Alex Neil believes Millwall should beat Lincoln City on Saturday if his players reproduce their performance against Swansea City.
Ronald’s 90th-minute winner ended a three-match unbeaten run for our hosts, who had created several clear opportunities before being punished. City, meanwhile, head to a sold-out Den looking to respond to Wednesday’s 6-0 defeat against West Ham United.
Speaking to Southwark News, Neil outlined his expectations for the weekend. His confidence rested on Millwall maintaining their performance levels while improving their work in front of goal.
“If we play like we did this evening, I would expect us to win the game. I thought it was a good performance.
“But it’s like anything else. The game’s decided in both boxes, isn’t it? Ultimately, we can play as well as we want between both boxes, but we need to take our chances when the chances arise.”
Both sides therefore approach Saturday seeking a response, albeit after very different midweek experiences. While our contest was shaped by two early dismissals, Millwall remained in theirs until the closing stages.
“The timing of goals changes games, and obviously we didn’t take our opportunities, which always gives them an opportunity to come back into it. Then unfortunately, we got hit with a bit of a sucker punch at the end.
“I’m not suggesting that Swansea were poor or didn’t have opportunities because they did, but we had nearly all of ours prior to theirs, and we didn’t take any of them. If you don’t take any of them, you’re always going to leave yourself susceptible.”
Injuries have complicated Millwall’s start to the campaign, with former Imp Lukas Jensen among those sidelined. Neil still has decisions to make over his available personnel as the Lions prepare for a quick turnaround.
“The process now is that the lads will be off tomorrow to rest. We’ve got a two-day build-up. We’ll see who’s available, see who’s fit, see who’s ready, and then we’ll pick the best team we can to go and try and beat Lincoln. We’ll do a two-day preparation for it, and then it’s a big game for us.”
There is encouragement for City in Millwall’s home defeat against Wrexham earlier in the season, while our away victories have already shown we can compete on our travels. After Wednesday’s difficult evening, we could certainly do with another performance to underline that.
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