After Brentford beat Macclesfield to reach the FA Cup fifth round, Keith Andrews entered the home dressing room and delivered a classy message to his opponents.
Keith Andrews gives a lesson after Brentford beat Macclesfield in the FA Cup (Image: Michael Regan)
Keith Andrews visited Macclesfield’s dressing room and praised his non-league side after Brentford ended their FA Cup dreams with a narrow 1-0 win.
Macclesfield pulled off the biggest upset ever seen in the third round of the FA Cup, defeating holders Crystal Palace with a stunning 2-1 win at Moss Rose, making it the fairytale story of this year’s competition.
This famous victory earned Brentford another date with a Premier League team as they headed north to compete for a place in the fifth round. Unfortunately for Macclesfield, an unlucky Sam Heathcote own goal in the 70th minute resulted in a draw in Brentford’s favor and it was not to be the same this time around.
TNT Sports broadcast the match live and later showed footage of Andrews addressing Macclesfield in the changing room, with striker Danny Elliott later revealing the Irishman had kind words for the team.
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“Keith Andrews came into our dressing room and said he was relieved and had a huge amount of respect for us,” he said on BBC Radio 5 Live.
“It’s great for a Premier League manager to do that. It shows that the difference isn’t necessarily that big. We should be proud of ourselves. This run has highlighted the club nationally and it’s great that a Premier League manager was quite afraid of us!”
Macclesfield were proud of defeat against Brentford (Image: Michael Regan)
Reaching the fifth round of the FA Cup is the latest feather in Andrews’ cap, with the former set-piece coach enjoying an excellent maiden season after being selected to replace Thomas Frank in the summer.
And the former midfielder showed he is a class man when he made his comments on BBC Radio 5 Live from Macclesfield after the match.
The Bees coach said: “That’s always going to be a real test. They have great spirit in the way they play. It wasn’t easy at all. I think we didn’t do the basics enough in the first half, but we did really well in the second half.”
Andrews spoke to Macclesfield players and staff after the FA Cup fourth round draw (Image: TNT Sports)
“We controlled a little bit better, got in better positions and ended up wearing them down. I have a lot of respect for them and their play. It’s a tough place to come from.”
“I’m a big fan of the Football Pyramid. It’s always a difficult place to come to. It was a difficult challenge to overcome, but we overcame it.”
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