GARY Rowett revealed that his substitutions were impacted by Millwall’s injury situation, but he added that his side brought on defensive players to try and see out the win late on.
Midfielder George Saville [calf] was rested and left out of the squad entirely, while Oliver Burke [illness] and Duncan Watmore [knee] were only fit enough to make the bench. Goalscorer Tom Bradshaw was risked despite his lack of fitness, while fellow starters Jamie Shackleton and Ryan Leonard were unable to complete the full 90 minutes.
It left the Lions needing to make changes late on, with Shaun Hutchinson and George Evans brought on for Bradshaw and Shackleton in the 76th minute. Burke was then introduced alongside Scott Malone in the 83rd minute, replacing Zian Flemming and Andreas Voglsammer.
However, Luke Berry’s late equaliser forced Rowett to bring Watmore on for Leonard in search of a third goal, but there wasn’t enough time for him to impact the game.
The substitutions prompted criticism from some supporters, who saw the tactics as overly negative and defensive, but Rowett stressed the importance of keeping his key players fit until the end of the season as they look to secure a place in the play-offs.
“I think we had a decision fairly early on with Bradders, but it’s a difficult position to be in as a manager,” he said after the game.
“I don’t wanna take Bradders off but I’ve got to make sure that he’s ready to go again at the weekend. At about 65 minutes, he felt his calf tighten so, again, I had to make that decision.
“We had fresh bodies on the bench that I think had to come on and do a job. It was about 83, 84 minutes that we then changed it to go to a 5-4-1. At that point it’s really just about defending, so I don’t think how many attackers you have on the pitch is going to have much bearing on whether you see out the game.
“It’s really just whether you can defend – and we did it really well for most of the game – but there were just a couple of moments where they capitalised.
“I think, on reflection, they probably did deserve a point, as galling and as disappointing as it is when you’re 2-0 up.”
Photo: Millwall FC