Alex Neil pulled no punches after Millwall's 2-2 draw with Lincoln City at The Den, branding the opening 45 minutes "probably as poor as we've been in the time I've been here" and admitting his side lost every header and every duel before staging a second-half comeback to salvage a point.

A first half to forget

Lincoln arrived in south London and took full advantage of a flat Millwall performance, building a two-goal lead that left Neil with little to be satisfied about at the interval. The Millwall manager was unsparing in his assessment, identifying a collective failure to compete physically as the root cause.

"We didn't have any fighting spirit in the first half," Neil told BBC Radio London. "We lost every header and every duel. We didn't deal with anything that we normally do particularly well."

That inability to win the basic battles handed Lincoln control of the contest and left Millwall with a mountain to climb. For a side that had made defensive resilience and aerial dominance a calling card under Neil, the display ran counter to everything the manager has tried to build at the club.

The comeback that kept the point

Whatever Neil said at half-time worked in part. Millwall recovered to score twice and deny Lincoln all three points, dragging themselves back to parity from two goals down. Neil acknowledged the significance of avoiding defeat, even if he refused to dress the result up as a positive performance.

"The only positive I'll take from it is we didn't lose," he said. "From a performance point of view I'm disappointed, but the fact that we did manage to come back and didn't lose is a positive."

The nature of the fightback will offer some encouragement: a side with no stomach for a fight does not pull back a two-goal deficit. Whether Neil treats it as proof of character or masks a deeper structural problem will shape how Millwall approach their next fixture.

Neil fumes at handball decision

The Millwall manager also directed his frustration at the officials over what he described as a clear handball in the build-up to Lincoln's second goal, an incident he felt should have ruled the strike out.

"The whole stadium shouted for a handball," Neil said. "Not only is it a handball but he stops the ball running out of play. My question would be: if he was on the goalline and he stopped the ball going into the net, would he say it was accidental? I very much doubt so. It was a poor decision."

The incident will sharpen debate about officiating standards in the Championship, where the absence of VAR in the regular season leaves managers and supporters with no means of review. For Neil, the call compounded what was already a difficult afternoon.

Where this leaves both clubs

A share of the spoils means neither Millwall nor Lincoln City take maximum reward from a fixture that carried genuine stakes for both sides in the second-tier table. Lincoln will feel hard done by should the handball call prove to have altered the scoreline; Millwall will know a point from such a subdued performance is fortunate.

Neil must now assess how much of the first-half display was a one-off lapse and how much it reflects a pattern his squad needs to correct. With results in the Championship so tight across the division, dropping points at home against sides fighting for similar objectives can prove costly by the time March arrives.

The draw keeps the pressure on Millwall's season on both fronts: the performance demands answers, while the result leaves points on the pitch that a play-off push will require later in the campaign.

Frequently asked

What did Alex Neil say about Millwall's performance against Lincoln City?
Neil said it was probably the worst first-half display of his time at Millwall, criticising his side for losing every header and duel and showing no fighting spirit before they recovered to draw 2-2.
What was the result between Millwall and Lincoln City?
The match ended 2-2. Lincoln led by two goals before Millwall fought back in the second half to earn a draw.
Why was Alex Neil angry at the referee after the Millwall vs Lincoln match?
Neil believed there was a clear handball in the build-up to Lincoln's second goal, arguing that the whole stadium called for it and that the official made a poor decision by allowing the goal to stand.