Keith Andrews praised the “bravery” of his Brentford side despite a 2-1 loss at Manchester United that further dented their European aspirations.
The Bees found themselves two goals down at Old Trafford following first-half strikes from Casemiro and Benjamin Sesko. While Mathias Jensen managed to pull one back in the 87th minute, it proved to be too little, too late for the visitors.
Brentford had earlier missed significant opportunities to level the scoring after Casemiro’s opener, with Igor Thiago failing to convert three clear-cut chances before United doubled their lead.
“We started to take control of the ball a bit better, got to grips with the game, the occasion, and I thought we were in a good place,” Andrews said at his post-match press conference.
“The second goal was really disappointing – the timing and where we were in the game. But, overall, the performance of the players, the bravery, was really impressive. I was really happy with how we performed overall.”
The result marks a frustrating run for the Bees, who have now gone six matches without a victory. Having previously been firmly in the hunt for a Champions League berth, a string of five consecutive draws followed by this defeat has seen them slip to ninth in the Premier League.
They now sit 10 points adrift of fifth-placed Aston Villa and two points behind Brighton, who occupy sixth.