CHERRIES were left to fume over another controversial decision by Jarred Gillett away at Brentford, with the hosts sent on their way to a 2-0 win via an Ivan Toney spot-kick.

Toney bent the rules to his advantage in a tussle with Marcos Senesi to win his side a first-half penalty, before Mathias Jensen made sure of the result with quarter of an hour remaining.

Gary O’Neil’s charges arrived at the Gtech Community Stadium for the first time since a fateful play-off semi-final in May 2021, Gillett officiating the clash that saw Chris Mepham dismissed and a harsh penalty for handball given against Lloyd Kelly.

Neto was restored to the starting XI for the first time since coming off injured against West Ham at the end of October, replacing Mark Travers in-between the sticks.

Striker Dom Solanke missed out due to injury, paving the way for Kieffer Moore to lead the line.

The opening exchanges were even, neither side truly testing either goalkeeper.

Cherries looked to soak up pressure and hit the hosts on the break. There were hearts in mouths when Lewis Cook went down clutching the same knee where he previously suffered two ACL ruptures.

Whilst the midfielder briefly tried to continue after receiving treatment, his race was run shortly after, with Ben Pearson coming off the bench in his stead.

Suffering one setback in the form of Cook’s injury, Cherries would shortly receive another when the hosts opened the scores.

Toney’s run across the face of Senesi saw the striker hook the arm of the Argentinian, leading to the defender eventually bundling the Brentford player in the box.

Jarred Gillett took his time before pointing to the spot, allowing Toney to dust himself down and dispatch it past Neto.

The remainder of the first half passed by without major incident, both teams effectively cancelling each other out.

Philip Billing’s long drive tested Raya but did not truly threaten the Spaniard in the Bees’ goal.

After the restart the game followed a similar pattern, with Cherries looking to threaten via transitional play.

They did not muster much of note until Siriki Dembele was introduced in place of Jaidon Anthony.

The diminutive winger made a near instant impact, driving into the box before bypassing three Brentford defenders with his dribbling.

He then proceeded to sting the palms of Raya from a tight angle, Cherries’ best effort of the night.

Searching for an equaliser, Cherries left themselves exposed at the back, eventually proving costly.

Jack Stacey and Mepham both went up for the same ball, the duo unable to win the header. That allowed the hosts to pour forward, Josh Dasilva swinging in a cross to the back post for Jensen to power into the top left of Neto’s goal.

Cherries are now just one place above the relegation spots, a solitary point keeping them above West Ham who sit 18th.

Cherries: Neto; Stacey, Mepham, Senesi (Rothwell, 78), Kelly; Cook (Pearson, 34), Lerma; Christie, Billing, Anthony (Dembele, 66); Moore

Unused subs: Stephens, Zemura, Sadi, Dacosta Gonzalez, Adu-Adjei, Travers (g/k)

Booked: Neto

Brentford: Raya, Pinnock, Norgaard, Jensen, Dasilva (Damsgaard, 82), Wissa (Roerslev, 71), Mee, Toney (Schade, 82), Mbuemo (Lewis-Potter, 89), Ajer (Zanka, 81), Janelt

Unused subs: Strakosha (g/k), Canos, Ghoddos, Sorensen

Booked: Raya