City felt aggrieved that the key moment in the first half went against them
Barry Cooper Hull City correspondent
12:00, 08 Mar 2026Updated 12:11, 08 Mar 2026
Millwall boss Alex Neil claimed three points at the MKM Stadium (Image: Greig Cowie/Shutterstock)
Millwall chief Alex Neil admitted Hull City were the better side against his Lions, and was relieved to leave the MKM Stadium with three precious points in the race for promotion.
Despite coming away with a 3-1 victory, Millwall were second best for long periods after taking the lead through Jake Cooper’s finish.
Joe Gelhardt restored parity within four minutes, before Kyle Joseph’s header was ruled out by referee David Webb for what he deemed a foul on goalkeeper Anthony Patterson by Oli McBurnie.
City continued to dominate thereafter, until Ivor Pandur’s error gifted Mihailo Ivanovic a late tap-in and Semi Ajayi’s mistake allowed Josh Coburn to run on and seal the contest.
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Neil, though, admitted his side was second best at the MKM Stadium: “It was a pleasing victory, but it wasn’t a good performance,” the Scotsman said.
“I wasn’t pleased at half-time, hence why I made two changes. We also lost Casper (De Norre) before the game, so we had to juggle things around, which wasn’t perfect.
“It wasn’t a great build-up going to the game – there were a lot of little fidgety bits – but that is not an excuse for the performance. I thought Hull (City) were better, performance-wise, and carried a threat, but we are obviously delighted to get three points.”
On the subject of the big moment in the first period, the former City managerial target admitted he initially thought the goal had been given.
“Honestly, I haven’t seen it back,” he told Hull Live when asked for his thoughts on the contentious moment. “I don’t really have a view on it. I thought at the time it was a goal. I thought he’d given a goal. I don’t know what he did. I don’t even know what it was for, so I don’t know is the answer.
“I just think with duels in a game like that because the pitch isn’t great in the middle of the pitch, so a lot of the first phases sort of balls up, and they’ve got McBurnie, we’ve got Coburn, so they’re two similar types. It’s a bit of a wrestling match, and I think if you get those decisions and you even them out, both coaches are relatively satisfied.
“Sometimes, when you feel it tilts one way or another (it can be frustrating). The one thing I will say for the ref, it’s a tough job. I mean, it’s a tough one to get those wrestles right as well, because you’ve got two big 6’4 guys trying to headlock each other when the first ball’s coming up. It is what it is. If you probably see me on the side of the pitch most weeks, I’m animated and unhappy anyway.”
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