Millwall boss delivers verdict on Kevin Nisbet’s hat-trick after pre-season win over Sutton

Millwall boss Gary Rowett highlighted Kevin Nisbet’s ability to score “different types” of goals after the striker scored a hat-trick in the pre-season win over League Two side Sutton United on Tuesday evening.

Scottish international Nisbet opened the scoring in the first half with a smart turn and finish on the edge of the box.

The 26-year-old doubled his tally and Millwall’s advantage in the second half when he converted a penalty, which Romain Esse won, past Sutton keeper Jack Rose.

Nisbet grabbed his hat-trick in the 75th minute when he curled a sublime free-kick from the edge of the box around the wall and beyond substitute keeper Steve Arnold.

“Kevin is a goalscorer. In games like this, it’s all about that confidence and he went and scored different types of goals,” said the Lions boss.

“The free-kick was a different type of goal that shows his quality, even from a dead ball. “

Millwall are unbeaten in their pre-season schedule so far ahead of the 2023-24 campaign. 

The Lions secured their second pre-season win of the day after a completely different side beat Brentford B 5-0 at Calmont Road earlier this afternoon.

“We played a game earlier and split the groups – it was all about getting as many players 90 minutes as we could today,” added Rowett.

“It was all about putting those players through it physically, but also to see if we could put some good performances in.

“To build on the Gillingham performance, we looked a little bit brighter today.

“Sutton is a difficult place to come – they’re a difficult team to play against.

“They have lots of energy, the press and they’re very physical. 

“When we moved the ball well and showed a little bit of composure, getting the ball to our centre-backs and then causing them a bit of a problem with the wing-backs and wide forwards was the key to the game.

“When we did it well, we got into good areas. Sometimes it wasn’t as easy to do that.

“There were a lot of good things about the performance. With balls in the box, that’s the sort of team we are – we can deal with these kinds of games.

“We needed to show the quality, and the front three showed that in spells in the game when they were given that service. 

“It’s more about getting the players through the 90 minutes unscathed. 

“We did a little bit of everything tonight.”