Millwall strike late to boost play-off hopes

Millwall kept their play-off hopes alive with a late 1-0 win at Charlton in the Sky Bet Championship on Friday night.

Jake Cooper struck the only goal after 81 minutes at The Valley to seal a victory for his side – their first since the restart.

It lifted them up to eighth in the table, two points behind Cardiff in sixth ahead of the rest of the weekend’s action.

For Charlton, meanwhile, it was a first defeat and a first goal conceded following the resumption of football, and it left them 18th in the table, three points clear of the drop zone.

Millwall get back to winning ways

Both sides had good chances to take the lead in the first half. The first real opportunity fell to Charlton on 34 minutes as Macauley Bonne raced through on goal, but his strike from an angle was kept out well by Bartosz Bialkowski.

Two minutes later it was Millwall’s turn to go close. Ryan Woods clipped a fine ball into the path of Jed Wallace in the six-yard box, but Dillon Phillips was alert and off his line to block it wide.

It really was a tale of two fine defences in the second half, too. Both sides made strides forward in search of a goal but it took until the 81st minute for the winning goal to be found.

Substitute Connor Mahoney charged into the box and forced Phillips into a low save, but he could only palm it into the path of Cooper, who hammered the ball into the roof of the net from a wide angle.

Man of the match – Jake Cooper

It seems appropriate for a game where defences ruled nearly throughout that a defender would pop up with the winner. Cooper was excellent in his duties at keeping out Charlton, and arrived at just the right time with a fine finish. In a game of fine margins he made the difference.

What’s next?

Charlton are back in Championship action on Tuesday as they head to Brentford for a 6pm kick-off. Millwall host Middlesbrough on Wednesday at 3pm.

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