Maupay floors Nottingham Forest after Ivan Toney scores on Brentford return

Ivan Toney had been dreaming of this day for the last eight months. Yet while his comeback from a ban for breaching betting rules predictably ended with a goal, the only surprise was that it wasn’t the winner.

That honour was reserved for Toney’s strike partner Neal Maupay, who performed a special celebration with the England striker after a topsy turvy second half that had seen Ben Mee’s header cancelled out by Nottingham Forest’s Chris Wood.

Toney had earlier scored his 33rd Premier League goal in just 67 appearances following Danilo’s opener as Brentford ended a run of five successive defeats - underlining just how important the star striker is to their chances of survival.

Thomas Frank’s side moved up to 14th and above their opponents in the table to end a difficult week for Nuno Espírito Santo’s side after they were charged with breaching the Premier League’s financial rules.

Toney allowed himself a brief moment of contemplation before starting his first match for 259 days since a 1-0 defeat against Liverpool at Anfield in May, having shown no signs of nerves in the warm-up when he attempted to chip the goalkeeper.

Yet after a billboard declaring ‘He’s back’ was erected earlier this week on the A4, there was always a chance that Forest could prove to be party-poopers given their recent revival under Nuno that had seen them win their last two league matches.

Brentford’s leaky defence this season has been a major factor in their slide down the table and Vitaly Janelt’s panicked clearance in the third minute handed the visitors an opportunity that could have easily been avoided. It still took an astonishing piece of skill from Danilo to control the ball on his thigh and dispatch a volley past Mark Flekken. “Ivan Toney, you should have cashed out,” sang the Forest fans in mocking delight - perhaps a taste of what he may have to endure in matches from now on.

It did not take long for Toney to find a response. When Mikkel Damsgaard was brought down clumsily by Orel Mangala on the edge of the box, he immediately grabbed the ball and started to prepare. Forest’s wall certainly made his task much easier by not covering the whole of Matt Turner’s goal but the accuracy of Toney’s low, curled shot meant it was always going in. As the home crowd erupted in joy, he sprinted down the touchline to celebrate with Frank before being passed a shirt bearing the message “Thank you Uncle Brian”.

Toney’s perseverance almost saw Brentford take the lead soon after when his cutback from the byline teed up Keane Lewis-Potter for an effort from close range which crashed into the crossbar, with Forest goalkeeper Turner relieved to grab the ball at the second attempt after it hit his back leg from the rebound.

Nicolás Domínguez offered a reminder that Forest remained a threat on the break when he shot straight at Flekken after an excellent first touch took him into space. But only a last-ditch tackle from Gonzalo Montiel kept them level just before the break when Toney helped to play in Mathias Jensen.

Brentford picked up where they left off at the start of the second half when a pinpoint cross from Toney found Lewis-Potter at the back post but he could only direct his effort straight at Turner. The England striker was at the heart of Brentford’s attacks and created the space that ended with Lewis-Potter spurning another good chance.

There was no stopping Mee’s thumping header from Jensen’s corner moments later as the defender left his marker Montiel for dead before producing a finish that Toney would have been proud of.

Maupay could have given the hosts breathing space when he was played in by Toney but Montiel made a crucial intervention. When Wood headed home Callum Hudson-Odoi’s cross to equalise - his sixth goal in his last six matches - that point seemed to have been underlined but it took Brentford less than two minutes to regain the lead when Maupay swept home a cross from Mads Roerslev after more excellent play from Toney. Forest’s players were adamant that it had struck his arm but the VAR was satisfied the ball brushed his chest.

Mangala came closest to rescuing a point for Forest when he dragged a shot just wide but there was no stopping Toney on his grand return despite 10 minutes of stoppage time.