‘Frustrating’ – Millwall boss Edwards on 1-1 draw with Preston and not happy at way his team responded to leveller

Millwall head coach Joe Edwards described today’s 1-1 draw against Preston North End as “frustrating”.

The Lions are winless in three league matches but halted a sequence of two successive losses.

Millwall went ahead through Zian Flemming, who continued his fine record against today’s opponents – the Amsterdam-born attacker has scored six goals and one assist in four Championship matches.

Flemming headed in George Honeyman’s cross in the fifth minute.

Preston levelled with their first effort on target in the 33rd minute. Japhet Tanganga’s misplaced pass put them on the attack and the ball was fed to Brad Potts on the right of the box, he drove a low finish beyond Matija Sarkic.

Millwall had long spells of controlling the match but without translating that into big chances. Liam Lindsay cleared Wes Harding’s header off the goal-line and Kevin Nisbet also lashed a first-time attempt over from George Saville’s cross.

Sarkic denied Potts late on, saving from the Preston attacker with his legs.

Edwards said: “We started the game well and were on the front foot – anything they might’ve wanted to do from the start we took it away from them. We were the dominant team from very early and got our goal as a reward.

“I still felt fairly comfortable right up until their goal which has come out of nowhere. It wasn’t from a spell of pressure from them – it was an error by us. They punish it well.

“The way we responded to the goal was poor. We completely lost our way from the goal until half-time. All the things we’d prevented them doing in the first 30 minutes – like running off your wing-backs or getting into the pockets – they started causing us a lot of problems that hadn’t been there, purely because we became a little passive.

“It is as simple as that. It wasn’t tactical. It’s why we spoke about it at half-time, in no uncertain terms, that we had been rattled too much by that.

“We completely got back to where we were in the first part of the game. We were comfortable and I don’t remember them having any sustained pressure around our defensive third. We were the team that looked like we would try to win it, as the home team – rightly so. They looked like a team that were running the clock down at times. The stoppages from the officials didn’t help us. They looked happier with a point than us.

“Do we deserve it? I’m disappointed with only a point. But when you don’t create enough, despite having so much domination in the second half, you can’t complain too much.

“Fair result? Maybe – but definitely a frustrating result.”

PICTURES: BRIAN TONKS