Millwall 1-3 Preston, Championship: report, ratings and verdict

Posted 23rd February 2019 1 min Read Time By
VS.

Millwall 4-4-2

1

3

Preston North End 4-1-4-1

Half Time: 0 - 3 The Den ( Attendance: 13,265 (1,016 away) )
1 min

A first half disaster-class from Millwall eased Preston North End to a comfortable 3-1 win at The Den.

The visitors had the lead after just four minutes as Andrew Hughes volleying past Jordan Archer after the Lions failed to clear a free-kick.

Alex Neil’s men then doubled their lead after 15 minutes with captain Tom Clarke heading in from a corner that the Lions’ defence needlessly allowed to bounce in their own six yard box.

Sean Maguire then added a third just before the half-hour mark as a through ball beat both Shaun Hutchinson and Jake Cooper, allowing the Irishman to poke the ball over the outstretched Archer.

Second-half substitutes Steve Morison, Shane Ferguson and Ben Thompson meant a much-improved showing for Millwall after the interval.

And it was the latter who fired past Declan Rudd from close range to make it 3-1 with just over 20 minutes still to play.

Thompson had another effort ruled out for offside late on with the result leaving the Lions now just four points above the relegation zone.

Key Points

Check out all the key talking points and reaction from London Football Scene below…

Key Moment

Preston’s early goal very much set the tone with Millwall unable to recover from that early blow.

Moan of the Match

Millwall couldn’t deal with Preston’s midfield as the extra man in the middle suffocated the Lions.

Talking Point

Should Shane Ferguson feel hard done by to be dropped after proving instrumental in Millwall’s win over Derby on Wednesday night?

Man of the Match

Tom Barkhuizen – a constant thorn in the side down Millwall’s left in the opening period and offered a pacey option on the break in the second.

Tweet of the Match

Referee Watch

Stephen Martin (Staffordshire) – seemed to get the vast majority of calls right.

Atmosphere

The North End fans were obviously delighted and made the noise to suit, whilst the Millwall fans were audibly frustrated.

Verdict

Millwall did well in the second period but the damage was done in the opening 45 minutes and Preston were deserved winners.

Line Ups

Millwall 4-4-2

Archer; Romeo, Hutchinson, Cooper, M. Wallace (Ferguson, 46); J. Wallace, Leonard (Thompson, 66), Williams, Marshall; Elliott (Morison, 46), Gregory

Subs not used:

Martin, Pearce, Onyedinma, O’Brien

Booked

Williams, J. Wallace

Preston North End 4-1-4-1

Rudd; Clarke, Storey, Davies, Hughes; Pearson; Barkhuizen (Johnson, 76), Browne, Gallagher (Nmecha, 72), Potts (Ledson, 90); Maguire

Subs not used:

Crowe, Earl, Rafferty, Stockley

Booked

Pearson

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