Keith Andrews reacts to Brentford's defeat at Sunderland and discusses penalty drama, key moments and Igor Thiago
Brentford boss Keith Andrews admitted his side were “disappointed” after conceding a stoppage-time winner in the 2-1 defeat to Sunderland at the Stadium of Light – but insisted the result didn’t reflect the balance of the game.
Andrews felt his side deserved a point but said Brentford failed to manage the final stages properly. “Yeah, a bit disappointing. The nature of it, the timing of it, clearly. Probably not a fair result – but football sometimes isn’t fair,” Andrews said.
The Brentford boss continued: “It’s dependent on key moments within games. I thought there were a few today, clearly. I’m just disappointed that we didn’t manage those last few minutes a little bit better – a few too many bodies ahead of the ball.”
The Brentford boss praised his players for handling the Stadium of Light atmosphere but admitted Sunderland’s late pressure, backed by over 45,000 home fans, played a part in the decisive moments. “I’ve been coming to this football club as a player and an observer for many, many years, and I’m well aware of what that can bring – that emotion,” he said.
Andrews added following the clash: “On the main, we dealt with it pretty well, but I’m just a little bit disappointed that we didn’t manage those few key moments better. A point probably would have been a fair result – it was a game of few chances.”
Andrews highlighted Brentford’s threat from set pieces and said Sunderland’s two penalties – one missed and one scored – had a big impact on the outcome. He said: “We were obviously going to be a threat from set pieces – I thought they were very, very respectful of it today. The penalties had a huge impact on the game.”
Despite Kevin Schade missing from the spot in the second half, Andrews confirmed he and Igor Thiago remain Brentford’s designated penalty takers following Bryan Mbeumo’s summer departure. He added: “We’ve worked hard during pre-season on identifying penalty takers – it takes a little time to become really confident in those positions. Thiago and Kevin are the designated penalty takers.”
Andrews also refused to blame goalkeeper Caoimhín Kelleher for Sunderland’s late winner, instead pointing to several moments in the build-up. “Listen, there’s certainly not going to be any blame from me. Caoimhín’s a keeper that I rate unbelievably highly – someone I know very, very well. I’ve got a really good relationship with him over a number of years working with the international team.”
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Andrews added on the Republic of Ireland international goalkeeper and his role against Sunderland: “The way I work and operate is I always look at the events that lead up to that – there’s a proportion of blame, obviously, involving numerous players.”
The Brentford boss also praised Igor Thiago after his strong start to the season: “That’s his third goal already if you count the cup,” Andrews said. “He started the season really well. He had a really disappointing year last year with an injury – really frustrating. Anybody who knows him will testify that he’s a pretty special person, and his appetite to be the best version of himself on a daily basis is nothing but infectious.”
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