GARY Rowett admitted that he considered making tactical changes in the final stages of Saturday’s 1-1 draw against Sunderland.
Millwall took the lead midway through the second half and were put under substantial pressure as a result. It made the game difficult for them, as sitting back and holding onto the lead was equally as dangerous as pushing for a second goal and leaving themselves exposed at the back.
It left Rowett with a decision to make in the final stages, and Millwall’s constant threat prompted him to leave things unchanged heading into the final minutes of the match. It looked like it would be enough to give the Lions the points, but they were undone by a well-delivered free-kick in the 81st minute that was bravely headed in by Dennis Cirkin.
The Millwall manager admitted that it was a “gamble” to stick with the same tactics, but didn’t believe that it had an impact on the outcome of the game.
“I don’t think it [the game] was necessarily too open,” he said after the draw.
“Straight away Sunderland pushed their full-backs really high up the pitch and played with two centre-halves and two central midfielders, then literally played with lots and lots of forwards in and around the edge of the box. So it was quite difficult to get out.
“Not long before I toyed with going to a five and blocking it up. But there was about 15 minutes to go at that point.
“It’s always a difficult one when you’re getting backed up. Do you go more defensive and remain backed up and try to hang on? Or do you try and do something the other way? We decided to try and get us attacking a bit more. We’d had quite a few good attacks just before that.
“That’s the gamble and it was a set-piece. If it had been an attack or a breakaway that had done it then I’d have been disappointed.”
Photo: Millwall FC