Millwall disagree with Appleton

Millwall hit back at Michael Appleton's claim they took "cheap shots" at Blackburn during a physical FA Cup quarter-final clash at The Den.

Scott Dann had his head bandaged after being caught by Rob Hulse's elbow in the first half and he was clattered in the head again in the second half by Millwall defender Danny Shittu during a feisty clash in south east London.

Referee Martin Atkinson dished out seven yellow cards in total while Bradley Orr was left "struggling to breathe", according to Appleton, after having one of his ribs cracked in a challenge with Shittu.

Appleton, whose side will now host Millwall in a replay on Wednesday, said afterwards: "There were a lot of tackles flying around and a couple of cheap shots going on out there, which is disappointing."

The Lions denied that was the case, however and midfielder Jack Smith was taken aback by the comments of the Rovers boss.

He said: "I didn't see any cheap shots. They seemed to fall over if we breathed on them."

Millwall manager Kenny Jackett also disagreed with the comments of his opposite number.

"Cheap shots? I don't think that was the case," Jackett said. "I don't think that was my players at all."

Millwall had a few decent chances, but they were unable to beat Jake Kean in a match that was devoid of any real quality.

Andy Keogh struck a post in the first half, Hulse missed a sitter from six yards after the break and frontman Dany N'Guessan was poor throughout.

Jackett admitted his forwards were not up to scratch.

"Goalscoring has been a problem for us in 2013," Jackett said

"The win was there for us. It is frustrating. In 2012 it wasn't a problem for us, but I think this match showed that when we do get on top of sides we need to score, and we didn't.

"There was no lack of passion from the players, but we didn't finish. It's something that we need to improve."

Click here for completely free £10 bet with Sky Bet & £5 free every week