MILLWALL boss Alex Neil lauded his players after they took Premier League side Crystal Palace to penalties in the EFL Cup Third Round tie, where they lost 4-2 in the shoot-out, labelling it a “Millwall performance”.
A much-rotated Lions side took the game to their south London rivals from the start despite playing an unfamiliar system, and matched the top-flight side in intensity and chances created.
Camiel Neghli was put through on goal early in the first half but put his effort just wide, while Josh Coburn missed from yards out in the second.
As legs tired, the Eagles started to stamp their authority on the game, with Jean-Phillipe Mateta having an effort cleared off the line by Caleb Taylor, who impressed in his first Millwall start. From the resulting corner, Christantus Uche nodded the ball down for Mateta, who flicked it forward and Chris Richards reacted first to slam the ball into the net.
The Lions reacted well, buoyed on by a triple change, all of whom contributed to the goal. Aidomo Emakhu won the corner that Jack Howland whipped onto Ryan Leonard’s head at the front post, who glanced it into the net.
Mateta had the opportunity to score a late winner when Daniel Munoz cut the ball back to him in the box, but the French striker got his feet wrong and skewed the ball wide.
The Eagles ultimately triumphed in the shoot-out, with Mateta, Richards, Justin Devenny, and Daichi Kamada converting, while Tristan Crama and Emakhu had their efforts saved – with Ryan Leonard and Wes Harding scoring theirs. Neil told MillwallTV afterwards that Josh Coburn was due to take the fifth.
Regardless of the loss, Neil was delighted with his side’s display at Selhurst Park.
“I was proud of the performance in general,” Neil said. “I thought our performance levels were excellent. Throughout the game, I thought we were very good.
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“The first probably four or five minutes were a little bit passive. They cut inside and had a shot from distance, and Steven [Benda] parried it.
“Then I thought from there, we grew more and more in confidence.
“I think what we need to realise is, we made eight changes tonight. We lost our goalkeeper in the warm-up. We lost Dan Kelly after twenty minutes of the game.
“We’ve drilled all these lads, a lot of them very young, in one day in a different shape in terms of how to play against top Premier League opponents. So for them to take all that on board, and all those setbacks along the way, and put that level of performance in, I thought was terrific. I was really pleased with them.
“That performance tonight was a Millwall performance. It was gritty, it was determined. It was running. It was tackling. It was aggression. When a few things went against us, we didn’t stop and kept going. So all of those bits, I was extremely proud of the team.
“The frustrating thing for us is, we didn’t manage to go through.”
Asked by NewsAtDen if he was pleased with how his side bounced back after a disappointing first-half performance against Charlton Athletic last Saturday, September 13, Neil said: “You can see Palace’s team, they were really strong. I know they made a few changes to the team as well, but I don’t think it was as much as us.
“What I was really pleased with was: I thought at times we pressed the ball brilliantly and turned the ball over. At times, our use of the ball was very good, and we managed to play through Palace, create a couple of chances, which was good.
“So in the balance of the game, I was really pleased. You could see at the end, we were dead on our feet.
“But like Saturday, we kept going, we didn’t give in. We’ll always try and push and get that next goal.
“I thought for their efforts, they deserved that goal. They deserved to take it to penalties.
“Then from there, you’re just hoping that it’s our night, and then maybe the goalkeeper can make a save or two, and all the lads are confident and can stick the ball away.”
