MATCH VERDICT: Millwall 0 Wanderers 2
6:00pm Monday 20th February 2012 in Latest By Marc Iles
THE joy and excitement of an FA Cup run continues to be a most welcome distraction from the frustration of a fight against relegation.
It might be back to grim reality next weekend at Chelsea, but for 90 minutes, and free from the considerable pressure of life in the bottom three, Wanderers’ fans and players united in a good old fashioned cup win and another step on the way to Wembley.
This time last season, the Whites’ march towards the national stadium was set against the backdrop of relative over-achievement. We were still talking of a top-six finish and Owen Coyle was being feted as the bright young thing of Premier League management.
Fast forward a year and Coyle admits that the sheen has been taken off his reputation as he tries to juggle changes to the playing staff with the task of keeping Wanderers among the elite.
Add to that recent criticism of his tactics in the light of defeats to Norwich and Wigan, and there is little doubt that these are testing times.
With that in mind, the FA Cup could be viewed by some as an unwanted footnote in the grand scheme of things – but woe betide anyone who should mention such a thing to the manager, who is adamant his team can fight on both fronts.
This trip to Millwall looked just about as tricky as they come, but thanks to Ryo Miyaichi’s early strike and a deserved second from the hard-working David Ngog, the banana skin was well and truly avoided, setting up a quarter-final clash at either Tottenham Hotspur or Stevenage.
Before that hurdle can be negotiated, there are three more games to be played in the battle to beat the drop.
And given the pressured circumstances, two of the men who made their first start at The Den could be integral to what kind of mood exists around the place when Wanderers next pick up the cup baton.
Tim Ream has needed to show the patience of a saint in recent weeks as he waded through the red tape to be in a position to play after his £2.5million move from New York Red Bulls.
The defender will face tougher challenges against the likes of Daniel Sturridge and Sergio Aguero in the next fortnight, yet there was plenty of evidence on this outing to suggest he has the tools and temperament to be a real asset. Likewise Miyaichi, who belied his youthful looks by producing a mature display on the wing and taking his goal like a seasoned pro.
Neither Ream nor Miyaichi will have played in many arenas quite as hostile as they did on Saturday.
Fabrice Muamba described some of the terrace abuse as a “disgrace” in a post-match tweet and as an ex-Arsenal player, he joined Miyaichi and former West Ham midfielder Nigel Reo-Coker at the sharp end of the home fans’ ire. But while it was loud, savage even at times, it stayed within the bounds of football banter.
It was never going to be an easy ride for Wanderers but the start they made certainly diffused a lot of the danger.
While Miyaichi was rightly praised for the control and poise he showed for the opening goal, scored after just four minutes, due credit has to go to Sam Ricketts for showing the vision to release the youngster down the left with a quick free kick. Perfect start achieved, the game should have been killed off before half-time. Millwall struggled to cope with the high-tempo hustle of Ngog, Muamba, Reo-Coker and Co, and gave up possession regularly.
But while the Whites’ work off the ball was admirable, they failed to make their class tell when heading towards their opponent’s goal.
Notable exceptions were when Steve Mildenhall beat away a stinging shot from Tuncay and when Muamba picked the pocket of Ryan Smith before exchanging passes with Ngog and firing high over the bar.
Birthday boy Mark Davies was struggling to get into the game, while wide men Miyaichi and Tuncay tailed off by the end of the half.
It had descended into a bit of a scrap, not least between Lions defender Shane Lowry and Ngog, who were rarely more than an arm’s length away from each other.
The Londoners always looked dangerous from set pieces, but it was from a cross by Warren Feeney that they went closest – Gretar Steinsson’s skewed clearance going inches over the bar.
After the restart, another Scott Barron corner found skipper Paul Robinson, but the defender couldn’t get enough on his header.
Wanderers had been content to hit on the break and absorb the pressure, possibly in preparation for the forthcoming games at Chelsea and Manchester City.
The five-man midfield enables them to do just that, but with Ngog providing such a willing foil up front, the second goal summed up why the system also works going forward.
Muamba hunted down Lowry whose hurried clearance fell straight to Tuncay, and when the ball was played back to Ngog, the striker spun his marker and smashed his third goal of the season into the bottom corner from 25 yards.
From there on in, it was a case of protecting what Wanderers had. Bogdan led the way with a great double save from Harry Kane and Darius Henderson, unaware that the referee’s whistle had halted the game.
David Wheater, Steinsson and Ricketts looked infinitely more solid at the back than they had against Wigan a week earlier, and that was in no small part to the added insurance of Reo-Coker playing in front of them.
Ricketts might even have had the final say when he raided into Millwall territory and swept a shot narrowly wide from the edge of the box.
More than 1,000 Wanderers fans had made the trip, and sang joyfully that they were on their way to Wem-ber-ley, suggesting that they too might be living vicariously through the FA Cup after such a frustrating campaign.
After last season’s experience at Wembley, this run has the potential to repair such a lot of damage.
But it seems unlikely we will witness the scenes of unbridled joy that we did at St Andrew's last March if the Whites cannot do something about their league position in the next three weekends.
The FA Cup can be an escape, but you can’t escape the fact that safety is paramount.
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