Leeds United manager Neil Warnock has praised his players' battling effort at Millwall and insisted that referee Mark Halsey cost his side a point.

Halsey dismissed Luke Varney for elbowing Adam Smith early in the second half, a decision that Warnock felt was harsh.

Millwall took full advantage of the situation to score a late winner through Chris Wood, who headed home from close range.

Warnock told Sky Sports News: "[Varney] has put his arms up but he has not actually gone in with his elbow. The contact was made below the chin but the kid has gone down like he has been hit in the head.

"But you don't get those decisions sometimes. I have no complaints with the effort today. I am just disappointed that an experienced referee like that has seen fit to send him off.

"It's getting soft now the game, you want to see some proper sendings off. That is not a sending off. I don't know what the game is coming to."

Defeat at The Den leaves Leeds languishing in 18th place in the Championship table.