{"id":478020,"date":"2026-04-18T15:46:38","date_gmt":"2026-04-18T14:46:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/?p=478020"},"modified":"2026-04-18T15:47:43","modified_gmt":"2026-04-18T14:47:43","slug":"i-thought-we-needed-to-start-fast-neil-says-millwall-put-in-brilliant-all-round-performance-to-beat-qpr","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/sport\/football\/millwall\/i-thought-we-needed-to-start-fast-neil-says-millwall-put-in-brilliant-all-round-performance-to-beat-qpr\/","title":{"rendered":"&#8216;I thought we needed to start fast&#8217; &#8211; Neil says Millwall put in brilliant &#8216;all-round&#8217; performance to beat QPR"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>ALEX Neil thought Millwall put in a brilliant &#8220;all-round&#8221; performance to beat Queens Park Rangers 2-0 and put themselves on the verge of securing the play-offs. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Lions flew out of the blocks at The Den, overwhelming the visitors and taking the lead within three minutes when Derek Mazou-Sacko thumped the ball into the back of the net from the edge of the box. <\/p><script type=\"text\/plain\" data-tcf=\"waiting-for-consent\" data-id=\"69959\" data-bid=\"1\" data-placement=\"448384\" data-no-track=\"impressions\">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<\/script>\n\n\n\n<p>The French midfielder then set up the second, thirteen minutes later, poking the ball forward to Camiel Neghli, who dummied past a defender and then curled the ball into the back of the net.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Lions could have had more, with Josh Coburn, Tristan Crama and Zak Sturge all having chances to add a third against the disjointed Rangers. <\/p><script type=\"text\/plain\" data-tcf=\"waiting-for-consent\" data-id=\"68153\" data-bid=\"1\" data-placement=\"448385\" data-no-track=\"impressions\">PGRpdiBpZD0ic291dGgtMTI1MjE0MDI3MyIgY2xhc3M9InNvdXRoLWNvbnRlbnQgc291dGgtZW50aXR5LXBsYWNlbWVudCIgc3R5bGU9Im1hcmdpbi1sZWZ0OiBhdXRvO21hcmdpbi1yaWdodDogYXV0bzt0ZXh0LWFsaWduOiBjZW50ZXI7Ij48IS0tICAvMTU0NzI1MDcwLDIyNjk0MTk2OTY5L3NvdXRod2Fya25ld3Mvc291dGh3YXJrbmV3cyAtLT4NCjxkaXYgaWQ9ImRpdi1ncHQtYWQtMngxIj4NCjxzY3JpcHQ+DQpnb29nbGV0YWcuY21kLnB1c2goZnVuY3Rpb24oKSB7IGdvb2dsZXRhZy5kaXNwbGF5KCdkaXYtZ3B0LWFkLTJ4MScpOyB9KTsNCjwvc2NyaXB0Pg0KPC9kaXY+ICAgICAgICAgIDwvZGl2Pg==<\/script>\n\n\n\n<p>QPR boss Julian Stephan made four changes during the interval to try to wrest back control of the game, and they did have more of a foothold in the second half, but his side were only able to register three shots, one of which was on target. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Millwall, on the other hand, spurned another glorious chance when Josh Coburn connected with Tristan Crama&#8217;s cross, and were deserved winners on the day. <\/p><script type=\"text\/plain\" data-tcf=\"waiting-for-consent\" data-id=\"71156\" data-bid=\"1\" data-placement=\"448386\" data-no-track=\"impressions\">PGRpdiBpZD0ic291dGgtMjg4NzY5NTU1MyIgY2xhc3M9InNvdXRoLWluLWFydGljbGUtbXB1OSBzb3V0aC1lbnRpdHktcGxhY2VtZW50Ij48IS0tICAvMTU0NzI1MDcwLDIyNjk0MTk2OTY5L3NvdXRod2Fya25ld3Mvc291dGh3YXJrbmV3cyAtLT4NCjxkaXYgaWQ9ImRpdi1ncHQtYWQtbXB1OSI+DQo8c2NyaXB0Pg0KZ29vZ2xldGFnLmNtZC5wdXNoKGZ1bmN0aW9uKCkgeyBnb29nbGV0YWcuZGlzcGxheSgnZGl2LWdwdC1hZC1tcHU5Jyk7IH0pOw0KPC9zY3JpcHQ+DQo8L2Rpdj4gICAgIDwvZGl2Pg==<\/script>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;I thought we needed to start fast,&#8221; Neil said. &#8220;We needed to get the fans on side. We needed to be aggressive. We needed to try and pin them in, sustain pressure, chances, opportunities, crosses, whether it be a corner, a wide free kick. We just needed to get ourselves on top of them, and we&#8217;ve done that so often at home this season. