Ivan Toney was “extremely impressive” on his long-awaited return, according to Brentford boss Thomas Frank.
The England striker scored on his first Premier League appearance in eight months, bending a low free-kick around the wall to cancel out Danilo Oliveira’s opener for Nottingham Forest.
The Bees came out on top of a topsy-turvy battle at the Gtech Community Stadium, winning 3-2 thanks to a superb second-half strike from Neal Maupay.
The result ends a five-game losing streak for Brentford, who were in danger of being dragged into the relegation battle before Saturday’s win.
“It was a very important win, big three points for us, loved the spirit and mentality of the team,” Frank told BBC Match of the Day.
“Everything was set for a good performance and then we were down 1-0 after two minutes and the fighting spirit and the resilience in the team is very impressive.
Toney had not played in 260 days after receiving a suspension for 232 breaches of the FA’s betting rules, but the 27-year-old shook off the cobwebs to win the Player of the Match award.
“Extremely impressive performance, he’s been out for eight months,” Frank said. “Of course he has been training and working really hard and he was on it. But besides the goal, his link up play, his hold up play, the presence and the character, wow.”
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