Millwall vs Swansea City. Sky Bet Championship.
The DenAttendance12,470.
Report and free match highlights from the Sky Bet Championship match between Millwall and Swansea at The Den as goals from Charlie Cresswell and Andreas Voglsammer steered the Lions to victory on Tuesday night.
Tuesday 14 March 2023 23:08, UK
Millwall consolidated their position in the Sky Bet Championship play-off places by beating strugglers Swansea 2-1 in a game low on quality.
After a tame first half which saw both sides retain possession but lack a cutting edge in the final third, the game burst into life.
Charlie Cresswell poked home the opener before Andreas Voglsammer doubled Millwall's lead with his second in as many games.
In a breathless few minutes, Ryan Manning gave Swansea hope, deflecting a 20-yard strike from Matt Grimes past a wrong-footed George Long in the Millwall goal.
But Gary Rowett's side held on, the win moving them two points clear of Blackburn, who occupy the final play-off spot.
An uneventful opening 45 minutes was punctured only by the sounds of the frustrated home support as the visitors deployed an organised, patient off-the-ball approach.
The busy Olivier Ntcham drew a straightforward save out of Long before Ryan Leonard followed suit at the other end - though it was only in the final moments of the half the contest came to the boil.
Ntcham struck wide with Long stranded, Voglsammer then going up the other end to fire just over.
The contest finally got the breakthrough it needed when Cresswell took full advantage of indecision in the Swansea penalty area to break the deadlock.
Leonard's long throw caused mayhem in the six-yard box, Cresswell utilising the mass of bodies cleverly to guide the ball home past an unsighted Andy Fisher.
But Fisher was squarely at fault for Millwall's second, failing to deal with Voglsammer's scruffy attempt.
Zian Flemming and George Honeyman combined to find the German just outside the box and when he scuffed an effort towards goal, Fisher surprisingly failed to claim it cleanly.
Swansea's response was quick and they reduced the arrears within three minutes.
Matt Grimes' strike was goalbound but Manning made sure by sticking out a leg, the ball smacking off his studs before flying in past Long.
It clearly galvanised the Welsh outfit, as did the introduction of Morgan Whittaker.
The young winger was a livewire and a much-needed source of quality upon his introduction, bringing two excellent saves out of Long as his side chased the equaliser.
Swansea's top scorer, Joel Piroe, almost got on the end of the first save and as the game ticked into the five minutes of added-on time, Ntcham snatched at a chance when well set.
Martin's men have now won just once in their last 10 league games and are looking over their shoulders ahead of a home clash against Bristol City this weekend, followed by what may be a season-defining Welsh derby.
Milwall's Gary Rowett:
"Every time I've played Swansea in the last three or four years it's been exactly the same type of game. It's been frustrating, it's been hard to play against and low-key in terms of tackles and that little bit of physicality that we like. So, we found that tough in the first half. I made a change at half-time and decided I'd rather go up against them a little bit and take a bit of a gamble and lose the game that way if that was what we had to do.
"But we needed to get a little bit of life into the game and inject a bit of atmosphere into it. We scored two different types of goals. The first one, Cressy (Charlie Cresswell), with a lot of bodies, does really well to prod it home. And the second goal, it's great play by Zian (Flemming) to break free down the left-hand side and he plays a lovely little pass inside to George Honeyman, and he's aware enough to find Vogy (Andreas Voglsammer)."
Swansea's Russell Martin:
"I thought we played brilliantly tonight. I think we dominated the game pretty much in every facet; chances, more of the ball and limited them to very little really. (We were) undone by a long throw and a mistake, unfortunately. So, I'm really frustrated, really hurt but really proud of the way the players played.
"It's felt like the last couple of games have been slowly coming back to life and being us in terms of how we want the game to look and the courage they are being asked to show. Confidence has been building up, slowly but surely. It's not an easy place to come tonight at all. They have one of the best home forms in the league and I think they're fifth in the league now. So, I'm really pleased with the performance and I'm really disappointed with the result because I don't think it's what we deserved."
