Toney was banned in May 2023 after admitting 232 breaches of the Football Association’s rules between 2017 and 2021. He also copped a £50,000 ($104,000) fine.
The 27-year-old, who won his sole England cap two months before his ban, said the win on his comeback - and his goal - “means a lot”.
“It’s been a long time coming,” Toney told Sky Sports. “I manifested this when I was out, and I’m here now: I’m buzzing to be back.
“When I left my house today, I thought ‘we’re winning today and I’m scoring’. And I made it happen, so it’s good.”
Toney and Wood were adjudged in reports to be the best players on the pitch, and the Kiwi striker felt Forest should have got at least a point from a pulsating game.
“Yes, it is a tough one to take,” he told Sky Sports. “We can’t fault the effort and energy we put in, especially after playing three days ago at Blackpool in the [FA] Cup, 120 minutes.
“Credit to the boys for putting in another shift and for putting in some more hard work. I’d say we deserved to get something out of the game but unfortunately in football, it doesn’t always work out that way.”
Asked about his goal, Wood said: “Of course you want to keep a lead for as long as possible. He [Toney] is a talented man and he scored. But we should have got something out of the game, but it wasn’t to be.”
Wood netted his eighth EPL goal of the season - and 63rd of his 215-game career - and is now on track to reach double figures for the fifth time in the world’s top football league.
ARSENAL SCORES FIVE
A weeklong break in Dubai seems to have solved Arsenal’s scoring problems.
After missing a slew of chances in recent league losses to West Ham and Fulham - and to Liverpool in the FA Cup - Arsenal were a lot more clinical in a 5-0 win over Crystal Palace at the Emirates Stadium.
Centre back Gabriel Magalhaes was responsible for the first two goals, while fellow Brazilian Gabriel Martinelli netted the last two with near-identical finishes in second-half injury time to add gloss to the scoreline.
“We knew we needed a game like that where we had a clean sheet and scored five goals,” Martinelli said.
Gabriel headed in a corner in the 11th minute and then forced an own goal by Palace goalkeeper Dean Henderson from another set-piece delivery in the 37th minute.
Leandro Trossard added the third after a quick counterattack in the 59th minute, before Martinelli’s late double as Arsenal climbed above Aston Villa into third in the Premier League standings. Mikel Arteta’s team cut the gap to Liverpool to two points, ahead of the leaders’ game at Bournemouth on Monday.
Only two games were played Saturday with half of the Premier League’s 20 teams having the weekend off for a short winter break.
Palace fell to 15th place, five points above the relegation zone - and speculation about manager Roy Hodgson’s future might intensify following the big defeat, especially with the away supporters holding up banners near the end criticising the club’s lack of direction.
- AP
