HARRIS: REF GOT HIMSELF CONNED
NEIL Harris accused referee Paul Tierney of being conned into giving Fulham a penalty – a decision that cost Millwall dearly at Craven Cottage.
Oliver Norwood made no mistake from the spot in first-half stoppage time after Rui Fonte was brought down by Conor McLaughlin as Fulham won only their second home game of the season.
But Millwall boss Harris felt his side deserved to take something back to south London for their efforts and was left fuming at Tierney’s decision to give Fulham a penalty.
He said: “It is the story of our season away from home. We’ve just been punished by a harsh refereeing decision. The player has conned him into giving it in my eyes.
“What helps the referee give it is Macca [Conor McLaughlin] is the wrong side of their player, the contact is minimal and the player throws himself at an angle to highlight the contact.
“The player has done well to force the referee to give it.”
Millwall nearly took the lead early on after Tom Elliot climbed above the Fulham defence to head the ball against the post in the seventh minute.
But the home side soon grew into the game and posed a real threat down the left-hand side through Neeskens Kebano and Ryan Sessegnon – fresh from his hat-trick in midweek – causing problems.
And were it not for a heroic McLaughlin block, Kebano would have put his side in front after latching onto a Tom Cairney through ball.
After the penalty, Millwall adopted a more direct approach in the second half and very nearly profited from a goalmouth scramble right after the break, following a Shane Ferguson free-kick.
Their best effort came in the 75th minute through George Saville, who rattled the post with an ambitious drive from distance.
The visitors failed to capitalise on their late pressure and the hunt for their first away win of the season continues.
Despite this, Harris was quick to take positives from the game and praised his players’ approach after finding themselves behind.
“We got into good areas and looked a handful from set plays. I’m really pleased with the group,” he added. “We need to improve with those little moments of quality when we get into tight areas.”
It could have been a lot worse for Millwall who, despite having the best of possession in the second half, could have found themselves two behind at occasions.
Sheyi Ojo had a great opportunity to double the home side’s advantage, but somehow failed to get a touch on a Sessegnon knock down from two yards out. Kebano had a similar opportunity but failed to get enough contact on Norwood’s cross and headed just wide.
But Fulham boss Slavisa Jokanovic praised his side’s resilience as they held firm to win their second game of the week.
He said: “This victory means we have back-to-back wins. It has not been easy for us. But we have to be satisfied with the week we have had. We’ve won seven points.
“We fought without the ball. They sent a lot of long balls into the box and are bigger and stronger in those situations. We don’t have the tools to solve these problems.
“But the team suffered together and got a clean sheet. In the end, it is our third game of this week without a few important players, we must be satisfied with the result.”