Honours even in thriller at The Den as Lomas seethes over denied penalties -Millwall 2 Nottingham Forest 2
Steve Lomas looked to be left seething at Dean Whitestone
after the referee denied Millwall two penalties during their draw against
Nottingham Forest.
On a night when the bottom of the Championship contracted,
the Lions boss’s refusal to open dialogue about the decisions - and his body
language to boot - heavily indicated that he felt the officials got the big
calls wrong. The angry reactions of his players pointed towards injustice.
‘I don’t want to talk about the referee today,’ Lomas said
firmly, staring straight ahead. ‘Let’s leave
it at that.’
it at that.’
Match facts
Millwall (4-4-2): Forde 6; Dunne 5, Robinson 6, Beevers 6,
Malone 6; Martin 7 (Feeney 75), Trotter 6, Abdou 7, Woolford 7 (McDonald 86);
Waghorn 7 (Keogh 6 - 68), Morison 7
Subs not used: Bywater, Shittu, Smith, Easter
Goals: Morison 8, Woolford 56
Booked: Beevers, Martin
Nottingham Forest (4-1-3-2): Darlow 6; Lichaj 5, Halford 5,
Hobbs 5, Harding 6; Jara 7, Lansbury 6, Chalobah 7 (Abdoun 83), Reid 7; Cox 7,
Mackie 5 (Derbyshire 76)
Subs not used: De Vries, Greening, Paterson, Majewski, Osbourne
Goals: Reid 37, Chalobah 66
Booked: Hobbs
Lee Martin went down
in the box before and after the break but neither were given - the second of
which, when the midfielder was clearly tripped by Jack Hobbs moments after
they’d gone 2-1 up, was blatant.
Millwall had themselves to blame in part, twice letting a
goal lead slip and unable to capitalise when in the ascendency.
Steve Morison
had sent a stunning 20-yard half-volley home for the hosts, but against the run
of play Andy Reid took aim from 30 yards, squeezing a swerving effort into the
bottom right-hand corner.
Martyn Woolford capitalised on Eric Lichaj’s dithering to
add a second for Millwall but they allowed Nathaniel Chalobah a free header
from a simple corner to equalise.
from a simple corner to equalise.
Forest manager Billy Davies bemoaned his team’s continued
slackness at the back.
‘Sloppy,’ was his assessment. ‘We gifted them too goals
but showed excellent fighting spirit.
Peaceful: Nottingham Forest's Andy Reid celebrates the first of Forest's equalisers with Gonzalo Jara
Free hit: Nottingham Forest's Nathaniel Chalobah scores their second goal with a simple header
‘I need to see the penalties again. They were right to jump
and claim.’
While this was pulsating, a point doesn’t really do either
side any favours as they attempt to arrest recent problems.
Millwall are now at one win in nine; Forest one in seven.
Although his side need to start winning games they dominate as much as this if
they are to survive, Lomas can take heart.
‘I thought there was a level of consistency, commitment and
quality with our players winning individual battles,’ he smiled. ‘There is a
tinge of regret that we couldn’t get the points.
Clipped: Forest's Jack Hobbs was booked for this tackle on Millwall goalscorer Martyn Woolford
‘We had a lot of positives. Two great goals and a lot of
passion. They were well-worked but to concede from a set play was massively
disappointing.’
Chalobah, who notched that equaliser to take Forest level
on points with the top six, is on loan from Chelsea and adds the sort of
quality you need on cold Tuesday nights in order to stay in touch.
Even though nowhere near his best here, the 19-year-old has
a canny knack of popping up in crucial areas all over the pitch. That’s a skill
which will serve Davies well as they gun for promotion – not that he wants to
heap pressure on the potential England star.
‘Chalobah needs games and minutes,’ the manager said. ‘He
has been injured and he needs education. He has a lot of quality but hasn’t got
to speed with the Championship and understand what it’s all about.’
Foot in: Forest's Daniel Harding (right) goes in hard against Millwall's Liam Feeney (left) at The Den
A partner in midfield, Henri Lansbury, really ought to have
put the visitors ahead in the opening minutes - taking on a lapse ball from
Liam Trotter in the middle of the park but firing wide as the Millwall defence
backed off further and further.
Forest had chances in the second half, but the best fell to
the strugglers - who now lie just three points above the drop zone. Martyn
Waghorn saw a drive well-saved by Karl Darlow that roused the sparsely
populated Den.
Those present provided their team with a hostile environment in
which to squeeze and press Forest in areas they’d rather not be - the sort of
attitude to keep Millwall in the Championship.
‘That’s six unbeaten at home but we’ve got to transform
that away,’ Lomas added. ‘We want to try and give the home support plenty to
shout about. We want teams to fear coming here.’ If they start taking chances,
this may become a fortress once more.
0 comments:
Post a Comment