MILLWALL boss Alex Neil tore into his side after a disappointing 2-2 draw with Lincoln City at The Den, saying it was the most “disappointed” he had been in a performance since he was appointed Lions boss in December 2024.

Millwall were behind within 30 seconds after Andrei Coubis volleyed into the far corner from outside the box, then conceded a second when Rob Street rifled a shot through Filip Marschall’s legs. The Lions had plenty of the ball but offered little going forward, with the best they could conjure a Kyrell Lisbie header straight at Imps keeper George Wickens.

The Lions improved after the interval and pulled one back through Lisbie, then equalised when Jake Cooper poked in a loose ball following a corner.

They were handed a further lifeline when Deji Elerewe was sent off for pulling back Zak Lovelace when he tried to race through on goal, but Millwall were unable to capitalise against ten men.

Neil did not mince his words when he spoke to the written media after the match.

“Rubbish,” Neil said. “I thought it was really poor.

“The first half was probably as poor as we’ve been since I’ve been here. We lacked everything that we normally have. I don’t think we won enough first duels. We didn’t win enough second balls. We didn’t pass the ball well. We didn’t transition well. We didn’t do anything well.

“Lincoln wanted it more than us – since I’ve been here, I can’t remember seeing that before. They wanted the game more than we did in the first half, really. I was as disappointed as I’ve probably ever been since I’ve been here, as a performance from us.

“Half-time, obviously Filip comes off, Max [Crocombe] comes on. Filip’s rolled his ankle, so I don’t know what’s going to happen with him. And then I put Luke Cundle on because I know he’ll get the ball and he’ll pass it, and he’ll be brave and he’ll take it in tight areas.

“Once he came on, we made a few passes, thank God. Because up until that point it was a painful watch. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think the second half was a great performance by any means.

“The incredible thing is, in the first half, we didn’t win enough duels in the middle of the pitch. I then take a player out of the middle of the pitch, and I put him on the top line, and then we win more duels in the second half than we do in the first. So explain that to me.

“The biggest difficulty I had today is the fact that it’s not a tactical game. I couldn’t really help them as far as tactics are concerned because it came down to: can you win first headers, can you win duels, can you land on second balls, can you run, and can you actually play a pass 10 yards? The answer to those questions in the first half for us was no. In the second half, it got a bit better.

“As I said to the lads afterwards, the pleasing thing from today is that we didn’t lose.”