O’SHEA DELIVERS ‘PERFECT’ DISPLAY
JAY O’Shea sealed all three points at The Den and Chesterfield manager Dean Saunders was left beaming by the perfect away performance.
O’Shea struck a stunning 17th-minute opener with a powerful volley and then wrapped up the points with a deflected effort deep into stoppage time.
That lifted the Spireites into the top six but Saunders admitted there were one or two nervy moments before O’Shea put the game to bed.
He said: “Jay O’Shea is playing great and is hard to stop at the minute.
“It was the perfect away performance.We played really well.We can’t play much better than that first half.
“Fair play to Millwall, they’ve then had a right go at us and Tommy Lee has got us out of trouble a couple of times.
“We’ve missed the chances to put the game to bed as well but it is a great win for us. It is a clean sheet and on we go. First half they couldn’t get near us but second half they did.”
O’Shea volleyed home from the edge of the area superb style on 17 minutes, with the ball going in off the far post as Jordan Archer looked on.
The Lions had Archer to thank five minutes before the break after Ben Thompson was brushed off the ball, allowing Sam Morsy to burst through on goal, only to be denied by a good save from the keeper.
Mark Beevers made a vital interception to stop Sylvan Ebanks-Blake doubling his side’s advantage ten minutes into the second half.
O’Shea squandered a glorious chance to grab his second midway through the half by firing weakly at Archer.
Then only a stunning one-handed Tommy Lee save kept out Jimmy Abdou’s deflected attempt as the hosts continued to push for an equaliser.
Substitute Paris Cowan-Hall saw an ambitious penalty shout ignored when he went to ground easily in the box.
Fred Onyedinma then looked certain to score for Millwall with two minutes remaining from close range but instead Lee was able to gather.
And Chesterfield wrapped it up with virtually the last kick deep into stoppage time, O’Shea’s shot taking a cruel deflection to consign Millwall to a third straight league defeat in front of their own fans.
Neil Harris accepted his charges began slowly but pointed out his struggling side were not getting the rub of the green.
He said: “It was an excellent strike for their first, a 25-yard shot from an angle on the volley is a good goal at any level.
“First half I thought we started OK and then their midfield dominated us possession wise. We adjusted after 35 minutes in the midfield and we got a foothold back in the game.
“We came in half-time, made the change going forward just to give us that little bit more of a link in the play and in the second half we were the much better team.
“What sums it up for me is Jimmy Abdou’s deflected shot is saved by the keeper going the wrong way.
“At the other end their deflected shot ends up in the back of the net.”