Keith Andrews defends keeper after howler in Brentford’s Carabao Cup win

 It hasn’t been a great month for Irish football following the national team’s failures, but one of the best stories of the early part of the season has been Keith Andrews’ journey into management.

The Dubliner was thrown into the fire pit as he was promoted from Set Piece Coach to Head Coach at Premier League side Brentford after Tottenham poached Thomas Frank from the Bees. Frank brought over five of the staff he had at Brentford, leaving Andrews as the next-of-kin within the club to take over.

Many bookmakers and pundits had Brentford in the mix for relegation this season, as the inexperienced Keith Andrews was in charge. Additionally, Brentford lost their two best attackers, Bryan Mbuemo and Yoann Wissa, to Manchester United and Newcastle United, respectively.

And so far, Brentford have been solid, sitting in mid-table in 12th with one win, one draw and two losses in their opening four games. They also progressed to the fourth round of the Carabao Cup after a penalty shoot-out win over Aston Villa at the GTech Community Stadium in London on Tuesday night.

The game went straight to a shoot-out after finishing 1-1 after 90 minutes. It was Scot Aaron Hickey who scored the all-important equaliser for the Bees after new Villa man Harvey Elliot opened the scoring in the first half after a mistake by Brentford keeper Hakon Valdimarsson, who was deputising for Caoimhin Kelleher.

Valdimarsson was the eventual saviour of the day as he saved two of Villa’s spot kicks to ensure Brentford won 4-2 in the shoot-out to progress to the fourth round.

Speaking to Sky Sports after his side’s victory, Keith Andrews was full of praise for Valdimarsson and how he was able to come back after his mistake. ‘Hakon was obviously the hero with those saves after a testing night, to be honest. I just think that’s a testament to the group and the environment that’s here.

‘He makes a mistake. I don’t really care about a mistake, it’s about the intentions of the players on a day-to-day basis. They’re always pretty good here, so it’s a nice end to the night.’

It’s more positives from Keith Andrews’ short time at Brentford, and while it’s too early to determine whether the former Republic of Ireland international will be a success in the Premier League, it’s good to see a new Irish face get a chance at the top level.

It’s still to be seen if Brentford will be fine without the likes of Frank, Mbuemo and Wissa, but the way they have been run in the last five years that they usually get things right.

They’ll look to secure their second Premier League win of the season as they play west London rivals Fulham at Craven Cottage on Saturday, September 20, with kick-off at 3 pm.