Toney goal not enough as League Two strugglers Gillingham dump Bees out on spot kicks
Carabao Cup Third Round
Brentford (1) 1 Toney 3
Gillingham (0) 1 Mandron 75
(Gillingham win 6-5 on pens)
Ivan Toney bagged his ninth goal of the season to partly offset a few of the personal issues which have come to light in recent days about historical match betting.
But the evening belonged to Gillingham - 22nd in the fourth tier and arriving on a hope and a distant prayer - as they battled back to force a penalty shoot out and defeat the stunned Bees.
Toney put away his penalty after the game had ended 1-1, as per usual, but after a perfect set of 10 penalties from both sides, Mikkel Damsgaard ballooned his shot against the bar and that was that.
It has not been a great week for the man who was captain again on the night. Toney is also the subject of a court case at Bromley Magistrates’ concerning alleged driving infractions in April when he was stopped by police and quizzed about tinted windows and a personalised number plate which are said to have broken DVLA rules.
His character has also been called into question in court, being described as “rude and obstructive” by a PC George Anckorn, giving evidence.
The striker has enjoyed a fairytale season so far, although a World Cup call-up looks even unlikelier now that we know an investigation is apparently under way about events concerning Toney before he was at Brentford.
Perhaps it was inevitable, in the circumstances, that he would be the one getting the ball rolling - finding the net after only three minutes after Damsgaard slid a pass through to him for a simple tap-in.
But the Bees paid the price for not building on their excellent start and it was a great night for former Millwall boss Neil Harris, who is now in charge at the Priestfield Stadium.
The Bees pressed at three-quarter pace in search of further goals to kill a tie which was running 20 minutes late because of the away team's tardy arrival. Saman Ghoddos - given a rare start - headed against the angle of post and bar. Toney missed a sitter midway through the second half, blazing wide with the goal at his mercy. That earned some taunts from a happy away end.
Frank Onyeka then sent a curling shot which was tipped over by a stretching Jake Turner and the continuing profligacy was punished on 75 minutes when sub Mikael Mandron nodded in at the near post - a fine cross from Cheye Alexander perfect for the replacement striker.
The Gills soaked up late pressure, before their crowning moment after the 90 minutes were over - having conceded 16 shots at goal in total while only offering that decisive one in reply.
Bees: Raya – Roerslev (Mbeumo 80), Zanka, Pinnock, Henry (Jensen 61) – Norgaard (Dasilva h/t), Onyeka (Yarmoliuk 72), Damsgard – Ghoddos, Toney, Lewis-Potter. Subs not used: Cox, Mee, Crama, Trevitt, Gilbert
Gills: Turner – McKenzie, Wright, Baggott, Law – Jeffries (Kashket 90), O’Keefe, Williams (Alexander 64) – Adelakun, Walker (Mandron 64), Green (MacDonald 74). Subs not used: Morris, Akehurst, Gbode
