Ivan Toney is over the ball…
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15 min Brentford break from the Forest corner with Toney on the ball. He tries to play a one-two on the halfway line and is nobbled by Omobamiedele; he doesn’t look impressed.
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14 min Brentford are having more of the ball now, though Forest look dangerous every time they go forward. After good hold-up play from Wood, who has started well, Montiel wins a corner on the right.
13 min Yates’ long-range shot is blocked, with the ball ricocheting to Hudson-Odoi in the area. His shot is also blocked, crucially by Collins.
11 min Mee has a long-range blooter blocked at source.
10 min The game is taking place mainly in the Brentford half. Toney has had one or two touches but nothing significant, yet.
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7 min Yates shoots wide from 25 yards. I fancied Brentford’s chances when I saw the teams but right now Forest are much the better side.
6 min And here is the aforementioned beauty from Danilo.
"That has burst the Brentford bubble" 🫧
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) January 20, 2024
A beauty from Danilo 👏 pic.twitter.com/F46KdHcqJ2
5 min A long throw from Jensen is headed to the edge of the area. Janelt volleys into orbit.
I was just typing that Toney had caught Yates with his studs – accidentally I think – when Danilo scored a brilliant goal. A flustered clearance from Janelt went straight up in the air on the edge of his own area. Mee headed it away but only as far as Danilo, who controlled the ball on his left thigh and slashed a beautiful volley past Flekken with his right foot.
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GOAL! Brentford 0-1 Nottm Forest (Danilo 3)
Forest take the lead out of nothing!
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1 min Peep peep! Forest kick off from right to left as we watch.
Ivan Toney looks calm and focussed as he leads the Brentford team onto the field. He’s waited a helluva long time for this moment. So have the Brentford fans, who emit the lustiest of roars when Toney’s name is read out.
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“Who writes your scripts?”
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Brentford at the Baftas!
This is such a charming film, and it’s so great that it’s up for a blomin Bafta. Congratulations to everyone involved, not least the remarkable Allan Cockram.
🏆 Amazing to see 'Mighty Penguins' on @BAFTA's longlist for British Short Film.
— Athletic Club (@Athletic_en) January 6, 2024
In October, the Penguins brought their documentary to Bilbao for our #ThinkingFootballFilmFestival and played a match against #AthleticGenuine at Lezama.
👏 Congratulations @BrentfordPFC,… https://t.co/7hy5VzO7pK pic.twitter.com/MXoUhOrZE6
And if you want to read about the Mighty Penguins, this interview is a perfect place to start.
When Nottingham Forest spent £150m in one transfer window in the summer of 2022, it was supposed to be a sign of ambition.
Brentford make three changes from their last league game, a defeat at Crystal Palace on 30 December. Ben Mee, Mikkel Damsgaard and yer man replace Zanka, Christian Norgaard (injured) and Saman Ghoddos (at the Asian Cup). That means Keane Lewis-Potter will move to left wing-back, though the loan signing Sergio Reguilon is on the bench.
Anthony Elanga and Morgan Gibbs-White are both injured, which is a big blow to Nottingham Forest. They make four changes, all enforced, from their win over Manchester United on the same day.
The summer signing Andrew Omobamidele finally makes his Premier League debut for Forest, replacing Moussa Niakhate at centre-back. Nuno Tavares comes in for Ola Aina, who like Niakhate is on international duty, at left-back. Gibbs-White and Elanga are replaced by Orel Mangala and Callum Hudson-Odoi.
Brentford (possible 3-5-2) Flekken; Collins, Mee, Pinnock; Roerslev, Janelt, Jensen, Damsgaard, Lewis-Potter; Maupay, Toney.
Substitutes: Strakosha, Reguilon, Zanka, Ajer, Dasilva, Peart-Harris, Baptiste, Yarmoliuk, Olakigbe.
Nottingham Forest (possible 4-3-3) Turner; Montiel, Omobamidele, Murillo, Tavares; Yates, Mangala, Danilo; Dominguez, Wood, Hudson-Odoi.
Substitutes: Vlachodimos, Worrall, Williams, Toffolo, McKenna, Aguilera, McDonnell, Esapa Osong, Gardner.
Referee Darren England.
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Team news
Ivan Toney captains Brentford on his return. Twenty-one other fellas will also start the game.
🐝 Your Bees to take on Forest #BRENFO | #BrentfordFC pic.twitter.com/sJ8kwb4sIn
— Brentford FC (@BrentfordFC) January 20, 2024
Your Reds to take on @BrentfordFC 📋
— Nottingham Forest (@NFFC) January 20, 2024
Preamble
Ivan Toney has been a very naughty boy; now we’re going to find out if he’s the messiah. His return from an eight-month ban comes not a moment too soon for Brentford, who are ankle deep in the relegation quicksand and in urgent need of both his ability and personality.
Brentford were doing okay without Toney, but the loss of his strike partner Bryan Mbeumo through injury made Premier League life unmanageable. Brentford have lost all five league games since Mbeumo’s injury; he won’t be back until mid-March, so it’s Toney’s turn to be the club’s chief pointswinner.
Toney has talked a magnificent game ahead of his return. In his interviews he has sounded like a boxer before a big fight, calmly promising what he intends to do to anyone who gets in his way. Toney’s fighting talk, stirring even for the neutral, has added a layer of anticipation to what was already the biggest comeback of its type in England since Eric Cantona turned up his collar on 1 October 1995.
Forest are the team who have drawn the short straw, although given their recent form they’re unlikely to fear Brentford. Were it not for FA charges hanging over them, they’d be entirely confident of avoiding relegation. Now they are in the peculiar position of not knowing how many points they need to stay up. So they might as well get as many as they can.
Kick off 5.30pm.
He’s back. pic.twitter.com/4Jeg4Vu8DX
— Brentford FC (@BrentfordFC) January 20, 2024
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