Toney scores again to help Brentford secure victory against Wolves
In the fourth meeting between the two sides in just over six weeks, Brentford imposed themselves right from the very start, pressing with incredible intensity high up the pitch as Wolves struggled to get out of their own half.
The Bees created several chances, with Neil Maupay twice denied by José Sá in quick succession, and Gary O’Neil’s side were dealt a blow midway through the half when last week’s hat-trick hero Matheus Cunha was forced off due to an injury.
In the 35th minute, the visitors’ pressure paid off as Sergio Reguilón’s corner kick was nodded in by an unmarked Christian Nørgaard, making this the 17th game in which Brentford have taken the lead out of 22 Premier League games this term.
Wolves, who looked nothing like the team who picked up a sublime victory against Chelsea last time out, almost nicked an equaliser on the stroke of HT, but Pedro Neto’s header was superbly saved by Mark Flekken to protect his side’s lead going slender advantage.
O’Neill would have wanted a much better performance from his Wolves side after the break, and he got an improvement within five minutes of the restart - or so he thought.
Neto’s corner was cleared back to the Portuguese forward, who clipped a cross into the box for a second time and, on this occasion, Craig Dawson nodded in.
However, following a VAR review, the centre-back was adjudged to have been narrowly offside.
Brentford were struggling to contain Wolves and, in an attempt to defend their one-goal lead, they engaged in plenty of time-wasting which drew frustration from the home crowd and their opponents.
Still, while they were under the cosh for most of the second half, Brentford hit the hosts with a sucker-punch. Vitaly Janelt won the ball inside the Wolves half and played a ball into the box for Ivan Toney, whose first-time finish flew past Sá was his third strike in four games since returning from his eight-month ban.
Toney’s goal proved to be the fatal blow as Wolves were unable to fashion a response and fell to a second consecutive home defeat, which was just their second loss at Molineux in 11 games across all competitions.
Nevertheless, they remain 10th ahead of Chelsea’s meeting with Crystal Palace on Monday night. Brentford, meanwhile, can now breathe a little easier as they put some distance between themselves and the bottom three.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Sergio Reguilón (Brentford)
