Bielsa’s blunder costs him top spot
Eighth red for Berardi as...
MILLWALL caretaker manager Adam Barrett was thankful he was able to give the departing Neil Harris a farewell victory, as his side knocked 10-man Leeds off the top of the table.
Barrett, 39, took over at The Den after the shock departure of the popular figure and his assistant Dave Livermore on Thursday.
‘ It’s been a bit of a whirlwind 24 to 48 hours,’ said an emotional Barrett after two first-half goals had given Millwall their first win in eight games — and he then paid tribute to his predecessors.
‘I wanted to put a performance on for Neil and David, who have been instrumental in this club.
‘They have really turned this club around and put an infrastructure in place. I was just proud we got a performance there.
‘They brought me to the football club, gave me my opportunity when I retired from playing, I’m forever thankful for that.
‘The first half was tremendous, the intensity the lads [showed] was first class.’
Millwall created the first chance in front of a fevered Den, when Mahlon Romeo found space down the right, and delivered a low drive that Leeds keeper Kiko Casilla had to turn away with his feet.
And when Gaetano Berardi was sent off for a foul on Tom Bradshaw in the area on 15 minutes — an eighth red card at Leeds for the defender — Jed Wallace stepped up to fire into the top right-hand corner to put Millwall ahead.
The hosts continued to press for a second goal, and Ben Thompson was denied by Casilla just before the half-hour.
Substitute Shaun Williams almost got on the scoresheet two minutes before the break, when he flicked a Shaun Hutchinson corner just wide of the post.
However, there was still time for Millwall to double their lead before half-time, when a low cross from the left by Shane Ferguson was poked home by Bradshaw.
A depleted Leeds needed inspiration, and they brought on Barry Douglas in place of Helder Costa for the second half.
It seemed to be the spark they needed, and they got back into the game less than 20 seconds after the restart, when a Jack Harrison delivery saw Ezgjan Alioski tap home from six yards out.
The goal rejuvenated the visitors, whose all- round play suddenly looked a lot more promising.
Mateusz Klich fired wide for Leeds on 68 minutes, as Millwall appeared to lose their way and began to look jaded.
The hosts were standing off their opponents, although Wallace came close to extending their lead from a free-kick on 86 minutes only to be denied by Casilla.
And Jon Dadi Bodvarsson might have done better with an effort in injury time that bounced tamely through to the Leeds goalkeeper.
However, after forcing a number of corners at the end the home side ran out as deserved winners.
After this second defeat in south London in the space of a week, following their loss at Charlton, Leeds manager Marcelo Bielsa felt he was too late in making changes after the break.
He said: ‘The second Millwall goal was important in the match, and after the first half I took some decisions to improve the team. We should have taken those decisions in the first half.
‘ We [ showed our] superiority more in the second half than the first. We played without freedom in defence, and the second goal was key for them because I was waiting for the second half to reorganise.’