Keith Andrews Admits Brentford 'Slightly Disappointed' After Leeds Draw

Keith Andrews saw the display at Leeds as another sign of Brentford’s progress. The Bees might have left frustrated at not claiming all three points, but the performance itself offered plenty of encouragement.

Kevin Schade’s clever outside-of-the-foot finish put the Bees ahead just before the break. But as the game wore on, Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s late equaliser meant Andrews and his players had to settle for a point.

The result leaves Brentford with four points from their opening two Premier League matches, but will bring the Bees back down to earth after last weekend’s emphatic 3-0 win over Tottenham.

Speaking after the match, Andrews was particularly pleased with what he saw before the break.

"I thought the first half we were magnificent how we controlled the game," he said.

"Played in different ways to try and cause Leeds problems. Got the lead. Possibly could have been more."

Brentford might not have carved out a host of chances before the interval, but they dictated the tempo through the half whilst keeping Leeds at and arm’s length until Schade finally broke the deadlock.

The second half, though, was a different story.

Leeds responded with substitutions at half time, as they looked to push forward in search of an equaliser. Brentford found themselves pinned back for long spells, and while Andrews felt his side coped well with the pressure, he admitted they struggled to exploit the gaps that opened up as the game became stretched.

"We couldn't play out of those chaotic moments as well as we could have to really hurt them," Andrews said.

Eventually, Leeds found a way back into the game through Calvert-Lewin. The Bees came close to hitting back almost instantaneously, but Igor Thiago’s header was saved, and his follow-up drifted wide.

When asked just how good Brentford had been in that first half, Andrews’ answer was telling.

This season has started in stark contrast to last year for Brentford, with Andrews has keeping the core of his squad together, adding new faces over the summer, and rotated his team without seeing a dip in performance.

At Elland Road, he saw the kind of characteristics he wants to make a habit.

"We looked very calm and confident and we look like us," Andrews said.

"We speak about that all the time about what us looks like on a daily and weekly basis and I certainly did."

That first-half showing came on the back of wins over Tottenham and Birmingham City to open the season.

Andrews had already made it clear before the trip to Leeds that no one at Brentford was getting ahead of themselves. The draw at Elland Road simply gives them another performance to pick apart.

He admitted there were things to improve after the break, especially once Leeds upped the tempo. But the main frustration was that Brentford had put themselves in a position to win and just couldn’t see it through.

For Andrews, that frustration is a sign of the standards Brentford are starting to demand of themselves.

"It says where we're at that we're coming away from Elland Road slightly disappointed with as well," he said.

"It's slightly disappointing that come with a point, but might probably look back on that and think it's a good point."

Brentford head back from West Yorkshire without the win their first-half display looked likely to secure. 

Four points from Tottenham at home and Leeds away is a solid start, and Andrews seems just as pleased with the performances as the results.

The next step is making sure that same calm and control from the first half at Elland Road lasts longer, even as matches start to shift around them.