Bryan Mbeumo delighted to come to the fore in absence of Ivan Toney
The Bees were rocked on Thursday by Toney’s lengthy suspension but bounced back to win at Spurs.
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Your support makes all the difference.Bryan Mbeumo was happy to step up for Brentford in the absence of Ivan Toney in their 3-1 win at Tottenham.
The Bees were without 20-goal striker Toney, who has also been nursing a hamstring injury, after he was handed an eight-month ban by the Football Association on Thursday for repeated betting breaches.
When Harry Kane fired Spurs into an early lead, it looked like Brentford’s faint hopes of European football were about to end but Mbeumo struck twice in a 12-minute period at the start of the second half before setting up Yoane Wissa for the visitors’ third late on.
“Yeah, sensational. I can’t say more than this,” Mbeumo told BT Sport.
“The first half was a bit sloppy from us, in the duels we were not maybe there but in the second half everybody raised the level and it is a fantastic win.
“Of course it is hard because we lose a big personality on the pitch (in Toney) and yeah we have to do it as a team but I am happy to score.
“I always push myself as hard as I can and yeah, I want to push the level. I am very hard on myself but I am happy.
“We want to aim high, be high on the table and we still have one chance so we will do everything we can.”
Mbeumo received praise from manager Thomas Frank after he scored his eighth and ninth goals of the campaign.
Frank added: “He works so hard, is a fantastic pressing player and can score goals, assist and link up, but maybe he lacked goals (last season).
“Probably a little bit unlucky in some situations because he hit the post seven times last year so we’re talking about margins there.
“He does work very, very hard at his finishing and especially with Justin Cochrane but also Kevin O’Connor on those two finishes he made. So, I was very pleased to see his hard work pay off.”
Brentford’s win means they are guaranteed a ninth-place finish but victory on the final day at home to champions Manchester City could secure Europa Conference League football.
Frank knows revenge will be on the mind of Pep Guardiola’s side after they stunned them at the Etihad in November.
Of course it is hard because we lose a big personality on the pitch (in Toney) and yeah we have to do it as a team but I am happy to score
“We know we need Tottenham and (Aston) Villa to drop points on the last day when we are facing the best team in the world,” Frank smiled.
“So, it is a little bit of a challenge but we will do everything we can to make an absolutely outstanding season even better.”
Spurs’ acting head coach Ryan Mason was left bitterly disappointed by their latest defeat with their goals against tally now standing at 62, their worst in a Premier League campaign since 2003.
He admitted: “Obviously we’re conceding a lot of goals for different reasons.
“I thought we showed a lot of courage in the first half. We were brave, played a good match with the ball but in the second half the intensity dropped.”