Potters’ Bera merry Xmas
toil, not to mention a halftime chorus of boos for the Potters, before Millwall’s resistance was broken.
Tom Ince scampered down the right, swung in the first meaningful cross of the afternoon and there was Berahino in space to head home.
Until that point, the best chance of the afternoon had come within a whisker of being a spectacular own goal.
Skipper Ryan Shawcross owes team-mate Jack Butland after the keeper’s instinctive save prevented the defender’s sliced clearance finding the net in the opening minutes.
It turned out to be the highlight of the first 60 minutes. Erik Pieters scudded a long-range effort wide, James Mcclean’s effort was blocked and Joe Allen saw a shot cleared.
A glance at the League table shows the different challenges facing these teams, yet there was little to choose between the sides.
Jake Cooper should have been on target with a header from Shane Ferguson’s corner, there was a penalty appeal for a Martins Indi foul on Lee Gregory and sub Steve Morison saw an effort dribble wide.
Millwall boss Neil Harris said: “It was a strong performance and we should have got something from the game. It was a penalty. I have watched from two different angles, Lee does not take his eye off the ball and the defender (Martins Indi) goes into the back of him.”