Murray Wallace gives Millwall the perfect Saturday night takeaway – and hopes right number comes up in quarter-final draw
BY RICHARD CAWLEY
Murray Wallace used to work in a Chinese restaurant as a teenager – but ensured it was Millwall who had the perfect takeaway on Saturday night.
The Lions defender headed home the winner against AFC Wimbledon in the FA Cup to put Neil Harris’ side into the sixth round for the second time in three years.
Wallace, 26, tasted success when he fired home the decider to knock Everton out last month. And he finished emphatically from Ryan Leonard’s cross in the fifth minute to knock out the Dons.
Millwall banked £360,000 in prize money from progressing – a whole lot more than the former Scunthorpe United, Falkirk and Huddersfield Town man used to earn at the Peking Village in Eaglesham, near Glasgow.
Wallace said: “When I was 14, it was just a bit of pocket money washing dishes – £20 and a free meal at the end of the night, so I can’t complain.”
Millwall were left hoping the right numbers came out of last night’s draw – with manager Harris stating the priority was being back at The Den.
And Wallace felt it was important for the Lions to stay grounded as they followed up dumping out Premier League opposition by facing a Dons side hopelessly marooned at the foot of the League One table.
“You’ve got try to focus, stick to the basics, focus on who you are up against and stick to that,” he said. “You can get carried away – you look at players and think he’s been signed for however many million. You need to focus.
“We played at home [against Everton] and in front of that sort of crowd at the Den – adrenalin’s going to go through the roof. But the incentive was still here, the quarter final of the FA Cup.
“After getting such a good result in the last round, and them [Wimbledon] getting such a big result as well, obviously the pressure’s on us to come here and win. We stood up to that well and were very composed and stuck to our game plan.
“It’s not very often I get to score the winner playing in defence. I’m delighted I’ve helped the team to another win.”
IMAGES BY BRIAN TONKS
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