Brentford boss Keith Andrews on lost control and Leeds United formation difficulties
The Bees boss saw his side give up a 1-0 lead to draw at home to Leeds United on Sunday.
Brentford boss Keith Andrews said his side controlled the first half of their 1-1 draw with Leeds United before losing that control in a costly manner late on.
Jordan Henderson gave the Bees the lead in the 70th minute of a game that never really sparked into an attractive contest. The goal was against the run of play, too, because Leeds had dominated most of the second period. Letting Leeds come back eight minutes from time through Dominic Calvert-Lewin disappointed the Brentford boss.
"First half controlled the game without creating too many opportunities, against a difficult structure to break down," said Andrews. "We were probing without penetrating as much as we could have. We had to dig in and suffer, they started the second half really well.
“We made changes and got our nose in front and were not able to manage the game and the scenario that led to their goal. That was disappointing. This was a [Leeds] team in a good place, they've had some big performances and results recently. We dust ourselves down and take the point."
The way Leeds are setting up in a 5-3-2 meant Brentford wanted to try and wear them down to create openings but Andrews admitted it was difficult to do, especially in the second half.
"It's a system we know pretty well," he said. "It's not easy, we saw Arsenal trying to break down Wolves, top versus bottom. You've got certain movements to try and pull them out of position. You've got to make them defend and sustain attacks and wear them down. I felt we were close to doing it in the first half and didn't get enough control in the second to do that consistently."
Though it was not a particularly dramatic encounter the game did have its moments of controversy. Brentford were awarded a soft first half penalty that VAR ruled out for a tight offside call, then there were delays after each goal to check for offside. Andrews felt it was an 'old school' game that meant physicality but offered little in the way of conclusions on the big decisions.
"I don't know to be honest," he said. "It took an eternity didn't it? I'm not entirely sure. I haven't seen [the penalty] back and I want to stay consistent with my opinions around officials. Old school game today, quite direct, them playing a front two, coming togethers. In terms of the key ones I don't really know."