Harris left frustrated as Millwall are made to pay for missed opportunities

Posted Saturday, April 21, 2018 by PA

Millwall boss Neil Harris admits his side were made to rue several missed chances as a clinical Fulham triumphed 3-0 at The Den.

The hosts wasted numerous first-half opportunities and had a goal disallowed before Ryan Sessegnon opened the scoring for Fulham one minute into the second half.

Goals from Kevin McDonald and Aleksandar Mitrovic wrapped up the points for the visitors in the clash between two of the Championship’s in-form promotion hopefuls.

The result brought an end to Millwall’s 17-match unbeaten league run, but it could have been a different story had Jake Cooper, Jed Wallace and Steve Morison made the most of their openings.

Harris said: “Tonight’s a great realisation for all of us I think.

“We played against a really good team who beat us in the second half.

“In the first half we could’ve been out of sight. We put real pressure on but we came out second half and didn’t do well enough with the first two goals.

“The third goal was my fault because I was chasing the game. I thought the atmosphere in the stadium was superb and a proud day for this football club because the performance first half merited that atmosphere.

“The lads were brilliant. I said to them I was frustrated but I’m so proud of what we’ve done so far. We were beaten by a very good side and that’s the way football goes.”

Harris, whose side are sixth with matches against Middlesbrough and Aston Villa to come, added: “Go back 12 months and we were beaten at home by Oxford in League One – we won at Wembley a month later.

“We’ve got to try and get six points from our final two games and that’s a challenge we’re very excited for.”

The result hoists Fulham into the automatic promotion places, two points clear of Cardiff who face Nottingham Forest on Saturday.

Slavisa Jokanovic’s men are now 22 matches unbeaten in the Championship and the Fulham boss was delighted with the way his side battled to victory at The Den.

“I’m very proud with how my team played,” Jokanovic said. “The first 45 minutes was tough but we showed that we can be confident and solid.

“In the second half we scored early and then we started to move a bit better and we created more space.

“We stuck with our style and played brilliantly in the second half and we deserved the victory.

“This place is not easy to play football. They hadn’t lost in 17 matches so it’s not easy for anybody to play Millwall, especially here.

“We trust in our own style and keep possession. We showed great ambition and desire to stay with our philosophy.

“I just said [at half-time] to stay calm and be focused and wait for our moment. Our moment arrived early in the second half and after that we controlled the game.”