adminAlex Neil on why he thinks Millwall defender’s red card in Portsmouth loss was ‘very dubious’
Millwall manager Alex Neil expressed strong frustration after watching his side fall to a 3-1 defeat away at Portsmouth, insisting that the red card shown to defender Joe Bryan in the second half was “very dubious” and a major turning point in the match.
The Lions had already been facing an uphill battle at Fratton Park, trailing 2-0 as the game entered the 67th minute. But the real flashpoint came when a Millwall corner was cleared and launched upfield toward Portsmouth forward Callum Lang. Bryan, the deepest Millwall player, sprinted back to cover but mistimed his challenge as Lang broke over the halfway line. The full-back flew in, made no contact with the ball, and brought the striker down, leaving referee Michael Salisbury with a big decision to make.
Seconds later, Salisbury reached into his back pocket and produced a straight red card, reducing Millwall to ten men and effectively ending any faint hopes of a comeback.
Neil, speaking after the match, didn’t hide his disappointment at both the incident and the outcome.
“I think it’s very dubious whether it is a sending off,” the Millwall boss said. “But Joe should not give them the opportunity to do that. Once you dive in like that, you’re giving the referee a choice to make, and in front of a home crowd, it’s always risky.”
Neil went on to describe the moment as one that unfolded in slow motion in front of him.
“I think the reaction of the players, the reaction of the fans… it doesn’t surprise me that the referee went over and brandished a red card. Joe’s tried to get the ball because otherwise Lang is running wide and he’s still basically at the halfway line. There’s a lot of pitch left, but the way it looked in the moment made it easy for the referee.”
The Millwall boss admitted he had been urging Bryan to move sooner.
“I think he delayed too long. He should have got across earlier. I was shouting at him from the side. I could see it happening, and he delayed and delayed and delayed,” he explained. “If you’re going to delay like that, you need to make sure you make clean contact with the ball. Once you don’t, you’re in trouble.”
Although Neil stressed he would need to watch the incident back before giving a definitive verdict, his instincts were clear.
“I haven’t seen it since, so I’ll have to look at it back. My instinct at the time was that it’s unlikely to be a red. But then the minute I saw all the players run around and the fans start screaming, I thought, ‘Yeah, he’s going to get sucked into that.’ And he did.”
The dismissal added to what was already a frustrating afternoon for Millwall, who struggled to create clear chances and were punished by a confident Portsmouth side pushing higher up the table. Despite a late consolation goal, the Lions left the south coast empty-handed and now face an even greater challenge as they look to regain momentum in the Championship.
Neil will hope the club can regroup quickly, but the fallout from Bryan’s sending off is likely to dominate discussion in the days ahead, with Millwall potentially facing a suspension at a time when squad depth is already being tested.
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