Joe Edwards gives his verdict on ‘tough game’ as Millwall winless run extends to four matches

Joe Edwards admitted that it was a tough afternoon for his Millwall side after they were beaten 1-0 by Hull City.

The Lions were consigned to defeat after a goal from Jaden Philogene in the fifth minute.

Tom Bradshaw came close to securing a point right at the end but his shot was straight at Ryan Allsop.

“It was a tough game,” said Millwall head coach Edwards. “There are a lot of good players in that Hull team where the style of play is very clear and that can make it very difficult for you.

‘It becomes even more difficult when they get that dream start, a minor error from us around our own box, a fantastic strike against the bar and the ball falls to them. You could see they really built momentum from that.

“There was a lot of movement and rotation to take the ball away from you which can feel frustrating. Then it’s a big test when you regain it – what can you do with it? There was times we won it back and we tried to play short and gave it away. There were other times when it was on to go straight to the front or try a different way and we didn’t do it enough.

“Hull were very dominant in that first half and deserved the lead.

“We spoke about a few of those points at half-time and obviously made some changes. Second half, it was a far more even game. They still had spells where they were looking comfortable on the ball. They were creative from them but I don’t remember our goalkeeper making a save in the second half.”

The head coach was pleased with the response his side showed in the second half with the likes of Zian Flemming and Bradshaw coming into the game and helping the team create some chances in the final third.

“We started threatening their back line a bit more, started playing forward,” said Edwards. “Zian gets a chance and then Tom nearly nicks us a point at the end.

“It’s disappointing to lose the game.

“We obviously haven’t won a game for a while now. After the first half hour you are looking at this thinking this could be a tough day with the way Hull were dominating – but it was a good response from our boys and credit to the ones who came off the bench.

“Our changes had an effect on the game. We were good value in the second half, just without that bit of quality to get a goal.”

The main disappointment for Edwards was seeing his side being forced out of playing their style.

“You have to stay strong”, he said. “I was a bit a disappointed, we got lured into playing a total football game.

“They were making lots of short passes. They are a team that’s built for that – they have a lot of technical players. The ball was moving around quite quickly and we managed to regain it in our own defensive third. The pitch is in terrible condition we should have recognised that, it’s not an excuse. When you’ve got someone like Michael Obafemi – his pace in behind and his power – and you’ve got Zian Flemming as well, we should have played in behind earlier.

“As much as Hull made the first half difficult, we didn’t make it easy for ourselves. There shouldn’t have been a need to change plan. A lot of the ideas we have been talking about recently should have served us well, we just didn’t get the balance right. You saw it in the second half, we were switching the play, we were playing balls down the side for Tom Bradshaw, there has to be that variation in our play, we can’t become a predictable team.

“The way we responded in the second half is a benchmark for us as a basic requirement of what we need to be away from home and it happens again next week. We go to Coventry, another tough place with some quality players they keep adding in the windows. If we compete and play the way we did in the second half, we have a chance against anyone.”