Neil Harris hopes dramatic draw at Forest can help stop the rot

Posted Thursday, October 04, 2018 by PA

Neil Harris hopes Lee Gregory’s 90th-minute equaliser at the City Ground – and the 2-2 draw that it secured against Nottingham Forest – will be a turning point in their season.

Aitor Karanka’s side looked to be in charge after goals from Joe Lolley and Joao Carvalho, either side of a 14-minute break for floodlight failure, had given them a 2-0 lead.

But Shaun Williams pulled one back in the 75th minute with a towering header before Gregory struck to pull Neil Harris’ Lions level against his former club.

Millwall had suffered three straight Sky Bet Championship defeats but Harris hopes they have stopped the rot with a hard-fought draw.

“We are on a bad run and we have been on a bad run because we have not been good enough individually, which has ended up with some poor team performances,” said Harris.

“We have also had some horrendous luck and we saw that again tonight, when we hit the bar and it went over and they hit the bar and it goes in.

“But our luck has to turn eventually and that equaliser at the end felt like a turning point. It was a point gained, that is for sure and it will give us belief moving forward.”

Harris was delighted with the Lions’ performance at the City Ground, however.

He said: “The performance was outstanding. In the first half in particular, it was a class performance.

“Everything that has been good about us at home, as a team; everything we have had at home this year – and not had away – we got it today.

“It was a travesty that we were losing at half-time and not several goals ahead already.

“There was no issue at half-time, it was about making sure we sustained the pressure and kept creating chances.

“I thought when the second goal went in that it was just a continuation of the luck we have had this season. But the boys kept belief and we got our reward in the end.”

Karanka was disappointed to see his side let a two-goal lead slip and warned his players that they must learn to manage games better.

“I am disappointed because this was a game we have not played well, but even despite that, we were still winning 2-0,” he said. “I spoke last weekend about needing to manage games better.

“Today, when we were winning 2-0 at home, that was more important. We have been winning games at home and it was important to keep doing that, to keep moving forward.

“I am disappointed because we should have won this game, even without playing our best. I do not want to single out one player or even two players. We win as a team and lose as a team.

“We need to learn, because we did not play the first half in the way that we should have played. We wanted to play on the grass, because they play long balls. The best way to stop their long-ball game, was to keep the ball.

“But we could not do that. The game was completely flat from the beginning.”