Millwall

Image source, Rex Features

Alex Neil was frustrated his Millwall side were unable to showcase their improvement against Premier League opposition after the early red card against Crystal Palace.

Lions keeper Liam Roberts was dismissed for his high challenge on Jean-Philippe Mateta just eight minutes into the FA Cup fifth round tie at Selhurst Park.

Millwall went into the tie having lost just one of their last nine games in all competitions but were beaten 3-1 with Wes Harding's goal deep into first-half injury time, which briefly restored hope, proving merely a consolation.

"Coming here with 11 men is a difficult task, given the form they have been in, we've basically played the whole game with 10 men which is really tough," Neil told BBC Radio London.

"There's natural frustration because I wanted to come here and show what we were capable of. Naturally that changed when we had a man sent-off.

"We don't really know how it would have panned out. We couldn't give a full flavour of how we have been playing of late.

"The goals we conceded was probably my biggest frustration. One is an own goal, we just need to clear our lines, we don't do it properly, it ends up in the net, the second we don't get a clearance right, it lands to their player and ends up in the net.

"We got a goal which gives us a bit of a lifeline, half-time gave me an opportunity to change the shape a bit, it made us much more compact, better, harder to break down, but the third goal is a set-play. It took the game away from us."

Mateta has since been released from hospital after treatment for a head injury and Neil insisted the whole club wished the French forward well with his recovery.

"I'm not suggesting the tackle wasn't a bad one," he added. "Liam's come out, he's mistimed a challenge, if he's caught the lad he deserves to be sent-off, we accept that.

"I am not accepting anybody suggesting Liam has tried to hurt the player. We're five minutes into the game, we're trying to win the game.

"I hope the lad is fine, I hope he comes back if it's a serious injury, we wish him the best. For anyone to suggest Liam would intentionally hurt him is way off the mark for me.

"Liam said he hit the ball. It's hard to stop that momentum when you're rushing out. He'll be disappointed he's injured. There was certainly not any malice or intention on his part to hurt a player."

Nick Hart
Fan writer

Image source, Rex Features

The 19th century politician Thomas Babington Macaulay once claimed that he knew "no more ridiculous a spectacle than the British public in one of its periodic fits of morality".

And after Saturday's lunchtime FA Cup game between Millwall and dear neighbours Crystal Palace, I know exactly what old Macca meant.

Move over Professor Moriarty, Ernst Stavro Blofeld and Darth Vader, there's a new super-villain in town by the name of Lions goalkeeper Liam Roberts, whose fifth-minute attempted clearance led to Palace striker Jean-Philippe Mateta needing hospital treatment.

A game changing red card for Millwall.

Let me state for the record that from the angle of the away section, it was very hard to tell much at all about the incident.

Upon seeing the TV coverage later and despite Liam getting the ball, yes, I thought it was a very poor challenge - crucially one that lacked malice though.

As ever the social media and pundit world has lost its collective marbles, as Roberts has been demonised across the weekend and now on into the slow Monday news cycle.

For reasons that are beyond me, Palace chairman Steve Parish was interviewed live on the pitch at half-time, claiming that it was the worst tackle he'd ever seen - and every talk show or social media pundit has gleefully joined the pile-on.

Just to repeat, the challenge was poor and very regrettable, but as Lions manager Alex Neil said post-match, the kind of accidental impact that sometimes happens on the field.

As for the football, I always thought that this would be a tough away game for us.

I thought Palace attacked us well in the first half and we struggled to contain their side, which looked decent going forwards.

I, for one, wish Mateta well in his recovery.

Find more from Nick Hart at Achtung! Millwall, external.

Millwall return to Championship action on Tuesday (19:45 GMT) as Bristol City visit The Den.

Alex Neil's side have collected 14 points from their past seven games and could close the gap on the play-off places to four points with a win.

The Robins sit three places higher in 9th and could go level on points with sixth-placed West Bromwich Albion if they can end their away-day hoodoo - their last road win came at Norwich on 9 November.

• Millwall have lost just one of their past five home league meetings with Bristol City (W2 D2), though that sole defeat did come last season in their opening home fixture of the Championship season (0-1).

• After beating Millwall 4-3 in the reverse fixture in August, Bristol City will be looking to complete a first league double over the Lions since the 2011-12 season.

• Millwall have won four of their past seven league games (D2 L1), this following a run of just one win in their 13 matches prior (D6 L6).

