Brentford boss Thomas Frank labelled Ivan Toney’s display as “brilliant” after the striker’s 11th goal of the season secured Brentford a 1-0 win at Barnsley.
Toney struck in the 66th minute to end the Bees’ run of three successive Championship draws and moved them within two points of the play-off places.
“I like him,” Bees boss Frank said about the former Newcastle striker.
“He is doing a good job for us and I think he had another strong performance, I must say.
“I think he was very strong in the duels and we know he’s always in there in the box. That was a brilliant performance.”
Victory for the Bees came against a Barnsley side that had won four of their last five games.
“It was a very good win and I was very pleased with the performance,” Frank added.
“I think we looked very solid, structured and mature in more or less everything we did.
“I loved the patience in the first half because Barnsley are a very good side and I’m very impressed with them. I think they have made it unbelievably difficult for a lot of teams and they did that again today.
“They press with an extreme intensity and I think we managed that very well. We gave zero chances away.
“We need to score more set-piece goals and we looked dangerous today at set-pieces.”
Barnsley head coach Valerien Ismael took heart from his side’s display against a side that reached the play-off final last season.
But he felt his side were denied a penalty after Vitaly Janelt appeared to handle the ball inside the area.
“I am very happy about the performance,” he said.
“I saw a strong Barnsley today against a strong Brentford. It was, like we expected, very strong opponents and we saw the quality from them.
“We did well in the game. In the end, we had to get the penalty and this is the most frustrating thing for this game. You have to accept this decision.
“We fight to the end and it’s a good process for my team to see what you need to beat this opponent.
“This is the Championship and you have to adapt. It was a complete team and I am very delighted about the performance.
“Now we have to think about the next game on Saturday and show the same passion to get the points on Saturday.
“In our transition game it was not enough to beat Brentford. We are near but still a long way (to go).”
