Toney strikes late double as Brentford beat 10-man Burnley 2-0
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Toney strikes late double as Brentford beat 10-man Burnley 2-0
LONDON (Reuters) - Brentford s in-form striker Ivan Toney scored a superb late brace to bring up five goals in his last two Premier League matches as they beat struggling Burnley 2-0 to move further away from the relegation zone.
Toney, who netted a hat-trick in Brentford s 3-1 win over Norwich City last time out, headed in a fine left-footed cross from playmaker Christian Eriksen to put his team ahead in the 85th minute.
"I feel with a player like Eriksen you have to stay focused at all times. I don t think I had a shot before I scored today. I cannot thank him enough for being in the squad and helping us," Toney said.
"I set a (goals) target. I m not there yet but hopefully I can hit it before the end of the season."
Toney s second goal in stoppage time was a powerful penalty following a foul by centre back Nathan Collins, who was shown a straight red card for a clumsy tackle on the striker.
The result moved 15th-placed Brentford nine points above the drop zone in a boost to their quest to stay in the English top-flight after being promoted last season, while Burnley crashed to a third straight defeat and remain in the bottom three.
"Yeah it s a massive step. Everyone was putting our name in the hat for relegation but we don t listen to that," Toney said. "Results haven t been going our way but we haven t lost desire.
"The team we have in the dressing room is more than capable of staying in the Premier League."
The opening goal came after Burnley s Maxwel Cornet was denied by Brentford goalkeeper David Raya in the 70th minute and Burnley substitute Jay Rodriguez hit the woodwork with a dipping shot from distance five minutes later.
Denmark s Eriksen, starting his second competitive match since a cardiac arrest at the European Championship, came close to scoring his first goal since netting for Inter Milan in May, but Nick Pope palmed away his low shot in the first half.
