GARY Rowett admitted that he was disappointed by Millwall’s lapse in concentration as they were punished by Huddersfield Town in the second half at The Den.
Danny Ward’s 67th-minute strike was enough to hand the Terriers all three points in SE16, handing the Lions their third home defeat of the campaign. Their defensive set-up stifled the hosts throughout the 90 minutes, cutting the gap on the rest of the play-off contenders outside of the top six.
Rowett highlighted his frustration surrounding the goal above everything else, adding that his side had to work incredibly hard to break down Neil Warnock’s men on a difficult afternoon in front of a frustrated home crowd.
“If I had to predict what could’ve been the game having watched their last three or four games, this would’ve been what I predicted,” he said after the game.
“They got lots and lots of men behind the ball, left Waghorn up top on his own. They didn’t really cause us any real attacking problems apart from the one moment that we switch off.
“I think that’s the disappointment. We kept the ball quite well, but it’s impossible to play forward quickly and early every time when they’ve got ten men behind it, so you’ve got to be patient. You’ve got to try and open them up with a little bit of good play, and it always comes down to the final third.
“The final third is that little area where someone has got to come up with a bit of magic or a bit of quality. We’ve had numerous chances, about 70 percent of the ball, 18 or 19 shots. I think they’ve had four shots, very little all afternoon, but that’s what happens when the game is 0-0.
“The goal was probably my biggest frustration. There’s a ball in the box and the lad is like six yards out unmarked and we’ve got bodies in and around it. It’s a switch-off when you’ve had so much of the ball. Sometimes you can be in that possession mode and not think about the other side or concentrate as much.
“It is what it is. You can argue that we did the same at Stoke, you can argue that we got away with it a little bit against Swansea. Unfortunately, you have to accept that we didn’t do enough to go and get the first goal which is always going to open up the game massively.”
Photo: Millwall FC