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Millwall manager Kenny Jackett hails performances against Championship top two after 3-2 FA Cup turnaround against Southampton
The Lions boss was enthused by consecutive showings against first-placed West Ham and the Saints after Liam Feeney's excellent stoppage-time goal sealed a fifth-round berth
7 Feb 2012 23:18:00
By George Ankers at St Mary's Stadium
Getty Images
Millwall manager Kenny Jackett has hailed his side’s back-to-back performances against the top two teams in the Championship after the Lions pulled off a late victory away at Southampton in their FA Cup fourth-round replay.
Following a 2-1 league loss to West Ham on Saturday that he felt was unlucky for his team, Jackett watched as substitute Liam Feeney capped a comeback from a 2-1 deficit with a stunning stoppage-time winner to set up a home fifth-round tie against Bolton.
“We didn’t get the rub of the green against West Ham but the players can take some confidence from the way that we’ve just played against the top two sides in the division,” he told reporters after the game at St Mary’s Stadium.
“[It was] an excellent game tonight, we’ve played our part, scored three terrific goals and we really do hope that we can take this type of confidence into the league.
“We caused them a lot of problems. Both sides went for it – from a neutral’s point of view, I’m sure it was an excellent game.
“We showed good spirit, we showed a lot of quality on the ball and scored very good goals – and if we can do that against a side that has been as successful as Southampton, we can take that bit of confidence that you need from that win and add that into our league form.
“You don’t get given confidence, you have to earn it. We’ve got to keep working as hard as we did tonight and the confidence will follow.”
Millwall are currently in 21st position in the second tier of English football, five points clear of the relegation zone but having played one game more than Doncaster and Nottingham Forest, and Jackett admitted that he would not be getting carried away by a cup run.
“At the moment, our priority is staying up,” the 50-year-old boss conceded.
“The FA Cup can – hopefully, tonight – breed some confidence in the players and then the next round can bring in some much-needed revenue to what is one of the smaller clubs in the division.”
Liam Trotter had taken the early lead for Millwall before Adam Lallana and Rickie Lambert scored for the hosts, but Dany N’Guessan’s header followed by Feeney’s fine strike sealed the win.
Saints boss Nigel Adkins was unimpressed with the result, telling BBC Radio Solent: “It's not a good night for us. Obviously, we wanted to win the tie.
“I thought we had enough on the pitch to win the tie. We've got ourselves 2-1 in front, you should go and see the game out.
“The first half-hour wasn't good enough, the players were well aware of that and when we changed our shape to the diamond we were far better.”
Millwall will now host Bolton in the fifth round on February 18.
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Following a 2-1 league loss to West Ham on Saturday that he felt was unlucky for his team, Jackett watched as substitute Liam Feeney capped a comeback from a 2-1 deficit with a stunning stoppage-time winner to set up a home fifth-round tie against Bolton.
“We didn’t get the rub of the green against West Ham but the players can take some confidence from the way that we’ve just played against the top two sides in the division,” he told reporters after the game at St Mary’s Stadium.
“[It was] an excellent game tonight, we’ve played our part, scored three terrific goals and we really do hope that we can take this type of confidence into the league.
“We caused them a lot of problems. Both sides went for it – from a neutral’s point of view, I’m sure it was an excellent game.
“We showed good spirit, we showed a lot of quality on the ball and scored very good goals – and if we can do that against a side that has been as successful as Southampton, we can take that bit of confidence that you need from that win and add that into our league form.
“You don’t get given confidence, you have to earn it. We’ve got to keep working as hard as we did tonight and the confidence will follow.”
Millwall are currently in 21st position in the second tier of English football, five points clear of the relegation zone but having played one game more than Doncaster and Nottingham Forest, and Jackett admitted that he would not be getting carried away by a cup run.
“At the moment, our priority is staying up,” the 50-year-old boss conceded.
“The FA Cup can – hopefully, tonight – breed some confidence in the players and then the next round can bring in some much-needed revenue to what is one of the smaller clubs in the division.”
Liam Trotter had taken the early lead for Millwall before Adam Lallana and Rickie Lambert scored for the hosts, but Dany N’Guessan’s header followed by Feeney’s fine strike sealed the win.
Saints boss Nigel Adkins was unimpressed with the result, telling BBC Radio Solent: “It's not a good night for us. Obviously, we wanted to win the tie.
“I thought we had enough on the pitch to win the tie. We've got ourselves 2-1 in front, you should go and see the game out.
“The first half-hour wasn't good enough, the players were well aware of that and when we changed our shape to the diamond we were far better.”
Millwall will now host Bolton in the fifth round on February 18.
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| Open an account with Sportingbet today and get up to £50 in free bets! |
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| Sign up with William Hill for a free bet up to £25 |
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| Sign up with bet365 for a free bet up to £200 |
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