Brentford Manager Mark Warburton said his team were lucky to get a point against Millwall yesterday as they produced a “poor” performance.
The Bees came from 2-0 down with five minutes remaining to get a 2-2 draw that Mark said they did not really deserve.
Millwall scored midway through each half to take a two-goal lead they did not really look like relinquishing until Alan Judge was fouled and Alex Pritchard converted the penalty.
Pritchard then set up Moses Odubajo for a stoppage time equaliser to give The Bees a draw.
Mark hailed his team’s spirit but admitted they had not played well.
“We were poor,” he said.
“We were below our normal standards and you get punished.
“The character and the spirit of the players is never in doubt and it is testament to them that they came back at the end of the game.
“We have to recognise we have no divine right to turn up at Griffin Park and get three points.
“Today was a bad day at the office for us.
“I think we were lucky.
“I will stand here and be honest if we were unfortunate.
“As a group we were well below our normal levels but to get a point in the nature we did speaks volumes for the players.”
Mark said his team were “sloppy” from the first whistle and were below par as a group – players and staff.
He said his team had to learn the lessons from the game and when they played the way they could they got two goals.
“From the outset we were sloppy,” said the Brentford boss.
“We took an extra touch and didn’t have the normal level of care and attention on the ball we normally do.
“As a group – all players and staff – we were below par.
“We have to recognise that.
“We weren’t good enough.
“We were fortunate to get a point and that could be a critical point come May 2.
“We will analyse the game and learn from it.
“When we do what we do well we are a very good team but we have to learn that we don’t have a divine right to win.
“We have to look at what makes us a good team – get on the ball, dominate possession, move it quickly, one and two touch in the final third, take care, make good decisions.
“We didn’t see enough of it today.
“We did it at the end and got our rewards.”
Millwall’s first goal came from a ball forward, Lee Gregory got in behind, rounded David Button and scored.
The second was a quick break finished off by Aiden O’Brien.
Mark said his team did not pick up enough second balls against a Millwall team fighting for their lives that started the match next to bottom.
The Brentford Manager said new Millwall boss Neil Harris made it clear his team would be scrapping and The Bees were second best too often.
“We didn’t put pressure on the ball to stop the supply in the first place,” said Mark.
“We got some first contact but not enough and didn’t pick up second balls.
“The gap from front to back was too wide for us today.
“Not getting the second ball posed us a problem.
“We knew the threat, we knew they would scrap, Neil Harris said they would.
“We knew they would fight hard.
“We were second best too many times and were fortunate to get a point.”
Mark said his team were better going forward in the second half.
The Brentford boss said they had a clear penalty denied when Tommy Smith was booked for diving and he, along with, fellow substitutes Judge and Jon Toral made a difference.
Mark added that Chris Long was not brought on as he felt tight in the warm-up.
“First half one of our big faults was putting aimless crosses in to the box,” said the Brentford boss.
“We made the goalkeeper look good.
“We need to keep moving the ball, we are good enough to find the gaps, we have enough clever, technical players to keep the ball in tight areas.
“We were better in the second half, we kept it better.
“First half was way below our desired level.”
Brentford do not play against until Good Friday, April 3, when they face Fulham at Craven Cottage.
There will be no games next weekend due to international fixtures.
Brentford have five First Team players away on international duty – Pritchard and Liam Moore with England Under-21, Long and Odubajo with England Under-20 and Stuart Dallas with Northern Ireland.
Mark said the remaining players will have four days off to prepare for the final seven games of the season.
“We have a few going away,” he said.
“Pritch, Longy, Moses, Liam Moore and Stuart Dallas.
“We will have to manage their loading.
“We have to make sure they get enough rest.
“It is great for the Club and individual in terms of recognition, but we have to recognise and manage their individual welfare.”
A full post-match interview with Mark Warburton is available here for Bees Player subscribers.