Championship
BrentfordBrentford3Bristol CityBristol City2

Brentford 3-2 Bristol City: Ivan Toney on target as Bees fight back to go second in Championship

Saman Ghoddos scores Brentford's third goal against Bristol City
Saman Ghoddos' strike was his third in his past six Brentford appearances

Brentford recovered from conceding inside three minutes against Bristol City to extend their unbeaten Championship run to 19 games and move up to second.

The Robins, who have now lost six away games in a row, led when Zak Vyner guided home Jack Hunt's inswinging free-kick at the back post, but Seri Canos levelled when he followed up after keeper Daniel Bentley could only parry Tariqe Fosu's strike.

Ivan Toney put the Bees ahead from Fosu's cross after the break and, with the hosts dominant, Saman Ghoddos made it 3-1 when he scored after his initial shot crashed back off the woodwork.

A tidy Nahki Wells strike gave City hope of an unlikely draw, but the Bees held on to move a point above Swansea City - who drop to third - and four points behind leaders Norwich City, but with a game in hand.

Bristol City's inconsistency, which has now brought nine defeats and seven wins in their past 16 league and cup games, was clear as they faded after a bright start against a Bees side who were increasingly impressive.

The west Londoners remained unflustered after Vyner's shock opener, with Ethan Pinnock heading just wide and Canos twice going close before he did equalise after a mistake from Alfie Mawson.

Toney's 20th goal of the season put Brentford in front when he swept the ball in from eight yards after great work by the excellent Fosu.

Fosu was also the creator for the decisive third goal when a powerful run ended with him teeing up Ghoddos, whose shot hit the underside of the bar but rebounded kindly to allow him to hook the ball home.

Wells rounded keeper David Raya to make it 3-2 in the closing moments, but the Bees held on without any further alarms.

Brentford boss Thomas Frank:

"We know on our day we play decent football but we now have the foundations of every top team - a top attitude. We are confident but humble because we know there is a big task ahead of us.

"We were missing key players but Sergi Canos, Tariqe Fosu and Saman Ghoddos all stepped up. We run, fight and play for each other and that leads to a good performance every single time. Then it's down to the fine margins.

"We are always together and we have desire and that's important in a league that is relentless. We look only to the next game against Middlesbrough who have a way of playing that makes it difficult for you."

Bristol City head coach Dean Holden told BBC Radio Bristol:

"We're disappointed to lose. I thought we started excellently and we looked really solid in that shape. We looked dangerous but just weren't able to find that cutting edge or final pass.

"We got a bit too wide open. Ivan Toney's not had a lot to feed off all night but it shows how clinical he is - he gets one chance and puts it away.

"It was a much better performance than Saturday, we competed tonight. We just lost to a team who, on the night, were better than us."

Line-ups

Brentford

Formation 4-3-3

  • 1Raya
  • 22Dalsgaard
  • 5Pinnock
  • 29Bech Sørensen
  • 3Henry Substituted forReidat 86'minutes
  • 20Ghoddos Substituted forZamburekat 79'minutes
  • 27Janelt
  • 8Jensen
  • 24Fosu-Henry Substituted forForssat 79'minutes
  • 17Toney Substituted forRasmussenat 88'minutes
  • 7Canós

Substitutes

  • 15Forss
  • 23Reid
  • 28Daniels
  • 30Rasmussen
  • 31Zamburek
  • 34Pressley
  • 36Stevens
  • 37Gilbert
  • 38Haygarth

Bristol City

Formation 4-5-1

  • 1Bentley
  • 2Hunt Substituted forBakinsonat 80'minutes
  • 22Kalas
  • 5Mawson
  • 19Mariappa
  • 18Semenyo
  • 4Nagy Substituted forPalmerat 72'minutes
  • 26Vyner
  • 42Massengo Substituted forWellsat 72'minutes
  • 35Edwards Substituted forPatersonat 72'minutes
  • 9Diédhiou

Substitutes

  • 10Paterson
  • 12O'Leary
  • 21Wells
  • 23Moore
  • 28Pearson
  • 30Bakinson
  • 33Bell
  • 45Palmer
Referee:
Tim Robinson

Match Stats

Home TeamBrentfordAway TeamBristol City
Possession
Home63%
Away37%
Shots
Home17
Away7
Shots on Target
Home8
Away4
Corners
Home5
Away3
Fouls
Home8
Away14

Live Text

  1. Post update

    Match ends, Brentford 3, Bristol City 2.

  2. Full Time

    Second Half ends, Brentford 3, Bristol City 2.

  3. Post update

    Winston Reid (Brentford) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

  4. Post update

    Foul by Nahki Wells (Bristol City).

  5. Post update

    Foul by Mads Rasmussen (Brentford).

  6. Post update

    Adrian Mariappa (Bristol City) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

  7. Post update

    Henrik Dalsgaard (Brentford) wins a free kick on the right wing.

  8. Post update

    Foul by Nahki Wells (Bristol City).

  9. Goal!

    Goal! Brentford 3, Bristol City 2. Nahki Wells (Bristol City) right footed shot from the centre of the box to the bottom right corner. Assisted by Tyreeq Bakinson.

  10. Substitution

    Substitution, Brentford. Mads Rasmussen replaces Ivan Toney.

  11. Post update

    Sergi Canós (Brentford) wins a free kick in the attacking half.

  12. Post update

    Foul by Zak Vyner (Bristol City).

  13. Post update

    Attempt saved. Mathias Jensen (Brentford) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the top left corner.

  14. Substitution

    Substitution, Brentford. Winston Reid replaces Rico Henry.

  15. Post update

    Ivan Toney (Brentford) wins a free kick in the attacking half.

  16. Post update

    Foul by Tomas Kalas (Bristol City).

  17. Post update

    Attempt missed. Tyreeq Bakinson (Bristol City) right footed shot from outside the box is close, but misses to the left. Assisted by Alfie Mawson following a set piece situation.

  18. Post update

    Foul by Ivan Toney (Brentford).

  19. Post update

    Tomas Kalas (Bristol City) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

  20. Substitution

    Substitution, Bristol City. Tyreeq Bakinson replaces Jack Hunt.

As It Stood

Team P W D L F A GD Pts
1 Norwich 27 16 7 4 35 21 14 55
2 Brentford 26 14 9 3 48 26 22 51
3 Swansea 26 14 8 4 33 15 18 50
4 Reading 26 14 5 7 40 29 11 47
5 Watford 27 13 8 6 31 20 11 47
6 Bournemouth 27 11 9 7 40 26 14 42
7 Middlesbrough 27 11 7 9 30 24 6 40
8 Blackburn 26 11 6 9 41 28 13 39
9 Bristol City 27 12 3 12 29 31 -2 39
10 Stoke 27 9 11 7 32 29 3 38
11 Preston 27 11 3 13 31 34 -3 36
12 Barnsley 27 10 6 11 29 34 -5 36
13 Luton 26 9 6 11 21 28 -7 33
14 Millwall 27 6 14 7 22 25 -3 32
15 Huddersfield 27 9 5 13 30 38 -8 32
16 Cardiff 26 8 7 11 33 31 2 31
17 QPR 26 7 9 10 25 32 -7 30
18 Coventry 27 7 9 11 26 37 -11 30
19 Nottm Forest 27 7 8 12 22 30 -8 29
20 Derby 27 7 7 13 17 28 -11 28
21 Birmingham 27 6 10 11 19 31 -12 28
22 Rotherham 25 7 5 13 30 35 -5 26
23 Sheff Wed 26 8 7 11 18 26 -8 25
24 Wycombe 25 3 7 15 18 42 -24 16
View full Championship table