Keith Andrews said Brentford showed the “bravery and personality” to win against Fulham, but admitted he was left disappointed after a goalless derby draw that felt like a missed opportunity in the race for Europe.
Keith Andrews said Brentford did enough to beat Fulham but were left with frustration rather than reward after Saturday’s 0-0 draw at the Gtech Community Stadium. In a west London derby short on goals but not without late drama, Brentford had the better openings and finished the game pushing for a winner, only for Bernd Leno to deny Dango Ouattara in the 90th minute. The result leaves Brentford still in the European conversation, but it was another afternoon where performance and points did not quite match up.
Andrews’ reaction afterwards made that balance clear. “I’m disappointed,” the Brentford head coach said. “I feel like if any team was going to win the game, it was going to be us.” It was a direct assessment, and one backed up by the way the match unfolded. Fulham failed to register a shot on target, while Brentford created the cleaner openings through Igor Thiago, Mikkel Damsgaard and especially Ouattara late on.
The Brentford manager was particularly positive about the way his side tried to impose themselves. “The bravery and personality we showed to win the game was really good,” he said. Andrews then went further, listing the parts of the display he felt reflected his team well: “There were a lot of aspects today that I really liked: how we approached the game, the intensity without the ball, the desire, the collective press and courage.” He concluded: “There was a lot to like about what we produced today.”
The result is one Brentford believe they left behind rather than one they were fortunate to take. The home side started brightly, with Thiago heading just wide early on, and they carried the stronger threat again after the break. Damsgaard went close just after the hour, while Ouattara tested Leno twice, the second effort drawing the outstanding save that preserved Fulham’s point.
From a Brentford perspective, that makes the outcome harder to accept. The draw was their fifth straight in the league, a run that keeps them competitive but continues to slow their push for a European place. Brentford remain level on points with the clubs immediately around them, but chances to turn control into wins are becoming more valuable with only five games left.
Andrews did not sound like a manager searching for positives after the fact. Instead, his tone suggested genuine encouragement with the display and genuine annoyance at the result. Brentford were organised, aggressive and difficult to play through, but they could not find the one moment that would have turned a strong derby performance into three points. On Andrews’ reading, that was the difference between satisfaction and disappointment, and why the feeling afterwards was that Brentford should have had more.