ALEX Neil thought Millwall deserved nothing from their 3-1 loss to Portsmouth at The Den.

Following a mostly toothless first half, the Lions conceded two quick goals after the break, with Gustavo Caballero seizing on a defensive mistake to get in behind and score the first, then John Swift slammed home Millenic Alli’s cut-back to double Pompey’s lead.

Millwall hit back through Casper De Norre’s curled finish and looked as if they were going to make the game competitive, but were pinned back again after they failed to deal with a corner and Marlon Pack prodded in the loose ball.

Despite having over 20 minutes to mount a comeback, Millwall offered little going forward, and Portsmouth took a well-deserved three points back to the south coast.

Neil was asked for his assessment of the loss.

“I didn’t think we deserved anything from the game,” Neil said.

“The first goal probably summed it up for us, in the fact that it was such a poor decision. Ball gets cleared. I think [Jake] Cooper blocks the lad in. We don’t read who’s going to drop in and cover the space. The lad anticipates it quicker, gets in behind. [Anthony] Patterson makes a decent save. I need to see it back, but the angle for the second shot looks really quite wide, and it’s a decent finish.

“From there, they don’t need to really play out the back at that point; there’s nothing for us to press after that, so they take the risk out of the game. They just turn the ball. I didn’t think we’ve dealt with the first turn well enough at times as well. [Colby] Bishop kept the ball alive too easily. Their two wide players caused us a lot of problems in the games. Their first one scores a goal, the second one creates the second goal.

“The second goal, we try to nick it, and the boy just rolls us, gets down the side, and we don’t defend the box well when the ball comes in.

“Then the third one, we actually lose a header from the first corner. We then have to defend the second corner that comes in. We try to head it, it hits our shoulder and the ball lands in the middle of the box. If you’re going to make those errors at this level and don’t do the basics well, you’re going to come up short, and ultimately, that’s what happened.”

The loss marked the first time Millwall have conceded more than two goals in a game since a 3-1 defeat to Hull City on December 13.

Neil was asked by NewsAtDen if he was disappointed with his side’s defending on the day.

“When I say how we defended, I’m not just talking about the back four,” Neil said. “I’m talking about the whole team. I want to make that clear. It’s not just defending as in him or him or him. This is a collective thing.

“The first goal from our point of view is really, really disappointing. The second goal is equally as disappointing because we’re actually intact. The first ball comes up. They nod it down. They win the second ball, turn it around the corner, and we try to nick it on the wrong side and let them roll away from us.

“I said this to the lads after the game, as a team we’re built on doing the basics really well, and I didn’t think we did the basics well enough today. When the ball did go forward, it didn’t stick enough for us when we got it there. I didn’t think we won enough first duels. We didn’t land on enough.

“To be honest, everything I said to you the other day, that was going to have to happen: winning the midfield battle, making sure the ball stuck at the top end, making sure there’s enough pressure, making sure you’re winning the first duel, second balls. We didn’t do enough. That’s what’s cost us the game.”