REVEALED: Ivan Toney MOVED the ball twice before pulling Brentford level with his free-kick… as his smart thinking pays off in first match back after eight-month ban from football
- Toney scored just 19 minutes in his first game since his eight-month ban
- Click here for live updates from Brentford’s league match with Nottingham Forest
- Ivan Toney is ambitious and wants to win titles… you can’t begrudge him that! It all starts
Smart thinking from Ivan Toney saw him score in his first game back after his eight-month football ban.
The Brentford striker scored 19 minutes after his return with a curling free-kick after Nottingham Forest had taken the lead through Danilo.
Replays showed that after speaking to one of his teammates, Toney leaned over to move the ball to the right once before doing so again.
Nottingham Forest’s Ryan Yates sensed the danger when he gestured to his goalkeeper Matt Turner that he thought Toney would aim to bend the free-kick past the wall and into the net.
This made no difference, however, as by moving the ball, Toney worked himself into a better angle while influencing the placement of the wall, and the Brentford star was able to find a gap between the forest wall and Callum Hudson-Odoi who was standing. away from it.
Smart thinking from Ivan Toney led to Brentford drawing level against Nottingham Forest
Toney knew what he wanted to do from the free kick, bending it into the back of the net
Toney moved the ball to the right twice to get a better angle at the Forest goal
His tactics worked as he found space between the wall and Callum Hudson-Odoi to find the back of the net
Sky Sports pundits Michael Dawson and Karen Carney disagreed over the impact moving the ball would have had on goal.
Dawson said at half-time: “Ivan Toney is moving the ball a little bit. I don’t think that has much impact on the outcome, really.
‘I’m not sure what Callum Hudson-Odoi is doing here. Only one thing could happen and that was the Toney shooting.”
However, Carney said in response that she ‘absolutely’ believed Toney’s ball movement had an impact on the goal.
She said: ‘The wall was bad but I think moving the ball gives it more angle just to bend it around again.
‘There is Yates who says angrily: come on goalkeeper, he is going to bend it there. Look, he’s going to put it in. The goalkeeper goes over the controls, but says ‘No, I’m happy’.”
Toney’s return was much anticipated and the Bees gave him access to The Undertaker’s WWE-style theme music before the match.
Toney drove away in celebration after equalizing for the hosts after Danilo had given Forest a third-minute lead.
He was seen celebrating the goal with Brentford manager Thomas Frank, before raising a T-shirt that read ‘For You, Uncle Brian’.
Former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher praised Toney’s comeback to the Premier League, speaking on Sky Sports.
There has been a lot of anticipation surrounding Toney’s return after his eight-month suspension
“Not just for Brentford, but for Uncle Brian, king of kings, what a comeback,” Carragher said.
“They should have known what was going to happen, Forest, and he’s done that to them before.”
The forward was sanctioned last May for breaching FA rules regarding gambling. His suspension ended earlier this week.
Toney had been limited to practices, behind closed doors and in-house games since September.
The 27-year-old, who scored 20 goals in 33 Premier League games last season, was given the captain’s armband by Frank on his return to the team.