‘Gave them the win...’ - Sheffield United boss explains major Millwall frustration after Den defeat

Paul Heckingbottom, the Sheffield United manager, admitted the Blades got what they deserved this afternoon in a 3-2 defeat at The Den, after “giving Millwall the game”.

United slipped to back-to-back defeats for only the second time under Heckingbottom’s permanent management after failing to bounce back from their midweek defeat to promotion rivals Middlesbrough.

Blades player ratings v Millwall after defeat at The Den

Twice United dragged themselves back into the game after falling behind, before Tom Bradshaw - Heckingbottom’s former striker at Barnsley - sealed victory with his third goal of the game in the dying minutes.

United started slowly and Millwall could have been two or three goals to the good at the break, and Heckingbottom said: “You know what they say ... you get what you deserve, don’t you?

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“We started like the team who’d played Wednesday night, who’d travelled and were still in our beds for an early kick off. The biggest disappointment, the most frustrating thing, is that we stopped that and turn it around.

“It’s difficult to do that but we did it in the second half. We were the team then, I felt, at 1-. We quietened the crowd and were on top. So it’s disappointing to give away the goals we did.

“In my eyes, we’ve given Millwall the win.”

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After Tommy Doyle dragged United level with a free-kick on his return to the side, James McAtee came off the bench to make it 2-2 before Bradshaw’s late intervention.

“We’d shown everything we say we’re about,” Heckingbottom added. “The character, the determination, the drive. We were on the front foot, that’s how we want to play.

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“Maybe to arrest that lethargic start in the first half and get revved up, we lost that little bit of composure with it as well. The goals are poor.

“We can make a foul on the halfway line to stop the second and for the third, we’re pushing and we’re on top and Millwall outnumber us on a long free-kick. We did the hard work to get back in the game and then gave Millwall the win.”