Millwall manager hails Scott Malone as one of Championship best – and talks about ‘dominating’ Huddersfield

Gary Rowett reckons that Scott Malone is one of the best left wing-backs in the Championship after Millwall’s 2-0 win against Huddersfield.

Benik Afobe scored twice as the Lions moved to within two points of the play-offs with the victory.

Millwall manager Rowett told the South London Press: “I don’t think there’s a better left wing-back in the division. His attacking quality is so good and he got into some brilliant positions.

“It was just that last little shot or pass that they seemed to get back and condensed the box. It makes it difficult to pick someone out.

“If Scotty would have been a bit disappointed up there [at Huddersfield] with that sort of battle, tonight he more than made up for it.

“He was outstanding, he kept running off Sorba Thomas all the time and had that energy when he goes forward. But he was outstanding tonight, along with quite a number of our players. It’s hard to pick one individual out because there were so many good performances.”

The Lions chief added that the victory against the Terriers – who had been unbeaten in 17 matches going into the contest – was  one of the most complete displays in his time at the helm in SE16.

Rowett said: “It’s up there, due to the fact the opposition are in such a good run of form – flying high in the league. They a difficult side to play.

“In the first 10 minutes we thought they’d play a four, because they’ve been playing a four a lot recently. They remembered our game up there, when Thomas was so good and they played him as a wing-back.

“It changed one or two bits, but we’ve played against that so many times, it wasn’t too difficult. First 10 minutes we had to ride a bit of luck. There was some shots from distance that Bart has saved.

“Then we got to grips with it. In terms of possession, they would’ve had more possession – in terms of chances, we completely dominated them.“