Gerhard Struber has given his thoughts on the brawl that broke out between the Bristol City and Millwall benches during the Robins’ defeat to the Lions, with the head coach believing that the decision to disallow Zak Vyner’s late leveller sparked the incident.
City were left unhappy after losing 1-0 at Ashton Gate on Saturday afternoon, missing out on back-to-back Championship wins. Finally, Mihailo Ivanovic’s second-half goal proved to be the difference between the two teams.
With just under an hour gone, the 21-year-old broke the deadlock with a right-footed shot past Radek Vitek in the Robins’ net from close range, after the Manchester United loanee had twice saved from Femi Azeez in quick succession.
• Bristol City 0-1 Millwall live: Robins fall behind in the second half after Ivanovic scores for Lions
• Bristol City player ratings against Millwall: Reds left angry after late leveller ruled out in loss.
An argument erupted between members of both benches and players shortly after the final whistle, with Alex Neil claiming he was assaulted by Jason Knight after Struber refused an offered handshake. However, the Austrian denied the Lions manager’s claim.
“It’s a big joke, it’s a really big joke,” the head coach quipped in his post-game press conference. “I tried to give him my hand twice, and he moved away from me.
“This is, of course, two football styles colliding today under a lot of strain, first duels, second ball fights, and, in the end, the kick-off was a bad decision. Of course, this begins with them gradually increasing, and then the coach says no, in this case, with his hand. I don’t know why. I ask him now, ‘Why do not you give me your hand?’ And he says, ‘Why do not you give me the hand?’
“This is insane; I gaze in his eyes and offer him my hand, but he walks away twice. I hope we discover some pictures. It’s really evident, and this is a grasp of it. I’m not sure why the emotion is so strong, but I would want to emphasize that we talk about the game.
For much of the game, the Robins had the upper hand. After failing to capitalise on their dominance in the first half, City saw three distinct penalty appeals denied by referee Ed Duckworth after the break.
Despite appearing to be out of luck, the Reds came surprisingly close to equalising when Ross McCrorie was thwarted by a great Max Crocombe save deep into stoppage time. It appeared that the stop would cost Struber’s team, but they scored shortly later.
With seconds remaining, Vyner hammered into the bottom right corner from within the penalty area, assisted by a brilliant McCrorie nod down. Before the celebrations could commence, the defender’s goal was called out because McCrorie had slipped offside in the buildup.
Replays revealed that the Scotsman had been played onside, which Struber confirmed after the final whistle. The Robins’ manager believed a game played with such emotion could have benefited from a more experienced official.
“In the end, we score a goal and this, of course, is a trigger point for the boys,” Struber told me. “I believe the entire league deserves it, and while we have many veteran referees, we also have young refs. I believe that having experienced refs would be ideal in such a game.
“Of course, they have to learn and grow: this is true for both players and coaches, but in a game like that, with so much pressure in the bottle, I believe it would be ideal if we had a little more experience. That we ended up in such a bad situation is not what the Championship deserves.
“This has some influence,” he continued. “The entire game was emotion in a bottle. We invest everything, and we have a little bit to comprehend that the emotion spreads – that we don’t want to see photographs like that, which is equally apparent. Today, I have a better understanding of where the kick-off begins, and it is not always the case that we can just tell the players not to do that at the conclusion.
“Of course, they shouldn’t do it, but we can’t always control the emotion; we want to see emotion in the game, a really good atmosphere, and attractive football, but we also need a really good referee team in a game like that.”
“I believe I missed this at some point today, particularly at the conclusion. This indicates that, if I understand correctly, we bear the greatest responsibility for our playing style and investment in order to play attractive football. That I provide, in the end, the referee is guilty – from my perspective, I can’t do it, but he has impact in the game, and how he decides in the end, this was, of course, a huge error.”
• Mark Sykes: ‘The Bristol City I joined is not the club we are anymore, I want to be a part of that’
• Bristol City players are ‘not happy’ with early victory, but Reds’ hunger leaves’very nice feeling’.
xz
