Millwall boss Alex Neil was fiercely critical of his side following their 2-2 draw with Lincoln City at The Den.
City led 2-0 at the break, and it could easily have been three after hitting the post twice. Those misses proved costly, as Kyrell Lisbie pulled one back after the break before Jake Cooper equalised in the 82nd minute.
The fightback wasn’t enough for the former Norwich boss, who tore into his players post-match. Giving his assessment, Neil told Southwark News:
“Rubbish. I thought it was really poor,” he said.
“The first half was probably as poor as we’ve been since I’ve been here. We lacked everything that we normally have. I don’t think we won enough first duels. We didn’t win enough second balls. We didn’t pass the ball well. We didn’t transition well. We didn’t do anything well.
“Lincoln wanted it more than us, since I’ve been here, I can’t remember seeing that before. They wanted the game more than we did in the first half, really. I was as disappointed as I’ve probably ever been since I’ve been here, as a performance from us.”
Neil made a double change at the break, introducing Luke Cundle and Max Crocombe for Mark Sykes and the injured Filip Marschall.
“Once he (Cundle) came on, we made a few passes, thank God. Because up until that point it was a painful watch. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think the second half was a great performance by any means.
“The incredible thing is, in the first half, we didn’t win enough duels in the middle of the pitch. I then take a player out of the middle of the pitch, and I put him on the top line, and then we win more duels in the second half than we do in the first. So explain that to me.”
City had opportunities to extend their advantage before the comeback, with Freddie Draper and Dom Jefferies both hitting the post in the same early second-half move. Reeco Hackett missed a sitter after Draper’s chance was saved ay 2-2, as City never looked out of the tie.
“I couldn’t really help them as far as tactics are concerned,” added Neil.
“It came down to: can you win first headers, can you win duels, can you land on second balls, can you run, and can you actually play a pass 10 yards? The answer to those questions in the first half for us was no. In the second half, it got a bit better.
“As I said to the lads afterwards, the pleasing thing from today is that we didn’t lose.”
City now turn their attention to Burnley’s visit to Sincil Bank next Saturday, with a full week to prepare after a demanding run of fixtures. The draw ended successive defeats against Sheffield United and West Ham, although the chances created at The Den left the Imps with good reason to feel they could have taken all three points.
Comments Welcome!