Brentford boss Keith Andrews shows class with gesture to Macclesfield stars after FA Cup win

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Keith Andrews visited the Macclesfield dressing room to praise the non-league outfit after Brentford ended their FA Cup dream with a narrow 1-0 win.

Macclesfield have been the fairytale story of this year's competition after pulling off the biggest upset the FA Cup has ever seen in the third round, where they dumped the holders, Crystal Palace , out courtesy of a stunning 2-1 triumph at Moss Rose.

That famous win earned them another date with a Premier League side as Brentford travelled north to battle it out for a place in the fifth round. Unfortunately for Macclesfield, there was to be no repeat on this occasion as a 70th-minute own goal from the unfortunate Sam Heathcote settled the tie in Brentford's favour.

TNT Sports broadcast the match live and they showed images of Andrews addressing the Macclesfield time in the dressing room after, with striker Danny Elliott later revealing that the Irishman had shared some kind words with the team.

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“Keith Andrews came into our dressing room and told us he was relieved and paid a lot of respect to us,” he told BBC Radio 5 Live.

“For a Premier League manager to do that is nice. It shows the gap isn't necessarily massive. We should be so proud of ourselves. The run highlights the club nationally and it's nice that a Premier League manager was pretty scared of us!”

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Passage through to the fifth round of the FA Cup is the latest feather in Andrews' cap, with the former set-piece coach enjoying a fine maiden season after being selected as Thomas Frank's successor back in the summer.

And the former midfielder showed his class with his own comments to BBC Radio 5 Live on Macclesfield after the game.

The Bees boss said: “That was always going to be a real test. They have a great spirit in the way they play. It was never going to be easy. I don't think we did the basics well enough in the first half and then in the second half we did it very well.

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“We controlled it a bit better and got into better positions and eventually wore them down. I have a lot of respect for them and how they play. It is a tough place to come.

“I am a big fan of the football pyramid and these are always going to be difficult places to come. Tough test to navigate but we came through it.”

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