The lowdown on Millwall 1 Middlesbrough 0 – Neghli winner comes at a cost as Lions surpass last season’s points total

Millwall recorded their fourth win in their last five Championship matches as Camiel Neghli’s second-half goal secured maximum points against Middlesbrough at The Den today.

Here is the lowdown on the match.

THE LINE-UPS

Millwall: Jensen, Leonard, Crama, Cooper, Bryan, De Norre (Saville 58), Mitchell, Honeyman (Neghli 57 (Harding 79)), Emakhu (Azeez 58), Cundle (Langstaff 46), Ivanovic. Subs not used: Clarke-Evans, Wintle, Drake, Matthews.
Middlesbrough: Travers, Dijksteel (Iheanacho 84), Howson, Van Den Berg, Iling-Junior, Hackney, Morris, Azaz, Burgzorg (McGree 66), Whittaker (Forss 66), Conway. Subs not used: Glover, Barlaser, Fry, Giles, Woolston, McCabe.

SNAPSHOT OF THE GAME
High drama at The Den. Nothing less than a victory was going to do if the Lions wanted to keep putting pressure on the clubs above them in the table and Neghli’s excellently-taken slotted finish in the second period was a super timely way to record his first goal after a club record move from Sparta Rotterdam in January. The second-half changes made by Alex Neil certainly gave the hosts something extra in their forward play. Credit also to Lukas Jensen for a pivotal stop late on to divert Marcus Forss’ powerful strike away for a corner.

TACTICAL APPROACH

Josh Coburn had to sit this one out due to Millwall facing his parent club and in the opening 45 minutes his absence was keenly felt – despite Mihailo Ivanovic’s best attempts in what turned into an isolated striker role. Macaulay Langstaff’s introduction at the start of the second half, replacing the ineffectual Luke Cundle, gave Boro a bit more to worry about as the hosts put a second frontman up top. It was a sapping match, evidenced by even Ryan Leonard cramping up in the closing stages, and Lions head coach Alex Neil freshened well with his changes – including George Saville coming on for Casper De Norre, who has featured in every match in all competitions this season.

STAR MAN

Tristan Crama. The Frenchman earned the match sponsors’ vote and I’ve got to agree with them. Did a really good job on Tommy Conway, including one perfectly-timed challenge on the edge of his own box in the first half.

BEST MOMENT

Neghli’s goal. The Den was not completely full today but the noise levels after his strike beat Mark Travers certainly made it feel like it was.

MOAN OF THE MATCH
The fact that Neghli is now set to miss the remainder of this season with the hamstring injury which forced him off after just 21 minutes of action. Neil admitted afterwards that the fact Millwall have to get victories to keep alive their top-six ambitions means that players are being thrust into the action despite not being totally conditioned for it.

A TALKING POINT DOWN THE PUB

I imagine there are some supporters who have already made summer holiday plans that might now need to be looked at. A few weeks back the play-offs did not look attainable but then four wins in their last six matches, form only bettered by Burnley, with 14 points, have left Millwall with something to play for. Those fifth and sixth positions in the table are up for grabs and there are five clubs that have a chance of filling them. The South Londoners have one point more than they managed in the whole of last season (59) with four fixtures remaining.

WHAT THE BOSS HAD TO SAY

“Setbacks, not playing well in the first half and things that go against us in games don’t seem to deter us and stop any momentum. We try to find the next solution, which we did. I’ve done the play-offs three times and managed to be successful each time, which means I’ve got vast experience of getting into them. We’ve got a lot of work to do, still chasing teams above us, which is tough.”

MAIN PICTURE: KEITH GILLARD