[themaclad]

Preston North End 1 Riis Millwall 1 Ivanovic

It's a Tuesday night, it's cold and it's Millwall, didn't promise a classic and true to form it wasn't although we did break a long run of losing games against the Lions.
Four changes from Saturday, one other change teh pitch was in an even worse state not great for playing passing football.
Millwall resplendent in green kit, also add into the heady mix, the wonderful Mr Donohue whose dcision making can be questioned to be at best inconsistant, tonight for example first half they got every decision and in the second we got every decision.
Early save by their keeper form a Riis shot, we also looked a danger from corners had one cleared from the line and Porteous went close witha header.
Millwall kept getting free kicks just outside our penalty area, Bryan messed up the first two, the third which I didn't think was a free kic was curled in by Ivanovic passwed a static Woodman.
Luckily levelled just after the break, Gibson won a header, ball bounced ontowards Riis 25 yards out shot first time, goal.
From then on, only us semed to want to win although possibly may be doing a disservice to them. We huffed and puffed but didn't get down the flanks enough, half chance for Os which went narrowly over, Keane header saved and late on KKH fired narrowly wide.
Honours even, the figght for 14th still up for grabs onto Coventry

HECK

Paul Heckingbottom felt his team did enough to beat Millwall, although he saw it as a positive point.

North End drew 1-1 with the Lions at Deepdale, with Emil Riis’ 25-yard stunner cancelling out Mihailo Ivanović’s opener in the first half.

PNE created opportunities to take all three points, namely through Milutin Osmajić and Will Keane, however the winner couldn’t be found.



Hecky said: “I'm pleased with the point and pleased with the performance. It's a positive point because of how the game was panning out.

“We didn't lose our concentration. We didn't get frustrated. We did more than enough to win the game, but unfortunately we didn't. That's the only negative.

“They defend really, really well. They've won by the odd goal on the last few away trips. Barring that hiccup at Plymouth (a 5-1 defeat) where Alex Neil came out and said he didn't want to play that way anymore, and that he wanted to get back to the tough, really hard to play against Millwall, which had seen him get all those really close wins.

“We knew what we were playing against and that's why I'm pleased with how dominant we were in all aspects. We spoke about the composure, we spoke about remaining focused and patient, and then for us to fall behind to a free-kick, which wasn’t a free-kick as well, we could have lost all that composure and played into their hands.

“But we didn’t and we more than deserved the equaliser and I know I'll look back and I’ll be seeing a team that's done more than enough to win, but unfortunately we didn't.”


The draw against the Lions extended PNE’s impressive unbeaten record at Deepdale to 12 matches, with the last defeat coming against Bristol City in early November.

Hecky said: “It's a good record and probably today's game is something we spoke about after that Bristol City game. You look at their (Bristol City’s) first goal and it’s just total nonsense. And then they were a team who sat in and wanted to counter.

“Again, we were dominant with the ball. We were the better team, but we played into their hands a little bit on the counter. We spoke about that and rectified that and made sure of that, as we know, because of that record, that teams will come here and see that as a way to play.

“I’ve felt over the games since, we've remained really focused and disciplined and even though we’re sort of chasing to get that winner, we really focused on locking out behind the ball and making sure that if a team is intent on just coming to counter we can deal with it.”

Millwall manager Alex Neil told BBC Radio London:

"It was a tough match, they have a really strong record at home and have lost one in 15, but it was a strange game in that we looked more dangerous when they had their best spells.

"We hit the bar with a header and then had a great free kick that ends up in the back of the net.

"It was relatively even in terms of opportunities but they dominated the ball and were the team that controlled the game in that sense.

"Their goal was an opportune moment where Riis has smashed it from 25 yards, a great finish and it ends in the back of the net.

"We can play better but a point is not to be snuffed at coming here."