Brentford striker Ivan Toney scored with a deft backheel finish in the first half and added a penalty in the second to give his side a 2-0 win over Brighton & Hove Albion in their Friday night Premier League clash at the Gtech Community Stadium.
The 26-year-old gave his hopes of being included in England's World Cup squad a considerable boost with a superb all-round display, capped off by two goals that took his tally to 55 in 100 games in all competitions for Brentford.
The Brighton players warmed up in t-shirts dedicated to Zambian teammate Enock Mwepu, whose career came to an abrupt end this week after he was diagnosed with a hereditary heart condition.
The visitors came close to taking the lead through Moises Caicedo in the 20th minute but goalkeeper David Raya tipped his 20th-minute piledriver over the bar, and he made another smart save from Joel Veltman from the resulting corner.
Bryan Mbeumo then hit the crossbar with a volley for Brentford just before Toney opened the scoring with a strike that might have been less spectacular, but still oozed class.
Ivan Toney backheel goal
The home side broke forward and Frank Onyeka pulled the ball across the box for Toney to flick through the legs of defender Adam Webster and into the net with an audacious backheel.
IMPROVISED!
— NBC Sports Soccer (@NBCSportsSoccer) October 14, 2022
With the visitors struggling to deal with Brentford at set pieces, Toney won a penalty in the 62nd minute as defender Joel Veltman bundled him over in the box, and the Englishman stepped up to confidently stroke home the spot kick to make it 2-0.
20 penalty kicks. 20 goals.
An unbelievable record for Brentford's Ivan Toney! #MyPLMorning | #BREBHA pic.twitter.com/uulxKeM2eb— NBC Sports Soccer (@NBCSportsSoccer) October 14, 2022
Brighton enjoyed plenty of possession in the closing stages but couldn't get the ball past Raya as the home side held on for a win that lifted them to eighth in the standings on 13 points, one behind seventh-placed Brighton.
"I enjoy playing with these boys, we put in a great shift, everyone, we worked hard off the ball and that's what Brentford is about," goal-scorer Toney told Sky Sports.
The striker was included in the England squad that faced Germany and Italy in the recent international break, and though he didn't get any playing time, his confidence is still high.
"I feel good, I feel ready to go. Obviously everyone is talking about the England thing, it's unfortunate not to get on but I'll keep going and I'll keep working hard," Toney said.
If he keeps scoring goals the way he did against Brighton, he will be hard to ignore.
(Reporting by Philip O'ConnorEditing by Christian Radnedge)
