Tumbling Ivan Toney branded a DIVER by Joachim Andersen after Crystal Palace were denied all three points by a stoppage-time equaliser from Vitaly Janelt at Brentford… as the Bees extend their unbeaten run to 11 matches
- Crystal Palace took the lead through Eberechi Eze and looked to have held on
- Vitaly Janelt headed in Bryan Mbeumo’s 96th-minute cross to salvage a point
- Joachim Andersen and Ivan Toney involved in game’s most controversial inciden
Ivan Toney was branded a diver after Vitaly Janelt’s stoppage-time equaliser extended Brentford’s unbeaten run to 11 Premier League games. Crystal Palace were seconds away from recording a first victory this year when the substitute headed home Bryan Mbeumo’s 96th-minute cross.
Palace substitute Eberechi Eze opened the scoring in the 69th minute with a header from Michael Olise’s delivery.
Toney, the hosts’ top-scorer, had few opportunities to add to his 15-goal tally but the striker was involved in the game’s most controversial incident. Early in the second half he appeared to attempt to con the referee Paul Tierney into awarding a penalty.
‘He likes to go down easy, I knew that — he deserved a clear yellow,’ said Joachim Andersen, the defender in question, who had barely moved when Toney tumbled. ‘You see it quite often with strikers.’
Andersen seemed to criticise Toney to his face at the time, and the Brentford man thrust his forehead on to the Dane’s. Tierney had words with the pair and VAR did not intervene.
Joachim Andersen has said that Ivan Toney is a player who likes to go to ground easily
Toney and Brentford toiled against Crystal Palace and almost saw their unbeaten run end
Toney deserves his superstar status in this part of London, according to Janelt. He said: ‘We don’t have a hero but if we did it is Ivan as he has scored a lot of goals this season.’
Janelt also personifies the rise of Thomas Frank’s side from Championship nearly men to European contenders in the space of three seasons. The German, 24, arrived in October 2020 and only joined because he was unhappy at then second-tier club Bochum.
‘I just knew they had lost the play-offs against Fulham, that was it,’ he said. ‘I didn’t really play at my old club so I said, “I have to change something”.’
Brentford were rescued by a very late goal from Vitaly Janelt which extended their unbeaten run to 11 games
MATCH FACTS
Brentford (4-3-3): Raya 7; Hickey 6 (Lewis-Potter 76min, 4), Pinnock 6, Mee 6, Henry 7 (Janelt 76, 6); Dasilva 6 (Damsgaard 63, 5), Norgaard 7 (Baptiste 84), Jensen 6; Mbeumo 7.5, Toney 6, Wissa 6 (Schade 63, 5).
Scorer: Janelt 90+6.
Booked: Mee.
Manager: Thomas Frank 6.
Crystal Palace (4-4-2): Guaita 7; Clyne 7, Andersen 7, Guehi 6, Mitchell 7 (Richards 82); Olise 7 (Ahamada 80), Doucoure 6, Lokonga 6 (Eze 63, 6), Schlupp 6; J Ayew 6, Mateta 5 (Edouard 79).
Scorer: Eze 69.
Booked: Ayew, Andersen.
Manager: Patrick Vieira 6.
Referee: Paul Tierney 7.
Attendance: 17,122.
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