MX23RW : Tuesday, November 3 01:11:59| >> :120:15965:15965:
Oct 20, 2020 at 7.45pm UK at The Den
MillwallMillwall
2-0
LutonLuton Town
Cranie (45+3' og.), Mahoney (79')
Leonard (38'), Woods (60')
FT(HT: 1-0)

Cranie (66')

Gary Rowett plays down promotion talk after Millwall move fourth

Gary Rowett plays down promotion talk after Millwall move fourth
© Reuters
The Lions defeated Luton 2-0.

Millwall moved to fourth in the Championship with a 2-0 win over Luton but manager Gary Rowett is not preparing for a promotion push just yet.

Martin Cranie's own goal and Connor Mahoney's cracking finish helped the Lions register back-to-back Championship victories after an indifferent start to the campaign.

Rowett's side were not overly tested by the Hatters so when it comes to lofty ambitions, the boss is keeping his feet firmly on the ground.

"I thought it was an excellent performance. When you've played so well as we did in the second half on Saturday, you've got to back it up," he said.

"Good teams do that, they put back-to-back performances together and that's what I asked the players to do.

"We're six games in – we went to fourth but could have gone to 14th if we'd lost.

"It's about us building, we've been defensively excellent for the 12 months, now it's about translating that good play into more attacking moments in games.

"To be able to bring [new signing] Kenneth Zohore off the bench, it feels like a real luxury that we've never had previously.

"There's no point standing here and eulogising about a 2-0 win and saying we're one of the fancied teams because we're not.

"We've got to work incredibly hard every week. We've got to be at our best every game to go and get a result."

Nathan Jones' Luton have now failed to score in three of their last four Championship games, with key striker James Collins missing the last two having tested positive for Covid-19.

They went behind on the cusp of half time when Matt Smith's header deflected off the unfortunate Cranie for a goal Millwall's efforts deserved.

The Hatters showed more promise after the break but Mahoney's fine strike across goalkeeper Simon Sluga ended the contest.

Jones said: "I thought we were pretty passive, got out-muscled, we knew we can't come here and have a fight with Millwall as they're probably better than you at doing that.

"We need to really be aggressive and to play, to move the ball quickly, but we didn't any time they pressed us.

"James is absolutely fine, but he's had a positive result and had to stick to the protocols.

"We've had people who are waiting for Covid tests who haven't been able to train, it's a whole new world and a minefield.

"We've been disrupted heavily in the past four or five days which has coincided with two defeats.

"We did tests on Saturday, some people who played [against Millwall] haven't trained since then because we've been waiting for tests.

"It's carnage at times, this is the world we live in in a truncated season. We're trying to stay safe and do the right things but it's difficult."

ID:419141:cQx

Click here for more stories about Gary Rowett

Click here for more stories about Luton Town

Share this article now:
Did you know...?
Bristol City's Jack Hunt celebrates scoring against Barnsley in the Championship on October 17, 2020
Read Next:
Tuesday's Championship predictions including Bristol City vs. Middlesbrough
>
Latest Sports Video
Sports Mole Logo
Enter your email address to subscribe to Sports Mole's free match previews newsletter! Updates are sent twice a week.

rhs 2.0
Todays Game Header Right
Champions League
Championship
DFB-Pokal
League One
League Two
National League
National League North
National League South
Scottish League One
Greek Superleague
Eerste Divisie
Copa Sudamericana
Copa do Brasil
Argentine Primera Division
Liga MX
J1 League
NFL
1.15am
Buccaneers
@
Giants
Tables
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Reading97111761122
2Swansea CitySwansea9531125718
3Bournemouth9450127517
4Norwich CityNorwich9522128417
5Middlesbrough844094516
6Millwall9432108215
7Stoke CityStoke9432109115
8Brentford94231611514
9Bristol City94231210214
10Birmingham CityBirmingham934276113
11Huddersfield TownHuddersfield94141010013
12Luton TownLuton9414710-313
13Watford833275212
14Blackburn RoversBlackburn93151813510
15Barnsley92431010010
16Preston North EndPreston93151112-110
17Cardiff CityCardiff9243910-110
18Queens Park RangersQPR9243912-310
19Rotherham UnitedRotherham9234810-29
20Coventry CityCoventry9225918-98
21Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest9135511-66
22Derby CountyDerby9135513-86
23Wycombe WanderersWycombe9117416-124
24Sheffield WednesdaySheff Weds9225510-5-4

Subscribe to our Newsletter


Transfer Talk Daily
Match previews - twice weekly
Morning Briefing (7am UTC)
Ultra close-up image of Kevin De Bruyne [NOT FOR USE IN ARTICLES]Get the latest transfer news, match previews and news direct to your inbox!