Ryan Woods gave an honest assessment of Brentford’s performance against Walsall as The Bees were knocked out of the Emirates FA Cup after a 1-0 defeat at Griffin Park. The Sky Bet League One high-fliers netted the only goal of the game in the first-half as Sam Mantom curled home from 20 yards and they held onto that advantage to book their place in the Fourth Round.
Speaking to Bees Player after the match Ryan, who was released by Walsall as a youngster, said that The Bees first-half performance was unacceptable and that added to the frustration of being knocked out of the FA Cup.
“The mood is really down to be honest,” said Ryan. “We really weren’t good enough in the first half and that is a massive shame for us. We were really up for it but we came out for it and weren’t good enough in the first-half. We knew we had to be better in the second-half, Dean didn’t have to say anything. In the second-half we had enough chances to win two games and it just wasn’t our night. We shouldn’t have been in the situation where we were behind but we just weren’t good enough. That is something that we need to put right on Tuesday. It is really disappointing to go out especially given the way that we went out.”
The Bees are straight back into action as Middlesbrough visit Griffin Park on Tuesday and Ryan feels it is important to get back to winning ways against Aitor Karanka’s side.
“The Middlesbrough game takes on a bit of extra significance now,” said Ryan. “We have lost two in a row now and that is something that we haven’t done in a long time. We have to put that right. It will be a tough game on Tuesday against Middlesbrough but if we take the three points that will really show our intent of being in the Play-Offs.”
“It is always a good thing to play quickly after a game like today. You want the good games to last forever but I would play another game tonight if I could to put things right. We have two big games now so we have to make sure that we are professional off the pitch because the games are coming thick and fast. We just have to make sure that we are ready and at our best for the games.”
Bees Player subscribers can listen to the full interview with Ryan below