Brentford vs Fulham. Premier League.
Gtech Community StadiumAttendance17,025.
Match report and free highlights as Toney scores 15th Premier League goal of season; Pinnock scored Bees' fastest-ever goal in the division before Manor Solomon's fifth in five levelled; Jensen wrapped it up before late Vinicius effort; Brentford a point behind Fulham and two games in hand
Tuesday 7 March 2023 06:06, UK
Ivan Toney's penalty helped Brentford beat west London rivals Fulham 3-2 at the Gtech Community Stadium to move to within one point of their seventh-placed neighbours in the Premier League table.
In a thrilling first half, Ethan Pinnock's deflected shot (6) was Brentford's fastest-ever goal in the Premier League, although they could have already hit the net several times by then after a rapid start to the derby.
Bryan Mbeumo, culpable for a glaring miss in the opening moments, had grazed a post with a free-kick, and Toney clipped the bar with his own set-piece strike later in the half. But fortune favoured Fulham when Andreas Pereira's free-kick came back off the post for Manor Solomon to mark his first Premier League start with his fifth goal in five games across all competitions (39).
The visitors had luck on their side again on the stroke of half-time when Sasa Lukic - back on the field after Toney caught him in the face with his boot - tripped Yoane Wissa but was not shown a second yellow card.
Issa Diop did not escape punishment when he caught Christian Norgaard's boot in the box after the restart, though, and Toney - perfect from the spot from10 attempts in the top flight - rolled home his 15th Premier League goal of the season (53).
He almost grabbed another when he tried to lob Bernd Leno from the centre circle but it was Mathias Jensen who sealed victory and ensured Brentford's impressive unbeaten run would stretch to 12 games in the Premier League, tucking in after a brilliant run from sub Kevin Schade (85).
Carlos Vinicius converted a rebound from Pereira's shot deep into stoppage time (90+9) but it was too little too late for Fulham.
It was the first time Fulham had conceded more than once in a league game since November and, with confidence flowing through this Brentford side now, Marco Silva's men have the in-form Bees buzzing right behind them in the race for a surprise European spot.
After 16 days without a game, Brentford were ravenous for the first whistle and could have struck three times before Pinnock found the net. Toney tested Leno and then Mbeumo missed a sitter from close range before seeing his low shot from a tight angle well saved.
Fulham were in a whirlwind and with just five minutes and 37 seconds on the clock they were behind. Aaron Hickey's sliced shot came to Pinnock and his dig was deflected by Tim Ream, giving Leno no chance. A red flare was thrown onto the pitch at the other end as the home fans celebrated.
They were almost cheering another soon after when Mbeumo grazed the post from a free-kick.
Fulham finally got their foot on the ball after that but struggled to find a way through, despite all their possession. Instead it was Brentford who were posing the threat whenever they attacked, with Toney clipping the bar from another free-kick.
But as the end of the half approached, Pereira got in on the act and fired his own free-kick against the woodwork and on this occasion the ball came back kindly for Solomon to nod home and maintain his remarkable scoring streak.
There was controversy just before the interval when Lukic escaped a second yellow card when he tripped Wissa as the Brentford forward broke away. The Serbian was sporting a nasty cut to his face by then after receiving a boot to the head from Toney but may still count himself fortunate.
After the break, Fulham looked to pick up where they left off, with Pereira miscuing a tough volley wide from close range but when Diop was punished for Norgaard beating him to a loose ball in the area Toney converted his 22nd Brentford penalty to swing the game back the home side's way.
Full of belief, Toney almost caught Leno out from near the halfway line but it was sub Schade who provided the third - and ultimately crucial - intervention, darting around Robinson to pull the ball back for Jensen.
Brentford supporters were briefly silenced when Vinicius pounced on a parried Pereira strike deep into stoppage time but the final whistle came seconds later to confirm a memorable derby victory which could be a huge moment in their season.
Brentford boss Thomas Frank: "It's of course special. I said before to the players, this is for us in the Premier League the biggest derby. It's more special against Fulham. In recent years there's been a lot of interesting games between the teams so of course it meant something extra, especially for the fans.
"We dream and we're allowed to dream. It's important to aim as high as we can. There have been ups and downs and it's looking good. But as a head coach you always see the next threat around the corner. We go to Everton, where they're fighting for their lives and it's going to be so difficult."
On Toney performing despite off-field issues: "It tells a lot about his ability to have laser focus on training and games. It's not a coincidence. Since I've known him, his ability to focus in games and training is quite unique. He's always aware of what's happening around him. He's never switching off. That's linked with, if there's something going on outside the pitch, you can see that focus both on and off the pitch."
Fulham boss Marco Silva: "A disappointing night for us. It was more our fault, the way we cannot play a derby away from home and we cannot start the way we started the game.
"We know how they're aggressive, can punish you with runs in behind and in the first 10 minutes we conceded a goal but we gave two or three situations for them to score. We were sloppy at the start of the first half and the second half. We showed the character with the reaction.
"I think that penalty was a really harsh decision from the official. If it's a VAR decision I can understand. But it's difficult to see the soft touch from the player, a really harsh decision from the referee. But it was our fault not the referee's fault."
Brentford travel to Everton in the Premier League next Saturday at 3pm before making the trip to Southampton on March 15 at 7.30pm.
Up next for Fulham is a Premier League home match against Arsenal next Sunday at 2pm, live on Sky Sports. They then travel to Manchester United in the FA Cup quarter-finals the following weekend.
