Former Sunderland man 'gutted' to be denied by linesman's flag and 'worldie' save

Former Sunderland captain George Honeyman admitted he was ‘gutted’ to be denied goals for Millwall by an Anthony Patterson ‘worldie’ and the linesman’s flag.

Honeyman impressed in the Lions midfield, and he thought he had opened the scoring on the half hour when he pounced on a goalkeeper error to put the ball in the net.

He did not celebrate against his former club, but the goal was ruled out after George Saville, who was offside, was deemed to be influencing the goalkeeper’s ability to deal with the initial shot.

Honeyman was again close to getting his name on the scoresheet in the second half, but Patterson produced a quality save high to his left.

“Apparently someone was impairing the goalkeeper’s vision,” Honeyman told Millwall TV after the game.

“I’ve not seen it back but I’m gutted about that because it wasn’t a flag up straight away – it felt like half an hour before they chalked it off.

“Patto pulled off a worldie against us in the second half. Maybe it just wasn’t meant to be today.

“It was a proper game of football. It was really enjoyable to play in and I hope it was enjoyable to watch, because we packed it out and the atmosphere was class. These are the games you want to be involved in, week in and week out.

“We’re really disappointed because when we take the lead we’re normally so good at holding on to that. So it’s bittersweet. It was a brave header by the lad (Dennis Cirkin). But if we play like that for the rest of the season then we’re going to win more games than we lose.”

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