We’d put some good performances in at home

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Millwall boss Gary Rowett was far from happy with his team’s performance on what was first appearance at Turf Moor since he brought his Birmingham team and earned a 2-2 draw in our first home game of the 2015/16 season.

“Really disappointed,” he said of his team’s performance tonight. “We actually held our shape tactically in the first half. Our front three made it very, very difficult for them to play through us. They’ve got good quality, they move the ball around and they sort of keep looking for those openings.

Embed from Getty Images“We had some moments in the first half when we actually showed some composure. We got down the side of them and we got into our forwards who looked really bright and dangerous when we got into those areas.

“Get in at half time 0-0 when we’ve had a couple of moments and defended well. Then at the start of the second half we have a ten minute spell when we actually started to really come into the game. We got into some excellent positions and had a few shots on target.

“Then they virtually go down the other end and score a goal where we’ve got a defensive shape. The ball comes in the box, I think Rodriguez reacts quicker than our defenders.

“There’s always a chance at 1-0 down, but what you can’t do again, we’re just about to make three substitutions to bring a little speed and attacking quality off the bench and we concede just before it.

“We’ve had three years of being really defensively solid as a team, not just the defenders, but as a team. This season we haven’t done that. We’ve conceded too many goals. I’ve got to find solutions. As a manager, I’m disappointed.”

Embed from Getty ImagesFor Vincent Kompany it was a first home win. “It was a long time coming,” he said. “We’d put some good performances in at home and never really got the reward for it. This felt right, it felt like a good game. We love the crowd. The stadium was bouncing, it was another special atmosphere. I don’t know if every performance will be the same but if we can reward the fans with hard work and what this team shows in energy and passion, give them something to look forward to, then that’s all we can hope for.”

It was a first home clean sheet too and he said of that: “My defender’s heart was particularly pleased with that. Millwall doesn’t give you an easy clean sheet. They have strong players coming in for flick ons, we had to deal with that. The players battled for the clean sheet, it was a team effort. The lads deserved it. I thought they were brave, winning second balls. It’s something that worked well for us today.”

He had good news on Nathan Tella too. “There are no concerns for Nathan,” he confirmed. “You do 97 sprints a game you know, cramp, that happens. You can’t underestimate how much he opens up space for his team mates. He takes a lot of knocks. We need to make sure we keep him fit.

“Aro we have to see. We did a scan, there was no structural damage. He’s a tough guy. We will have to see.”

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