MURRAY Wallace deserves all the “adulation” he gets, according to his manager Neil Harris.
Defender Wallace was once again the Lions’ FA Cup hero with a second consecutive winner in the competition, this time his early goal at Kingsmeadow enough to see off AFC Wimbledon.
Wallace scored a 94th-minute winner against Everton at The Den in the fourth round, and powered home a header against the Dons from Ryan Leonard’s cross to send his side into the last eight.
“First and foremost he’s a wonderful fella and he’s a top, top professional,” Harris said. “He leaves no stone unturned, the way he lives his life, the way he conducts himself around the training ground.
“He’s a player up there with a few others that deserve that, deserve the adulation and the attention. He goes about his business, quietly at times, but when I said to the players before the game we need a hero, someone to step up and be a match-winner, he’s done it for us today.”
Millwall striker Tom Elliott made his comeback from a shoulder injury when he came on for Aiden O’Brien in the second half.
Harris said: “Tom gives us a platform to get up the pitch, as does Stevie Morison. We went a slightly different route, Aiden O’Brien’s got lovely touches and clever play, but it didn’t quite happen for him today on such a tight pitch.
“I just thought Tom might be key for the last half hour. He’s had a viral infection for the last 10 days and wasn’t able to be involved. To get him back on the pitch was big for us.”
Harris revealed after the game that Shaun Hutchinson has been struggling with a neck injury recently. Alex Pearce started in the centre of defence.
“Pearcy is a class pro, a class fella,” Harris said. “We could have gone with Hutch but he’s been struggling with an injury for the past few weeks. He wanted to play.
“But with the mentality needed, the first contacts, the leadership qualities we needed today, I thought it was a perfect game for Pearcey.”
Image: Millwall FC