Neil Harris criticised his team’s defensive performance as ten-man Millwall were beaten 3-0 by Gillingham at the Den today.

A Dominic Samuel header and a Bradley Dack penalty provided the high-flying visitors with a two-goal cushion at half-time.

Despite some promising openings after the break – including a double effort from Aiden O’Brien – Gillingham rounded off a superb performance with Samuel bagging an injury-time goal.

“They were three frustrating, poor goals to give away,” Harris said.

“You can’t give good teams that start and then lose a player and expect to climb a mountain.

“The individual areas were also disappointing.

“It was poor marking from the set-play for the second goal, which is uncharacteristic for us.

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“The players have to do better and be stronger and more organised. I want them to take responsibility.”

Gillingham had a strong appeal for a penalty after only 15 minutes when Samuel appeared to be tripped by Jordan Archer, but referee Darren Handley awarded Millwall a free-kick for a dive.

Samuel’s despair quickly turned into joy, however, with the striker nodding the Gills in front on 20 minutes from Dack’s whipping delivery.

Ten minutes later Justin Edinburgh’s team were awarded a spot-kick as Archer felled the impressive Samuel and was sent off – former Charlton academy player Dack slotting past substitute stopper David Forde.

Aiden O’Brien almost halved the deficit after the break, only for Stuart Nelson to make a fine double-save, before the Gills stopper denied Lee Gregory when a goal appeared inevitable.

Samuel scored his second in injury-time when another defensive mix-up allowed the forward to beat Forde from a tight angle.

“I thought we had a right go in the second-half, the character we showed was encouraging,” Harris added.

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“We just didn’t get the ball in the net. The third goal was a kick in the teeth because we were the better team in the second half.

“I like players who take responsibility and own up to a mistake and don’t make it again. If they do they will find themselves out of the team.

“I have high standards – they’ve set them during some good performances. If they can’t hit those on a regular occurrence they won’t be playing.

Harris, 38, also had a word of warning for Archer, whose foul on Samuel and subsequent red card left the Lions in dire trouble.

The Millwall boss said: “He’s done really well this season, he’s a young man with a huge desire.

“It’s not a problem today, it’s another learning curve. He’s had a stop-start week this week, but he’ll learn from it.

“He’ll learn that his confidence can’t start on a Saturday or a Friday, it’s got to start when the last game finishes.”

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