‘Particularly galling’ – Millwall boss on last-gasp defeat to Bristol City

Gary Rowett was left disappointed by Millwall’s performance after his side were beaten 1-0 by Bristol City on a day they honoured John Berylson.

The Lions paid tribute to their beloved former owner and chairman before the match. A number of tributes, including a touching video and an impeccably observed minute of applause, all took place in front of Berylson’s family, including the club’s new chairman, James Berylson.

Millwall slumped to a dismal defeat at the Den, though, courtesy of a last-gasp strike from Bristol City captain Matty James.

And while Rowett was keen to keep the game and the pre-match scenes separate, he admitted the final outcome stung on an emotional day in SE16.

When he was asked about the tributes and the result, Rowett said after the game: “I don’t think you can necessarily attach the two. I didn’t see a lot [of the tributes], but I can imagine it was an absolutely wonderful tribute to John. His family being here makes it all the more special, certainly the minutes applause, [which] I thought was done immaculately by both sets of fans.

“It was nice to see, the atmosphere was brilliant. I think what you want as a manager is to try and use that a little bit. I don’t think you can necessarily just go on the pitch and perform brilliantly because we’ve had a minute of applause, but we lacked energy and a little bit of a spark.

“I thought it was a bit of a nothing game [in the end]. Bristol City would have been happier coming here and having a little bit of control of the game without creating too much. Their one shot on target was the goal. We haven’t had a lot more than that, I think two, so I don’t think either team created an awful lot of clear-cut chances. It was a game that just looked destined to fizzle out at 0-0.

“We made quite a lot of changes to see if we could freshen it up, but it didn’t really make a lot of difference. That was the disappointment of the game really. Having performed so well against Middlesbrough last week, you’ve just got to go and scrap that long throw-out, see the game out and then you’re sat there with four points after two games, and there are some positives you take from it. But it’s particularly galling to lose a game that way and to a long throw.

“We should go and win the first header, we head it down and James is unmarked even though he was marked a few seconds before that. You’ve got to do your job in those situations and show a little bit more aggression as a team. If you don’t, then you’re always liable; you switch off for a second in this league and it’s game over.

“[It’s] particularly disappointing because John’s family are here. Even though I’m trying to separate [the game and tributes] them, as a manager, you feel responsible, and you want to win the game. You want them to have a positive experience at a game like this.”