Watford’s manager Tom Cleverley praised his team’s resilience after they came back to defeat Millwall 3-2 at The Den. The Hornets took a 2-0 lead with goals from Edo Kayembe and Giorgi Chakvetadze, but Duncan Watmore’s brace for Millwall leveled the score. However, Mileta Rajovic scored a late winner in the 90th minute to secure Watford’s victory.
Cleverley acknowledged that Millwall is a tough place to play and commended his team for showing character in the face of adversity. He emphasized the importance of learning from technical mistakes and expressed his confidence in the players’ ability to improve through hard work and belief. Rajovic’s winning goal has given Cleverley a selection headache for upcoming matches, but he sees it as a positive challenge to have competition within the squad.
Looking ahead, Cleverley highlighted the need for his team to build on this win and strive for a top-10 finish in the league. He emphasized the importance of maintaining a winning culture and not becoming complacent after one victory. The manager is focused on continuous improvement and is determined to make winning a regular occurrence for Watford.
On the other hand, Millwall manager Neil Harris expressed his disappointment with the way his team let the game slip away after fighting back to level the score. He admitted that the team struggled to settle at the start but showed resilience in the second half. Harris was particularly critical of the goals conceded, describing them as poor and unacceptable at the professional level.
Despite recognizing the emotional difficulty of the match, Harris expected better from his players and emphasized the need for bravery and composure in crucial moments. He lamented the manner in which Millwall conceded the winning goal and stressed the importance of learning from this defeat to bounce back stronger in future games.
Overall, the match between Watford and Millwall showcased the importance of character, resilience, and composure in football. While Watford celebrated a hard-fought victory, Millwall was left to reflect on missed opportunities and costly mistakes. Both managers will look to address areas of improvement and build on the lessons learned from this intense encounter.
