RYAN Leonard scored his first league goal in over five years as Millwall claimed a scrappy 2-0 win away at Deepdale to keep their play-off charge motoring on.
The Lions were a cut above the Lilywhites throughout the first half, despite the poor playing conditions contributing to a mostly drab affair, and took a deserved lead into half-time when Leonard curled it into the far post, although they probably should have scored a few more.
The game all but ground to a half in the second half, with Preston offering little before exploding into life late on as they pushed for an equaliser.
Millwall held firm and substitute Luke Cundle tapped one in at the back post in added-time to guarantee the three points.
While it was certainly not a classic, it was another effective performance by the Lions, who closed the gap to second to one point, while maintaining their nine-point gap to the play-off chasing pack.
The first 20 minutes were not one for the footballing purists, with both sides struggling to make headway on a pitch that looked more appropriate for a Sunday League game than one in the second tier of English football.
Millwall looked to play it long to their target in Josh Coburn, while Preston were similarly keen to play quick and direct through their dangerous front three, with Lewis Dobbin in particular looking threatening.
Neither team, however, were able to conjure up any excitement for the 15,000 or so in attendance at Deepdale, with Andrew Hughes’ weak glancing header from a corner and Brad Potts’ potshot straight at Anthony Patterson the only efforts in the opening stages.
The game did start to open up a bit, with Millwall, unsurprisingly, causing problems with balls into the box.
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In the 20th minute, Cooper flicked it on; Crama volleyed it, and after the ball pinballed around, Coburn’s deflected header hit the post.
Preston flew up the other end and Daniel Jebbison put Andrija Vukcevic’s cross past the post.
The Lions struck the first blow in the 28th minute. Azeez crossed it in and after an initial scramble on the edge of the box, De Norre tapped it forward to Leonard, who first time planted it into the far corner of the net for his first league goal since October 2020.
It was all Millwall for the rest of the half. Six minutes after the deadlock was broken, the Lions were wreaking havoc at set-pieces again, with Billy Mitchell having a volley blocked.
They came even closer to doubling their lead in the 38th minute. Millwall broke quickly and Casper De Norre played a beautifully-weighted ball to put Camiel Neghli in one-on-one with the keeper down the left. Neghli spotted Coburn making the run and fired it hard across the box, with the striker arriving a fraction to late to get a touch on it and the ball flew past the post.
The Lions’ tails were up and Cooper was the latest to come close. A clever corner routine led to Cooper having a free run to the back post and his sidefooted effort was blocked.
Millwall were unlucky to not have that elusive second goal and nearly found it on the cusp of half-time when Neghli recovered a cleared corner, took a touch and attempted a looping volley that Cornell had to scramble to push wide.
Given that Preston were chasing the game, the second half was remarkably dull, with the Lilywhites having most of the ball but doing little with it.
Millwall were content to frustrate and physically unsettle North End, especially up top, where Coburn was once again proving to be nuisance.
Preston’s triple switch just after the hour mark injected some life into the affair.
In the 69th minute, the ball popped up for Lang in the box, and after driving to his right pulled the trigger, but his deflected effort was palmed clear by Patterson.
Substitute Milutin Osmajic, who was far more of a handful than his predecessor, had a volley blocked inside the box two minutes later.
Preston’s late push also led to opportunities opening up down the other end of the pitch.
Azeez, Neghli and Coburn all unsuccessfully let loose from range, before Azeez had a golden opportunity to all but settle the match. In the 83rd minute, he muscled past Lewis Gibson, cleverly flicked it past the final man, then fired it straight at the onrushing Cornell.
Preston threw the kitchen sink at it in the closing stages to find an equaliser, growing more and more frantic as full-time grew closer.
However, the match was settled when Cundle tapped in Azeez’s cross at the back post.
Millwall: 4-4-2 – Patterson; Leonard, Crama, Cooper, Sturge; Azeez, De Norre (Mazou-Sacko 87), Mitchell (Cundle 87), Neghli; Coburn (Ivanovic 87), Langstaff (Doughty 76)
Unused substitutes: Crocombe, Ballo, Watson, Bannan
Preston North End: 3-4-1-2 – Cornell; Offiah, Gibson, Hughes; Potts (Valentin 63), Whiteman, McCann (Devine 75), Vukcevic (Brady 63); Lang (Smith 90), Dobbin (Osmajic 63), Jebbison
Unused substitutes: Walton, Moran, Storey, Thompson
Referee: Ben Toner
Attendance: 15,489 (1,668)
