'Absolute joke' - Millwall boss unhappy after Sunderland defeat

It wasn't a happy trip to Sunderland for Millwall, and Gary Rowett didn't try to sugar-coat it.

Millwall boss Gary Rowett has branded some of his sides defending in the 3-0 defeat to Sunderland as ‘an absolute joke.’

The Lions travelled to Wearside in good form and ready to pick up where they left off before the World Cup break, and a win could take them to fourth in the Championship table.

However, second half goals from Amad Diallo, Alex Pritchard and Ellis Simms meant it was Sunderland climbing the table instead, and Rowett gave a brutal assessment of his side afterwards.

“If you’re the away team, you can’t allow the first team to get a bit of a gift and go 1-0 up, that was the disappointment," Rowett said. "We had a chance to clear the first goal, they end up getting a little bit of a fortunate break where Pritchard ends up in a position where they’ve got 2v1 in the box, but we should deal with it better.

“The second goal, Pritchard just wriggles past two of our players on the edge of the box. Again, we have to work our feet quicker and get closer. I don’t know whether Longy was unsighted but I think he would’ve been a bit disappointed that he hasn’t saved it.

“The third goal basically can’t be described in any other way than an absolute joke from our perspective.

“That was the frustration. I think the first goal gave them a little bit of a lift, it gave the fans a little bit of a lift, and I thought they went for it. Then, for 15, 20 minutes, they caused us problems all over the pitch with that little bit of extra confidence they has with it.

“Really pleased with the first 45, but the first 45 is the halfway point in the game and that’s all it is. Very disappointed with the second half.”

There were certainly many inside the Stadium of Light who were relieved to get to half time with Sunderland still level.

The best chances all fell to Millwall, with top scorer Zian Flemming missing by far the best of them on them just seconds before the half-time whistle.

“I’m disappointed in many ways," admitted Rowett. "If you looked at the game, I felt that the first 45, we were the better side. I thought we were very, very good.

“I think Sunderland have got the type of players that they can get in those types of pockets, Pritchard, Diallo and Clarke tend to stay a little bit wider but they caused us one or two problems for about a 10, 15 minute spell. They got a few free-kicks around the box and gained a little bit of momentum, but other than that I felt that the best chances by far fell to us in the first half.

“Tom Bradshaw heads it over the ‘keeper and if he just gets it another yard in the corner I don’t think Danny Batth gets there. Zian [Flemming] had that chance just before half-time where he reads the goalkeeper’s intentions and hits it first half, it goes an inch wide, so again, you could go 1-0 up.

“I think George Honeyman has an excellent chance, great block by one of their defenders. Coops has a sort of overhead kick that the ‘keeper does well to save.

“If you look at the big moments, as an away team, I was quite encouraged by the first-half performance. What you can’t do in this division, and it’s clear to see in a lot of the games, is that you can’t give away the first goal easily.”

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