LE FONDRE ENDS HARRIS HOPES
MILLWALL caretaker boss Neil Harris threw down the gauntlet to his players for the rest of the season after the relegationthreatened Londoners lost to Bolton.
Adam Le Fondre’s first-half double sealed Wanderers’ first win in three games as the Cardiff City loanee notched his fourth and fifth goals for the club.
And Harris – who took over from the sacked Ian Holloway last week – took positives from their second-half performance, despite the Lions suffering their fifth successive defeat.
“There’s been a lot of negativity at the club recently mainly because of results,” Harris said.
“Ollie worked his socks off to drag us out of it and it hasn’t quite happened and I think the players have felt the negativity on the pitch.
“I’ve tried to say to them ‘just go express yourselves and play’ and we’re looking now at a ninegame season.
“But the bigger picture for the club is that we have to compete and play in the right manner for the next nine games and next season as well.
“I’m disappointed we got beaten, but the positives were the chances we created, the manner in which we played, the manner in which we came out in the second half and had a right good go.”
Liam Feeney shook off Dan Harding’s aerial challenge to square to Le Fondre.
His ambitious eighth-minute close-range back heel went straight into David Forde’s arms.
But the striker made no mistake two minutes later.
He fastened on to Tim Ream’s perfect long pass and outsmarted Jos Hooiveld before finishing clinically past Forde.
Le Fondre added his second on the stroke of half-time as the Trotters broke away through Eidur Gudjohnsen. He found the striker who buried a sublime curling effort.
Millwall could have halved the deficit just after the hour through Lee Gregory.
Under pressure from Ream, he stumbled and the ball rico- cheted off Ben Amos. And the Manchester United loanee came to his side’s rescue once more when Bolton’s defence fell asleep. Aiden O’Brien went oneon-one with Amos, who stood strong to block the 67th-minute chance.
Wanderers could have added a third through substitute Craig Davies, who failed to properly connect at the far post with Josh Vela’s dangerous right-wing cross five minutes from time.
Millwall skipper Dunne was booked for hauling down Davies and Tom Walker’s subsequent free-kick just before full-time drew a magnificent save from Forde.
Trotters boss Neil Lennon praised Le Fondre’s instincts and challenged him to reach double figures for the club.
“They were two great finishes,” he said. “That puts him on five, so he’s second-joint top scorer already. He’s only been in the building since January.
“His goal record has always been good and, when the opportunity came to bring him here, I thought he would make us better. He’s already repaid that.
“But I want him to get, and I think he would like to get, into double figures between now and the end of the season.
“It was an important win. It was great to keep a clean sheet.
“We just need to learn to pick up points away from home and I think we’ll be a force next season, if we just make sure we consolidate this season.”