Millwall vs Queens Park Rangers. Sky Bet Championship.
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Friday 29 December 2017 22:59, UK
Steve Morison's long-awaited first goal of the season saw Millwall earn a 1-0 win over London rivals QPR in the Sky Bet Championship on Friday.
The 34-year-old striker looks set to enter the New Year with renewed vigour after his second-half header saw Neil Harris' side successfully build on their fine Boxing Day draw with Sky Bet Championship pace-setters Wolves.
The first sight of goal fell to Millwall winger Aiden O'Brien, who stabbed over the bar from the edge of the six-yard box, and soon afterwards visiting defender Grant Hall survived handball shouts from the stands after he blocked Lee Gregory's attempted cutback in the area.
Morison failed to get the required power on an O'Brien cross as Millwall continued to exert early pressure, while at the other end QPR wing-back Pawel Wszolek volleyed well wide after the Lions part-cleared a Jake Bidwell set-piece from the left flank.
That summed up the first quarter of a contest lacking any real decisive quality, with veteran frontman Morison fluffing his lines when he met a delicately floated right-wing cross in the 27th minute.
The impressive George Saville forced Alex Smithies into a reaction save with his follow-up, and in a flash Millwall's Gregory found space to turn in the area and let fly but his snap-shot was knocked away by a despairing Hall.
Having fully awoken from their slumber, the Lions bared their teeth again as Jed Wallace slipped away from his marker and fired into the side-netting. Then, with 35 minutes played, QPR defender Alex Baptiste picked out Bidwell with an inch-perfect delivery from the right wing but Jordan Archer was equal to his header.
Archer also had to be alert to gather a glancing header from Luke Freeman early in the second period, the wily midfielder redirecting Jordan Cousins' cross.
Millwall skipper Morison atoned for his earlier miss when he made the 55th-minute breakthrough, the former Norwich man straining his neck to power home Wallace's inviting right-wing delivery.
A misjudged defensive header from Nedum Onuoha almost gifted the Lions a second in a flash, with Smithies forced to charge off his line to stand up to the onrushing Gregory.
With time running out, QPR substitute Matt Smith met a Freeman corner but saw his header drop just wide.
Neil Harris: "There was an added spice about the game because of Ollie (Ian Holloway) coming back to his old club, so the atmosphere was generated off that. I thought it was a brilliant atmosphere. QPR certainly played their part on and off the pitch with their fans.
"I said at half-time that it was going to be decided by a mistake or a moment of quality, or it's going to peter out to a 0-0, and that moment of quality was delivered by Jed Wallace and Stevie Morison doing what he's done best over the years."
Ian Holloway: "They took a chance and we missed ours. It was a pretty robust game from both teams, not that many chances, so it was all down to who could take one and I'm sure Stevie Morison will be delighted. I don't feel quite the same, as you might guess.
"We couldn't dent them or the crowd. It was all about that first goal and they got it, we didn't, and after that we huffed and puffed. Neil's got them going well. They're brilliant at home at the minute, so well done."
