[themaclad]

https://www.fotmob.com/matches/preston-v...tab=lineup
Referee: Ben Toner

Attendance: 15,489 (1,668 Millwall fans)

Beaten by the better side and a result which probably means the end of season jamboree has been put to bed for another season.Impressed with them big Jake at the back and even bigger Josh up front gave us a hard time.
Decent start Potts effort straight at Patterson easy save but apart from that it was mainly one way, pressing game basically nulified us, they got the ball behind the back three and always had two men harrying the defender on the ball, decent back for promotion on this showing. Hit the post, took the lead when a half chance was put away by Leonard, his first goal in five and half years. Could have had a couple more before half time, effort from the left went narrowly across the face of the goal with Coburn narrowly failing to slide the ball home.
Must be the only club in the world not to notice a 6ft 5ins defender stealing in unmarked at the back post, Cooper shot was blocked.
Quieter in the second half, Millwall defnsively solid, every high ball won by Cooper, got slightly better for us when Brady came on for his first game since last May and heaven forbid we passed the ball on the ground and actually created a couple of chances, Lang's shot spiled by Patterson and a shot by Os was blocked by a defender, but after that brief spell Millwall took control and in injury time, Azeez down the right, passed a backtracking Hughes, ball to the back post and Cundle easy tap in, mass desertion form the home support, fair result , no complaints.

HECK

Paul Heckingbottom admitted that Preston North End were second best against Millwall at Deepdale.

The Lilywhites were defeated 2-0 by Alex Neil’s side, who took the lead in the first half through Ryan Leonard, before Luke Cundle struck again in stoppage time.

With Millwall entering the match third in the Championship, PNE’s manager admitted that he always knew his side was in for a tough match.

“We knew the pattern of the game,” stated Hecky. “We knew their strengths and what they're good at, and arguably best in the league at, and a difficult team to set up against, but we competed.

“I can have no complaints over the result, and likewise, I've got no complaints over the effort that we showed and the commitment we showed to it. But we had no surprises. We knew how difficult the game was going to be.

“We know how they're going to come and set up here. We know what their strengths are. They've done it throughout the season. I think they're the best in the league at that, so there were no surprises from it.

“Likewise, I've already seen some moments back in the game where the positions we're in, we had a lot of opportunities where we outnumbered them behind their midfield, or when we're getting delivery in the box or position to deliver, we outnumber them in the box. So, in those moments, a few more moments of quality or just sheer luck when you've got the spare bodies in the box dropping to you would have helped us.”


The 2025/26 Championship campaign has been tightly contested, with not much in the way of points separating teams throughout the table.

With this in mind, Hecky explained how North End can try to come out on the right side of those fine margins.

“Just be better, that's it,” said the manager. “There are clear patterns for us in the season and how it is, but everyone knows that as well.

“They're not going to allow us to do what we're really good at. And that always happens, so we have to find another way.”

Millwall boss Alex Neil told BBC Radio London:

"It certainly wasn't one for the football purists, the conditions and the pitch make it difficult to play, but in real contrast to the Birmingham game it was a very different challenge.

"I thought we stood up to it brilliantly. I thought we deserved the first goal, we should have scored before that, and we had two or three chances after that in the first half as well.

"In the second half it was always going to be a case of who got the next goal. To be fair to Preston, they threw everything at us but I thought we defended brilliantly."