• Bristol City have failed to win each of their last nine away league games (D5 L4), drawing each of the last three; the Robins haven't drawn four straight on the road since New Year's Day 2007, the last of which came in East London against Leyton Orient.

• Bristol City striker Nahki Wells scored five goals in six league appearances against Millwall during his time at Huddersfield and QPR, but has since failed to score in all eight of his league outings against the Lions for the Robins.

Nick Mashiter
BBC Sport football news reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Millwall goalkeeper could face further punishment for his horror challenge on Jean-Philippe Mateta.

Crystal Palace striker Mateta was taken to hospital after being kicked in the head by Roberts in the eighth minute of Palace's 3-1 FA Cup fifth-round win on Saturday.

Roberts was sent off after a VAR review, with the footage showing he kicked the side of Mateta's head, having dashed from his line to clear the ball. Play was initially allowed to carry on by referee Michael Oliver.

The 27-year-old forward was treated on the pitch and given oxygen before being taken to an ambulance. He needed 25 stitches for a severe laceration to his left ear.

The Football Association could now look into the challenge if it deems the red card - with Roberts now suspended for three games - to be insufficient punishment.

If the FA thinks a dismissal offence is "truly exceptional", it can seek to increase the sanction by submitting a claim to a regulatory commission.

They have until 13:00 GMT on Tuesday to do this and submit evidence to the Lions, with the Championship side then having a further two days - until 18:00 on Thursday - to respond and provide any evidence supporting their case the red card was "clearly sufficient".

The regulatory commission would then hear the case and decide Roberts' new punishment if any FA claim is successful.

Mateta posted on social media on Saturday: "I'm doing well. I hope to be back very soon and stronger than ever. Well done guys for the great job today."

Nick Hart
Fan writer

Image source, Rex Features

You can't beat a late, late away winning goal can you?

Especially if, like Millwall's Josh Coburn, you'd earlier made a hash of an 83rd minute penalty with a half-hearted effort so weak as to resemble a cup of tea made with a third-time around teabag.

When you're in the relegation mire like Derby County, the only luck that you get is the bad variety as the Rams hit the underside of the Millwall crossbar via Femi Azeez's head on 62 minutes.

Overall, this was a drab game of very little incident that would be settled five minutes into an added eight, thanks to a very effective run and cross by young Millwall striker Aidomo Emakhu.

His ball into the Rams' six-yard box found its way to Coburn, via a point-blank block by Derby keeper Jacob Widell Zetterstrom, and he despatched it with the kind of glee that a condemned man might show if his gallows had jammed at the moment of decision.

Watching on TV, my two cats were propelled from their soporific half-sleep, straight out of the window in fright, as I let out a loud "YES!" roar of approval.

Truly the Gods of football have a deep sense of humour however, as this win leaves Millwall six points away from the play-off zone, just a few days after most of us had written the Lions' chances off following a loss and two successive draws.

Like I say, you can't beat a late, late winner...

Find more from Nick Hart at Achtung! Millwall, external.

Image source, Rex Features

Millwall boss Alex Neil says his side's injury-time winner at Derby just minutes after missing a penalty was all down to their tough mental resilience.

Since losing his first game in charge, on New Year's Day, Millwall have lost just twice in 12 games - and this latest victory moved them four places up to 10th, still within only six points of a play-off place.

"The discussion point before the game was 'Don't let this season drift'," Neil told BBC Radio London.

"We always knew it was going to be tough. It was John Eustace's first home game and, given where Derby are in the league, we knew we had to go about our work.

"But we're at that stage where you look at the fixtures and think 'That's a big one' and we don't want to be any different. The last thing we want is for people looking at our games thinking 'That's a dead rubber'."

In the end, the points came after Josh Coburn had his spot-kick saved by Jacob Widell Zetterstrom but then netted in the fifth minute of added time, scoring from the rebound after Zetterstrom had saved from George Saville.

Neil said: "The ball landed to Josh, he tucked it away and it's a good moment for him. But it was no more than we deserved. We were the team pushing to try and get the goal.

"It shows the resilience of the group. The moment's gone, but it's a case of 'Don't feel sorry for yourself', get on with it.

"We want to be in contention and make sure there's something for us to fight for and the only way to do that is to win more points."

