Leonard acknowledges the Millwall goalie’s valiant last-minute stop against Southampton.
Ryan Leonard, a defender for MILLWALL, called goalkeeper Matija Sarkic the true hero of Saturday’s victory over Southampton after the keeper’s incredible last-second save kept Adam Armstrong from tying the score.
Japhet Tanganga’s early goal and Zian Flemming’s penalty at the end of the half gave the Lions a 2-1 lead at the half, which they maintained after Che Adams’ equaliser.
In the second half, Millwall faced very little threat from their promotion-chasing hosts, despite being at completely different ends of the table.
That was, according to Leonard, before Sarkic made a fantastic stop of Adam Armstrong in the 88th minute, which proved to be the game-winning play.
“As players, I think we got that from the first whistle. We needed to create a performance today that would show togetherness and spirit,” he stated.
For us, winning 1-0 up front was significant. We are capable of doing better; we gave up a goal.
After the penalty, we demonstrated our defensive prowess in the second half, however there were a few instances on the counter where we arguably might have performed better.
“A lot of the credit belongs to the goalie, Matty.
Making the save in the final five minutes proved crucial in the end.
During the manager’s first stint at the Lions, Leonard was acquired from Sheffield United by returning manager Neil Harris.
Because of his prior experience, the defence is well-suited to evaluate the major contributions made by the returning goalie.
Leonard remarked, “Man management—he is an amazing man manager.”
“He brings out the best in his players.”
He truly unites the team, in my opinion, both on and off the pitch.
“It was evident at the conclusion of the game when three thousand fans sang his name.
It’s Millwall. Everyone would recognise that he is a member of Millwall Football Club, in my opinion.
It is evident that this is his first game back, and both he and the boys are pleased with the outcome.
Leonard is also certain that Harris will gain nothing from the fact that the club still has a large number of people he knows well.
He clarified, saying, “There are nine or ten players from his previous five-year tenure here.
“You don’t see it very often these days—you don’t see that five years later and ten players are still in the football team and kind of know him already.
“The plan was to come in for two days, clean things up, and try to instill some confidence and a positive attitude in everyone.”
“Obviously, confidence won’t be great after four straight losses, but I believe that was just his message to come in and say you are good players.”
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