‘Not even close’: Millwall boss Alex Neil blasts officiating in Portsmouth defeat
Pompey came from behind to secure a 2-1 win over Millwall on Saturday.
Alex Neil has blasted the officiating in Millwall’s 2-1 defeat to Pompey on Saturday.
But the head coach was not using the Lions’ injury issues and the conditions as an excuse behind his side’s fifth loss of the campaign.
Jenson Metcalfe capitalised on a Nicolas Schmid mistake in the opening stages to give Millwall the lead inside five minutes, only for Lyndon Dykes to net in his own goal moments later.
Millwall boss unimpressed by officiating in Pompey defeat
However, Neil was unimpressed by referee Tom Reeves along with his officials’ display and was adamant the free-kick leading up to the Blues’ opener shouldn’t have been awarded.
Speaking to Southwark News, the Scot said: ‘The referee, the fourth official and the linesman in particular, I didn’t think they had a good game today. The number of fouls that we got given against us wasn’t a foul.
‘The first goal came through them getting a foul, which was never a foul. Zak nudges inside his man, and the ball runs out of play, and we get a foul given against us.
‘Even the one that was offside (against Tristan Crama), and I’ve watched it back at the side, he’s about three yards onside. It’s not even close. I didn’t think it was great.’
Millwall boss on Pompey defeat
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The result means Millwall have won just two of their previous 11 matches in all competitions as their slow start continued at Fratton Park.
And although the Lions were missing seven players against Pompey, Neil was not putting injuries or the conditions as a reason behind the Lions’ showing.
‘The conditions are for both teams, so I’m not going to use the conditions, and I’m not going to use injuries, and I’m not going to use any other stuff (as an excuse).
‘We had enough in the game today in terms of the personnel on the pitch. We had enough play in the game. We had enough territory in the game.
‘We had enough shape about us. Our press was good. Our build was relatively good. We had enough to win the game, and we found a way to lose the game.
“Throughout the game, we felt really comfortable. We started the game pretty well. Jenson got his goal, so that was good.
‘I thought after we scored, we were a little bit passive for five minutes. They then got a free kick in the far corner, which wasn’t a foul in my opinion.
‘We’ve got a man out to stop the ball coming into the front post. We don’t stop it; it goes into the front post. We managed to lose a runner, and then we ended up conceding.
‘Second half, we started well. We were the better side. Looked as if we were pinning them in; had a little bit of melee with maybe three or four shots in one go to try and score.
‘Then the wind picked up a little bit. The game became a little bit stretched. A few looked a little bit jaded, so I freshened it up and put Mihailo on, put Rom on, put Alfie on, just to try and give us a little bit more quality in the final third and see if we could unlock the door. We had little glimmers and little flashes, but not really enough.
‘Then the second goal we concede is a ball off the front. We don’t pick up the second ball. We don’t match a runner into the box. We clear it off of somebody that lands to somebody else, and then the ball ends up in the back of the net.
‘We find a way to lose the game. In the end, it makes it look even worse because we start kicking the ball off our own player, and it just looks messy from our point of view.’
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