MIGHTY MORISON – PRIDE OF LIONS
MILLWALL manager Neil Harris praised his side’s defensive efforts as the Lions earned their first away victory of the season against Chesterfield.
The visitors had come close to an impressive win at MK Dons before letting a two-goal lead slip a fortnight ago but there was never any doubt of history repeating itself at the Proact stadium.
And while they missed out on a clean heet, Harris was delighted with how his side kept Ched Evans and the Spireites attackers quiet.
“At this level, Ched Evans is just about the best centre-forward you’ll come across so I’m delighted with how my defenders dealt with him. We were gutted not to get ourselves a clean sheet,” Harris said.
“I wanted to see whether my players had a reaction after we conceded five at Peterborough and I thought they answered that in the first 45 minutes. We had a brilliant away record in the league last year and I’ll be expecting many more away victories.”
Harris also quashed rumours that striker Lee Gregory will be moving away from the Den, insisting that injury was the reason he wasn’t involved at Chesterfield.
“Lee Gregory wasn’t ready for today and he won’t be playing on Tuesday but we’re hopeful he’ll be fit for next Saturday,” said Harris.
Shaun Williams was denied a second wondergoal in a week as his first-minute half-volley rebounded off the bar. The visitors took the lead in an entertaining opening 15 minutes with Shane Ferguson’s strike finding the bottom corner despite Ryan Fulton getting a hand to it.
And Millwall didn’t have to wait long for their second goal as Steve Morison finished past Fulton after a Dion Donohue misplaced backpass gifted the Lions possession. And Morison was celebrating his second and Millwall’s third minutes later as he spotted Fulton in no man’s land and lobbed into an empty net.
It felt like Chesterfield had to score early into the second period to salvage any chance of maintaining their unbeaten home record but Ian Evatt fired wide from inside the box.
Sam Hird prevailed where his centreback partner Evatt couldn’t midway through the second half, heading home from close range.
The unusually quiet Evans had a deflected free-kick cleared with ten minutes to go but their attacking efforts did little to appease a disappointed Chesterfield manager in Danny Wilson.
“We’re getting plaudits for our attacking work but we have to be better defensively. We didn’t look like we were going to get a clean sheet,” Wilson said.
“The manner in which we conceded those goals was amateurish. When you give away soft goals like that you’ve got no chance against a team of Millwall’s experience.
“I wish Steve Morison was playing for us. He’s an experienced player and he showed exactly how to lead the line.”