Brentford striker, Ivan Toney felt “very good” on his winning return to competitive football after an eight-month ban.
Toney was suspended from competitive football in May 2023 following 232 breaches of FA rules on betting, and resumed training in mid-September in order to allow him to build up his match fitness ahead of the eventual conclusion of his ban.
The 27 year-old on his return scored Brentford’s equalising first-half goal from a free-kick as the Bees eventually ran out 3-2 winners at home to Nottingham Forest in a thriller at Gtech Community Stadium.
“That felt good, that felt very good. Hearing the fans screaming, just back on the pitch, scoring goals, winning games, it felt very good,” began Toney as he spoke to www.brentfordfc.com post match.
Toney proceeded to praise his teammates for their efforts in a thrilling contest plus fans for their support, as he continued: “I always believed we had enough in the changing room to win today. They are a great side but the boys dug deep and I think we deserved it in the end.
“A lot of people messaged me before the game but [the attention] is what it is, you’ve then just got to perform. You can’t let the nerves get to you, you’ve got to perform, people are here to watch you and you’ve got to put a show on – hopefully I did that.”
Toney also was delighted to be straight back on the scoresheet in his first appearance of the season, as he added: “The feeling, the big moment, I always knew I was going to hit the target and I did that; if I did that, I was going to have a chance to score. In the end, I gave the keeper no chance so it was good.”
Brentford manager, Thomas Frank added that Toney “is a big player and a big part of it,” who had been “missed” over the last eight months.
Frank iterated that he felt “good” to see Toney back and “enjoying” his football again but iterated that the striker is only one part of the team.
“No one can do anything on their own in life; if you want to achieve something big, you can’t go alone. Ivan is an eleventh of the team and if the 10 others are not performing, it doesn’t help. We need them all to perform together.”
Frank also praised match-winner, Neal Maupay for his contributions and how quickly he formed a connection up front with Toney in their first match as teammates.
“Another one to highlight is Neal Maupay; the way he took his winning goal was very good. And the way he has come into the club is fantastic. We know what he is capable of, but five goals and three assists is impressive.
“It’s clear that [Toney and Maupay] have got an eye for each other and they connect well. I like it.”
Focusing upon the win, Frank warned that he found it “… difficult to keep your excitement, joy and happiness down when you win. But it’s about having that consistency for me, for the players, for everyone – and I think we’re quite good at that.”
The win lifted Brentford up to 14th position and six points clear of the relegation zone which Frank vowed is a “crucial” result, but Frank want to see more consistency.
“I said to the boys, ‘let’s do this a little bit more often, like we usually do.’ We are back to winning ways and of course we need to keep up the good performances moving forward.
“We played a fine game, and actually maybe not that much better than some of the other games, but we did more than enough to win the game. It was a fair and square win.”