”Rattled” - Neil Harris issues West Brom assessment after Millwall draw | OneFootball

Millwall boss Neil Harris heaped praise on his team after they picked up another point in their quest for survival against West Brom on Good Friday.

Millwall draw with West Brom

With the Baggies pushing for promotion via the play-offs this season, they started as favourites for the game at The Den, but it was the Lions that dominated the first half.

Duncan Watmore capitalised on a Cedric Kipre error to give the hosts the lead, but the former Sunderland man, and fellow attacker Michael Obafemi, both squandered great opportunities to put Millwall two up.

And, they would regret those missed chances, as Albion improved considerably after the break, with John Swift equalising from the spot after Joe Bryan had fouled Grady Diangana.

Whilst the Baggies controlled the game after that, they struggled to open the hosts up, with both settling for the point.

Neil Harris makes West Brom claim

This was another example of the progress made under Harris for the Lions, as they battled to avoid defeat, and Harris described the display as a ‘good Millwall performance’, which he felt made West Brom look average.

“What a good Millwall performance that was for so long in that game, especially in the first half. I thought West Brom nailed it in the first five minutes in the sense they slowed it down, retained the ball, passed backwards and sideways for so long to stop us getting near it and putting pressure on them,” he told the Southwark News.

“But then we grew into the game and we had them rattled. They’re a really good side with really good players, just look at the bench they have, and we bossed it.

“We’ve come in at half-time and the lads summed it up and said ‘they’re going to get a rollicking in their changing room and come out and be aggressive because we should have been 3-0 up’. And we should have been – we should have been out of sight by half-time. And then at the start of the second half they’re dominating the ball but we were having all the chances.

“So my glass is half-full in the sense of a really strong performance, a really good point gained against a really good side. But obviously the disappointment is that we deserved the three. Matty [Sarkic] has not had a dive to make a save. We’ve made a really, really good side look ordinary for long periods and we just looked a really, really good Millwall side.”

Millwall’s improvement under Neil Harris

The decision to bring Harris back was an inspired one, with Millwall now 16th in the table and five points clear of safety.

They may not be pretty to watch, but the Lions are hugely effective now, with Harris bringing a real organisation and structure to the side with the way they’re set up. Plus, he has simplified the approach going forward, which suits this group.

The club legend was brought back to keep the team in the Championship, and they’re on course to do just that.

A win at doomed Rotherham United on Monday would be a significant step in the right direction, and Harris will no doubt be expecting three points against the Millers.