SPIRITED Millwall were dumped out of the FA Cup in the third-round stage for the third year running after losing 3-2 to Leicester City.
The Lions had been on such a positive run recently that there was genuine belief their momentum – combined with the famously chaotic nature of the FA Cup – may allow them to put one over the Championship leaders, who were unbeaten in 11 games.
But it wasn’t to be as the Foxes overcame plenty of pressure and scored at crucial moments to register a second 3-2 win over Millwall in the space of 25 days. Millwall were unbeaten between the two losses.
Cesare Casadei headed home after 15 minutes despite a strong Millwall start before Ricardo Pereira made it two before half-time.
Feeling hard done by the scoreline, Millwall came out fighting in the second half and were briefly back in the game thanks to Duncan Watmore.
Thomas Cannon seemed to have killed The Den revival after an hour before a late goal by Zian Flemming five minutes from time made it seem like a stunning comeback may well be back on the cards.
But it wasn’t too be and Millwall can only comfort themselves with the manner of their performance where they made Leicester uncomfortable for 90 minutes, albeit a Leicester side missing many of their best players through injury or rotation.
The stage was set for a cup upset but signs that it would not be Millwall’s day came when Leicester struck after 16 minutes with their first chance.
After a slow start the Foxes switched it on for a few minutes, won the ball back in the middle and shifted it to Albrighton. The 34-year-old had barely played in the league all season but has lost none of his crossing ability as he swept a bending ball to the back post. Casadei beat Ryan Leonard to a header and Leicester were ahead.
The goal had come in the middle of a really bright opening 30 minutes from the hosts that saw them get in behind a handful of times.
Duncan Watmore was involved in plenty of what Millwall did well with the 29-year-old a live wire throughout the game.
He forced the first save out of Jakub Stolarczyk before playing in McNamara who made the Polish keeper make a similar stop at his near post.
That was just two moments of the Lions threatening a Leicester defence that looked a touch too open with inverted full-back Ricardo Pereira popping up where he wished.
This proved to be a problem after 39 minutes when the Portuguese full-back finished off a great team move. The 30-year-old was involved in the quick-passing movement before getting the ball back and slotting it home.
Millwall had been chasing an equaliser with Jake Cooper having two headers at goal and Leonard having a cross deflected just past the post. But having been the better side for the whole half, they had to retreat to the dressing room two goals down and without Leonard, who went off injured shortly after the second goal.
McNamara slotted into the back three and Leonard’s replacement, Ryan Longman, helped Millwall start the second half strongly as he joined Watmore in running at and in behind a vulnerable-looking Leicester defence.
After a double save by Matija Sarkic that stopped Leicester from killing the game off after 53 minutes, Millwall got back one back. A George Honeyman corner was flicked on by Flemming and then nudged home with an instinctive close-range finish from Watmore to make it 2-1.
Suddenly the sticks from the Norwich game were back on the fire as excitement rippled around The Den that a famous comeback was underway.
But after McNamara made a second crucial intervention of the day as he hooked the ball away from Casadei on the edge of the box, Leicester pounced again. They took advantage of Millwall committing bodies forward to sent a long ball over the top after the hour mark.
Cannon, who scored his first goals for Leicester on New Year’s Day, proved too fast for Sarkic. The 21-year-old confidently took the ball past the onrushing keeper and slipped it into the empty net to make it 3-1.
With The Den at a reduced capacity and the top tiers of the Dockers Stand and Cold Blow Lane closed, that goal seemed to kill the final bit of confidence from the crowd that a comeback was on.
But Millwall kept fighting and Flemming converted from a corner with a smart finish with five minutes to go.
Flemming almost became the FA Cup hero after Joe Bryan, who had another energetic performance, won a free-kick on the edge of the box. Flemming swept a low effort inches past the post in a heart-stopping moment and it would be the last chance Millwall would have.
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Millwall: 3-4-3: Sarkic; Leonard (Longman 42′), Harding, Cooper (c); McNamara, Mitchell, Honeyman, Bryan; Watmore (Esse 77′), Flemming, Nisbet (Bradshaw 67′).
Leicester: 4-2-3-1: Stolarczyk; Pereira (c), Coady, Doyle, Choudhury; Casadei, Marcal; Albrighton, Akgun (Dewsbury-Hall 72′), Marcal (Maswanhise 77′); Cannon.
Referee: Oliver Langford
Attendance: 10,092 (2,967 away)