Gary Rowett: Next month will be a real test for Millwall
BY MATT VERRI
Gary Rowett admitted his Millwall side would have been fortunate to get anything from the game after their 3-2 defeat to Leeds.
The visitors had led 2-0 at half-time at Elland Road, but could not hold on after the break as they suffered their first defeat in six.
Despite letting the lead slip, Rowett felt the result was a fair one.
He said: “Overall we were given a bit of a lesson. Leeds were thoroughly deserved winners and probably by far the best side we’ve played.
“The 10 days without a game has benefited them and we played a Premier League side three days ago, which you saw in the energy and running.
“We went 2-0 up, although probably a bit undeservedly, and I expected a little bit more second half because we didn’t perform well enough in the position we were in.
“We conceded a really poor goal from a set-piece which was a disappointment, and there were too many opportunities for them to just run past us. For me that’s not acceptable.”
However, the Millwall boss was frustrated his side were not awarded a penalty for a foul on Matt Smith in added time.
“I’ve watched it three times and it’s a blatant penalty,” Rowett insisted.
“With the atmosphere as it was, I can understand in some ways why the referee felt the better decision was to leave it but Leeds got a bit fortunate.
“The fans put him under pressure, that’s what they do here. But there’s no excuses, that would have masked a dominant Leeds performance.
“I’ve been here as a player with Derby and been 3-0 up after 35 minutes, and lost 4-3.
“You can’t afford to concede that goal after half-time because you know what’s going to come in a difficult second-half, and it proved exactly that.”
The result leaves Millwall three points off the play-off places, and Rowett urged his side to learn the necessary lessons ahead of a difficult run of fixtures.
He said: “Since we’ve come in, we’ve had a fantastic start to life here.
“But if you lose a game, you want to know why. The reason today was Leeds were better, they had more intensity and moved the ball quicker with more purpose.
“We have to learn there’s another level in this division and step up – the next month will be a real test.”
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