Keith Andrews made a beeline for the Macclesfield dressing room after Brentford’s fourth-round FA Cup victory at Moss Rose and told John Rooney and his players they had been immense against his Premier League charges.
The Brentford head coach said footballing journeys like the one Macclesfield have enjoyed since their rebirth “fills my heart” as he waxed lyrical about the true test his team were given by the National League North outfit.
The visitors sealed their passage to the fifth round, where they will play at West Ham, via Sam Heathcote’s second-half own goal. Until that point, Macclesfield’s dogged defending and determination had made it a difficult night for Brentford, the Silkmen threatening to pull off a second successive cup upset after stunning the holders, Crystal Palace, in the third round.
“A tricky game for us,” said Andrews. “We have a lot of respect for the way they play, the spirit they have, the way they can change and perform to the levels they have against us and Palace, it’s a testament to John and the club.
“It was never going to be easy, I thought we didn’t make it easy for ourselves in the first half but we controlled large parts of the second half and eventually got the goal. I thought they were immense tonight, absolutely immense to the end. They gave us a proper cup tie that most people would have enjoyed – I can’t say I did!”
Andrews then lauded Macclesfield for the progress they have achieved in recent years, reforming as a phoenix club in 2020 and rising back up the leagues after the previous iteration, Macclesfield Town, went into liquidation amid financial difficulties.
“I love the English football pyramid,” he said. “I’ve played and coached in a lot of it and I love what it stands for and there’s always journeys that clubs are on. I like stories like that, it actually fills my heart.”
Rooney appreciated Andrews’ gesture. “The thing he’d seen was the togetherness we had,” said the Macclesfield manager. “That’s something we work on all the time. We’re a close-knit group. To have a good changing room like that in football I believe takes you a long way.
“Something we spoke about this season was to make the playoffs and have a good FA Cup run. Did I think we could get to the fourth round? I certainly didn’t. But for what the lads have achieved and all the people behind the scenes in the office – it’s a real community club – is something we’re proud of.”