YOANE WISSA showed Brentford need not panic about a possible Ivan Toney exit with the Bees subjecting Crystal Palace to a stinging 2-1 defeat.
Toney had tongues wagging after being dropped before his team clinched the victory that ended their six-game winless run against the Eagles.
With the England striker in the final 11 months of his current Brentford contract, his future has been a hot transfer topic, with speculation a summer exit could be imminent.
Three days before the game Bees boss Thomas Frank spoke bullishly of his hopes that Toney could still be with his club beyond the end of the summer transfer window.
However, with the player missing from his side’s first game of the new Prem season, transfer speculation is rife.
Despite his absence, Wissa, who was among his team’s bright performers, bagged the winner for the hosts.
Brentford got off to a positive start in the opening minutes with Eagles full-back Tyrick Mitchell forced to make a block from a dangerous delivery into the box.
And Mitchell volleyed an effort wide as the visitors began to settle into the game, looking more promising in attack.
Palace gaffer Oliver Glasner looked miffed after Eberechi Eze had a classy finish from a 27th-minute free-kick disallowed by ref Sam Barrott.
The decision was slammed by Jamie Redknapp, who labelled the call a “monumental mistake.”
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A VAR check concurred with the ref’s view that Nathan Collins had been shoved by Eagles midfielder Will Hughes before the ball went in.
Despite having more attempts on goal it was Brentford who broke the deadlock with Bryan Mbuemo’s curled effort in the 31st minute.
And Palace were lucky not to drop down to 10 players after skipper Marc Guehi’s studs-up late challenge on Mads Roersley.
The Newcastle target was given a yellow card which appeared to prompt chants of “sh*t refereeing” from some of the crowd.
A howler of a clearance from Ethan Pinnock saw Palace level in the second half with the Brentford defender poking the ball into his own net.
But Wissa secured the win and points from the hosts prodding home from close range with 14 minutes of normal time left.
