GARY Rowett revealed his frustration as more refereeing decisions went against Millwall in Tuesday’s 1-0 defeat to Coventry City.
While the Lions boss admitted that his side did not deserve anything out of the game, he was left infuriated by a handful of ‘blatant’ fouls that proved costly in the West Midlands.
In the first half, Tom Bradshaw went down under pressure inside the box, but referee Matthew Donohue waved play on, much to the annoyance of the striker.
The visitors had an even bigger claim in the second half when George Honeyman latched onto Duncan Watmore’s through ball, with the versatile midfielder being shoved off the ball just outside the penalty area. However, the referee was unmoved once again.
“The Bradders one, I think I’d be a bit too hopeful to want that as a penalty,” Rowett said after the game.
“I don’t think it was quite enough in it to be a penalty. I think if it’s anywhere else on the pitch, it probably is a foul, but maybe not in the box.
“George Honeyman’s was just outside, but it’s a typical answer that I got back, which was that he ran into the back of [Kyle] McFadzean.
“When you watch it back, McFadzean just comes over, wipes him out. It’s an absolute blatant foul. It’s about a foot outside the box, and if I’m being honest, I’m getting bored of hearing the same thing.
“It almost feels like you get a reason back that you know almost makes it acceptable not to give the free kick, but for me, it’s a simple one. George Honeyman’s running through towards goal and someone comes in with some last-ditch defending. It’s a clear foul, but I don’t think it would have changed the outcome of the game.
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“I thought we chased it well, I thought the changes we made, we had the two subs ready just before the goal. I think that was a disappointment that we couldn’t get them on.
“Rather than bringing the two wide players on at 0-0, we bring them on at 1-0 down and it’s a different game. Then Shacks and Rom came on as well, and I thought we got into some brilliant areas. We just lacked either that final ball or that final bit of fortune.”
Photo: Millwall FC
