Rowett’s Lions left waiting to pounce on Blades blunder
GARY ROWETT ramped up the pressure on sixth-placed Sheffield United by pointing out last-day collapses do happen in the Championship.
Three second-half goals via Benik Afobe, a Josh Knight own goal and George Saville kept the Lions’ outside shout of the play-offs alive.
They head to Bournemouth on Saturday needing to turn round a three-point and five-goal deficit on the Blades, with Middlesbrough a point ahead of Millwall too.
Rowett said: “I was a little disappointed we didn’t score four or five.
“I felt it was going to need four goals, that would have left a four-goal swing.
“But if Bournemouth can beat Forest on Tuesday and get promoted, maybe their mindset is different and Fulham play Sheffield United and there is a chance they can score more than one or two.
“At this stage we can’t control that. But we know anything can happen.
“You saw it a couple of seasons ago when Swansea were seven goals behind Forest.”
Not for the first time this season, the Lions waited until the second half to ramp up the intensity.
Sheffield United’s win at QPR on Friday had taken the edge off this clash as a big chance to gatecrash the play-offs.
By the time news had filtered through that Middlesbrough were leading, the atmosphere and intensity inside the Den had deflated to pre-season friendly levels.
Posh’s Jonson Clarke-Harris inexplicably flicked the best chance of the first-half wide with his left foot. “It was a big moment,” said boss Grant McCann.
“We were all expecting Jonno to swing the right foot.”
Millwall midfielder Saville fired straight at keeper David Cornell soon after the restart.
But they needed a smart Bartosz Bialkowski save from Jack Marriott’s 25-yard drive to keep things level before opening the scoring.
McCann was upset with the officials for awarding Millwall a 53rd-minute throw-in.
Ryan Leonard hurled it into the box and Afobe dispatched an angled left-foot shot into the left corner. Rowett brought on forwards Jed Wallace and Mason Bennett.
And Murray Wallace, then Saville were denied by the woodwork in the space of 60 seconds as the hosts pressed to boost their goal difference.
The second goal came when Knight turned Jed Wallace’s cross into his own net.
And when the same man swung the ball over for Saville to head home at the far post, there was a feeling a late promotion charge might still be on.
That will have to come at Bournemouth at the weekend.