Gary Rowett on Leeds United's promotion hopes, the lesson they gave his Millwall side and a referee under pressure

The Lions were 2-0 up and looking good for three points at the break, with the Whites looking defensively frail and wasteful in attack.

But United came storming back, a Patrick Bamford brace and a Pablo Hernandez half volley putting Marcelo Bielsa's men back on top of the Championship thanks to a 3-2 win.

Rowett wasn't too downhearted after the game, because Leeds in his mind were the best side to come up against his.

"A disappointment but overall we were given a bit of a lesson today," he said.

"I think Leeds were thoroughly deserved winners and probably by far the best side we've played. They had 10 days without a game which probably benefited them far more than us, given we played a Premier League side three days ago.

"I thought you could see that energy and running in evidence but nevertheless there was probably too many opportunities for them to run past us and into good areas. There was one situation in the second half where I think Alioski ran past four of our players. For me that's not acceptable and we've got to learn that lesson."

Rowett did express disappointment with what he got from his men in the second half, when they ran out with an apparently commanding lead, even if they weren't exactly good value for it.

"It's a tough place to come. To go 2-0 up, albeit probably a little bit undeservedly, we scored a good set piece and then we get a penalty that was a definite penalty.

"Then to get in at half-time at 2-0 I expected a little bit more in the second half because even in the position we were in were wanted more.

"We concede a really poor goal, it's a set-piece. I think it's Harrison who gets the wrong side of our defender and I think if you're going to get anything here you have to do your job properly. We haven't been cut open in open play.

"For me that was a disappointment. The second goal is a deflection which is a bit of fortune that they probably deserved and the third goal is a cross in the box where we stand off and Bamford gets free."

Millwall did have their moments, albeit rarely, in a second half dominated by the hosts. And they should have had a second penalty, in Rowett's opinion.

"We created some other opportunities in the game just on transitions when we did pass the ball but we didn't use it well enough. I thought there was a blatant penalty on Matt Smith towards the end where he gets his shirt pulled. I've watched it three times.

"It should be a penalty. What I would say is at that point of the game with the atmosphere as it was it would've been a very difficult decision to make. I can understand in some way how the referee felt that the better decision was to leave it. I think Leeds got a bit of fortune with that one."

"There's no excuses today. Like I say, we could've had a penalty at the end but that would have masked a dominant Leeds performance because they were really, really good."

Rowett expressed sympathy for referee Darren England, who came under fire from Leeds players and fans in the first half for a couple of contentious decisions, one of them a blatantly incorrect awarding of a goal-kick, after Millwall stopper Bartosz Bialkowski pulled off a great save to deny Stuart Dallas.

And the Millwall boss alluded to something said to the official at the break, but wouldn't go into detail.

"I thought it was a difficult game for different reasons. There was a little bit of pressure on him at half-time. I won't go into too much detail on that and the fans put him under pressure because that's what they do here. It wasn't any of the coaching or playing staff, put it that way.

"We do the same at home. It's what it is. It was a difficult game to referee and in the first half we might've had our rub of the green. In the second half they certainly got the big decisions."

Rowett, whose team have been one of the Championship's form sides of late and hauled themselves to within touching distance of the play-off positions, has seen enough from Leeds to suggest they'll last the course and finally escape the division.

"I backed them last year and I'd probably back them again this year," he said.

"They're going through a sticky patch but they're the best team by far we've played."