UK Edition
Millwall's dramatic late equaliser sees Sheffield United squander vital points in promotion race
-
Sheffield United 1 Millwall 1
Chris Wilder hit out at referee David Webb after Sheffield United squandered more points in the increasingly tense race for promotion from the Championship.
The match official wasn't the only one in the firing line from the disgruntled Blades manager, however, who was also critical of his players for the way they sat back to invite Millwall's dramatic equaliser in the fifth minute of stoppage time in a quite crazy finish at Bramall Lane.
Wilder confronted Webb on the pitch at the final whistle, claiming he and his assistants had missed a clear foul on the United forward David McGoldrick in the run-up to Jake Cooper following-up to earn a deserved point for the visitors.
"It's uncharacteristic for me to run onto the pitch to confront the referee," Wilder admitted, after succumbing to the mounting pressure of attempting to avoid the end of season play-offs. He added: "But for me, McGoldrick is fouled right in front of him.
"For a referee to miss a situation like that right in front of him - there's quite a bit to play for at this level so for somebody refereeing at this level to get that decision wrong is astonishing. I said to him 'you got it completely wrong'. I will be staggered if I've got that wrong and it's a terrible decision in a big moment."
Millwall looked set to cancel out Gary Madine's 50th minute opener when they were awarded a penalty with three minutes remaining, after centre-back John Egan earned a straight red for clearing spectacularly on the line with his hand from substitute Tom Elliott's header. Ben Marshall's effort struck the bar and bounced to safety but despite the reprieve, the 10 men were unable to hold out for the win.
They have now dropped four points from winning positions in the last three days, and victory was dramatically denied them when Elliott, the former Leeds striker, saw his header well saved by Dean Henderson, only for the lurking Cooper to head home the rebound to earn a fully merited share of the spoils.
"I thought we deserved a point," Millwall manager Neil Harris insisted after his side maintained the two-point gap on the bottom three. The Millwall manager added: "We thought the penalty was going to be a turning point but it highlighted the character and spirit in the team that we kept going to the end."
Madine swept home his third goal of the season from John Fleck's inviting perfect cut-back. Millwall's late equaliser compounded the loss of hamstrung duo Chris Basham and skipper Billy Sharp. Wilder was critical of his players, and he added: "We went backwards in everything we did after our goal and we just didn't show enough ambition to go for that second goal. We didn't go for the jugular and for that we ultimately paid the price."