What a task new Derby boss John Eustace has on his hands. The new Rams boss saw his side thrashed 4-0 at QPR in his first game in charge and consequently saw his side drop into the Championship relegation zone.

Eustace said after the game that he "learned a lot about the group" after that game and it will be interesting to see how his team reacts after spending a week with them on the training pitch.

They go into this game on a run of no wins in their past 11 games in all competitions.

It's no win in three for Millwall who missed the chance to close the gap on the play-off places in their last outing after their 1-1 draw at Preston.

That was their second consecutive draw with the Lions 14th and six points adrift of the play-off positions.

• Derby County have failed to win any of their last four league games against Millwall (D2 L2), last enduring a longer winless run against the Lions between 1992 and 1994 (six games).

• Millwall have won each of their last four away league games against Derby County since 2019, winning by a one-goal margin in each of those matches.

• Derby County have gone 10 Championship games without a win (D2 L8) since beating West Brom on Boxing Day. The Rams last had a longer winless league run between October and December 2020 (11 games).

• Millwall boss Alex Neil has lost six of his 10 Championship meetings with Derby, though this will be his first since a 1-0 win on Boxing Day in 2020 as Preston manager.

• Derby haven't scored a single goal in any of their last five home league games. The Rams have never previously gone six in a row without a goal on home soil, with this their 2,559th home game in the Football League.

Image source, Rex Features

Millwall manager Alex Neil spoke to BBC Radio London following their 1-1 draw at Preston.

"It was a tough match, they have a really strong record at home and have lost one in 15, but it was a strange game in that we looked more dangerous when they had their best spells," he said.

"We hit the bar with a header and then had a great free kick that ends up in the back of the net.

"It was relatively even in terms of opportunities but they dominated the ball and were the team that controlled the game in that sense.

"Their goal was an opportune moment where Riis has smashed it from 25 yards, a great finish and it ends in the back of the net.

"We can play better but a point is not to be sniffed at coming here."

Nick Hart
Fan writer

Image source, PA Media

Sloppy defending allowed West Bromwich Albion back into Saturday's match, after Jake Cooper's excellent downward header on 19 minutes had put the Lions deservedly ahead.

Spare a thought for poor Joe Bryan - two own goals in a week surely merits some kind of scoring bonus? Ok, maybe not...

After the half-time break however, Millwall really turned the heat up on the Baggies - unfortunately without ever quite boiling over into a goal.

With the number of chances created, head coach Alex Neil must have expected one to have gone into the Albion net.

But some heroic goalkeeping by Joe Wildsmith kept the scoreline even, he was surely West Brom's player of the match.

Still a point is a point and this game was underpinned with a strong sense of relief that the shambles of that 5-1 loss at Plymouth wasn't repeated.

"Be grateful for small mercies" has always been my motto following the Lions, alongside "manage your expectation" and "don't sit beneath where the pigeons perch".

Saturday saw the home debut of club record signing Camiel Neghli - and I have to say that he looks to be some player. Alongside Femi Azeez, our attack from the wings looks to be a real threat.

I wondered how we might replace the departed Romaine Esse, but these talents certainly each look the part...

Find more from Nick Hart at Achtung! Millwall, external.

In-form Preston, in 15th, welcome 14th-placed Millwall on Tuesday (19:45 GMT) with the Lilywhites hoping to extend their unbeaten home league run to 11 games.

Paul Heckingbottom's side picked up a point against Lancashire rivals Burnley in a stalemate at Deepdale last time out on Saturday.

The Lions also go into the game on the back of a draw after being forced to settle for 1-1 at home to West Brom on the same day.

With both sides on 41 points, victory for either side would move them to within four points of the play-off places.

• Preston North End are winless in their last 11 league encounters with Millwall (D4 L7), including a 3-1 defeat in the reverse fixture in September.

• Millwall haven't lost an away league game at Preston since a 3-2 defeat in December 2018, winning on three of their five trips since (D2)

• Preston have only won one of their last 12 Championship games against London clubs (D3 L8), a 2-0 win at QPR in April 2023.

• Millwall have won two of their last three away league games, although lost their last 5-1 at Plymouth – the first time they had shipped 5+ goals in an away game in the Championship since May 2021 at Coventry (1-6).

• Millwall manager Alex Neil has lost three of his four previous league meetings against former side Preston as a manager, though did win his only such trip to Deepdale with Stoke City in October 2022 (2-0).