Keith Andrews insisted Brentford would rally round Dango Ouattara after his Panenka penalty miss sent the Bees crashing out of the FA Cup to West Ham. 

Brentford had twice come from behind to draw 2-2 with West Ham in normal time, with Igor Thiago and Jarrod Bowen both netting braces in the 90 minutes on Monday.

Neither side could find a winner in extra time, with a penalty shoot-out deciding who would face Daniel Farke's Leeds United in the quarter-finals of the competition. 

Three perfect penalties kickstarted the shoot-out, but when Ouattara stepped up, his attempted dink down the middle failed to fool Alphonse Areola, who saved with ease. 

And from there, Callum Wilson, Tomas Soucek and Konstantinos Mavropanos all kept their cool from 12 yards to send West Ham through to the last eight of the FA Cup for the first time since 2015-16. 

Brentford, meanwhile, have now been eliminated in each of their last four ties in the fifth round of the competition (2004-05, 2005-06, 2018-19, 2025-26), though Andrews believes his team can still achieve something special in 2025-26, with Brentford seventh in the Premier League. 

"When you miss a penalty it is a tough moment, but it is easier to not take a penalty than take a penalty," Andrews told TNT Sports of Ouattara's miss. 

"We've had it in the past when people have been persecuted and ridiculed for missing a penalty on the biggest stage and that's ridiculous.

"He practices that technique a lot and will have the utmost support from me and everyone around.

"We really wanted to get through to the quarter-final, but it was not to be. But we have nine games left where we can push on and do something special."

We exit the FA Cup pic.twitter.com/POhagX2O3o

— Brentford FC (@BrentfordFC) March 9, 2026

With his double, Thiago became the second Premier League player with 20 or more goals in all competitions this season (21), along with Manchester City's Erling Haaland (29). 

The Brazilian knew little about his first of the day, with James Collins' header brushing off him and into the net, with the goal eventually given after a VAR review for a potential handball against Thiago. 

Brentford forward Thiago then kept his cool from 12 yards in the 81st minute after Michael Kayode was fouled by Crysencio Summerville, and Andrews' side had their chances in extra time to book their place in the next round. 

Romelle Donovan fired the best of those over the crossbar, as Brentford finished the contest with an expected goals (xG) total of 3.09 from their 17 shots compared to West Ham's 2.85 from their 18 attempts, with those figures highlighting what a thrilling and keenly contested battle it was. 

"It was a proper cup tie," Andrews added. 

"They took the lead and in the first half we didn't hit the heights we could and should've done but in the second half we got back into the game.

"We huffed and puffed and when you get to penalty kicks, it is not a toss of a coin but you need luck. They took theirs very well and unfortunately we missed one.

"With a goalkeeper like Caoimhin [Kelleher], you feel he will save one and their penalties have to be good and they were."