JED MASTER
MILLWALL 2 STOKE CITY 0 Wallace orchestrates Rowett dream start
MILLWALL STOKE 4 ........ Shots on Target ..........1 4 ........Shots off Target .........2 6 ................Corners .................2 10 .................Fouls.................. 18 0 ...............Offsides ................ 0 72.6 ..Passing Success ... 78.4 321 ........Total Passes.........481 40.3 .......Possession ........ 59.7 55.5 . Territorial Adv%...44.5
JED WALLACE conjured two moments of magic to deliver a winning start for new Millwall boss Gary Rowett.
Lions winger Wallace pinged in a pinpoint cross for Ben Thompson’s 28thminute opener.
He then won and scored the 75th- minute penalty which sealed the points against Rowett’s former club.
Wallace picked the ball up deep in his own half and beat two men before Badou Ndiaye brought him down as he surged into the box.
Rowett said: “It was a very good start. First half, the intensity, the front-foot attacking, the team also showed they can play a bit with the good movement.
“Jed is the one who can get you up the pitch, with that bit of pace which he showed for the second goal.
“It was a great run. The only thing that surprised me is that he had any energy at all to get up and take the penalty.”
Rowett was thrilled with the welcome he got from the Millwall fans and also thanked the away fans for giving him an easy ride in his first game back in football since being sacked by Stoke in January.
But that was down to the way that man-for-man Millwall dominated rather than any respect from the Potters supporters who were silenced after chanting “Gary Rowett your football is shit” after just two minutes.
It was a far from enjoyable experience for Rowett’s successor at Stoke, Nathan Jones.
He said: “It was extremely poor. We were out-battled, out-fought, out-worked.
“We seem to look surprised when they came out of the blocks and were on the front foot – when that was all we’ve worked on.”
Millwall won all the battles in the first half and Thompson struck when Wallace arrowed a cross to the penalty spot and he flashed in a sidefoot volley.
After the break, Stoke looked certain to level when Tom Ince’s cross fell to Lee Gregory six yards out.
But the former Millwall striker was denied a goal on his return to The Den when his off-balance shot skewed wide.
Just 15 minutes later the home fans were singing “Gregory, Gregory what’s the score” thanks to Wallace’s trickery.