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;You can see with other games, it&#8217;s not easy to win at this stage of the season. I even watched Coventry last night. It&#8217;s not easy to get across the line. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;But today, I thought we certainly got that monkey off our back a little bit. We attacked it. We were aggressive. The disappointing thing for me at half-time was that we weren&#8217;t more than two goals in the lead because I thought we deserved that. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;We then had the best chance of the second half, with Josh Coburn&#8217;s one across the face, the keeper made a brilliant save. <\/p><script type=\"text\/plain\" data-tcf=\"waiting-for-consent\" data-id=\"71157\" data-bid=\"1\" data-placement=\"448387\" data-no-track=\"impressions\">PGRpdiBpZD0ic291dGgtMzk0Nzg0NjYyMCIgY2xhc3M9InNvdXRoLWluLWFydGljbGUtbXB1LTEwIHNvdXRoLWVudGl0eS1wbGFjZW1lbnQiPjwhLS0gIC8xNTQ3MjUwNzAsMjI2OTQxOTY5Njkvc291dGh3YXJrbmV3cy9zb3V0aHdhcmtuZXdzIC0tPg0KPGRpdiBpZD0iZGl2LWdwdC1hZC1tcHUxMCI+DQo8c2NyaXB0Pg0KZ29vZ2xldGFnLmNtZC5wdXNoKGZ1bmN0aW9uKCkgeyBnb29nbGV0YWcuZGlzcGxheSgnZGl2LWdwdC1hZC1tcHUxMCcpOyB9KTsNCjwvc2NyaXB0Pg0KPC9kaXY+ICAgICA8L2Rpdj4=<\/script>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;We managed the game really, really well. I can&#8217;t really remember any chance of note where you think QPR should score. From that perspective, I thought it was an all-round performance. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;We took the fans on the journey early doors by getting ourselves in the lead and being aggressive, and I thought they were brilliant. They carried us right through to the end, and I thought there were some terrific performances.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Neil was asked what pleased him the most about how his side saw out the game. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s getting a fine balance between making it not a transitional game, where it&#8217;s just literally end-to-end and who scores the next goal is going to determine what the next bit looks like, and it&#8217;s also not just sitting back and absorbing pressure,&#8221; Neil said. &#8220;There is a balance to be found where you need to carry a threat, but you don&#8217;t want to go all out and make the game become a basketball match. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;Because certainly when we&#8217;re winning, and what&#8217;s riding on it, one goal changes the face of the game, doesn&#8217;t it? Because if they score, we start to get a bit nervy, the fans start to get a bit nervy, we start to sink. If we get the next goal, then obviously it can be a lot better. But certainly when you&#8217;re winning 2-0 and you&#8217;ve got what&#8217;s riding on the game for us, I thought we managed it brilliantly.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>ALEX Neil thought Millwall put in a brilliant &#8220;all-round&#8221; performance to beat Queens Park Rangers 2-0 and put themselves on the verge of securing the play-offs. The Lions flew out of the blocks at The Den, overwhelming the visitors and taking the lead within three minutes when Derek Mazou-Sacko thumped the ball into the back [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18969,"featured_media":478023,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"sfio_featured_image":true,"sfio_embed_code":"<smartframe-embed customer-id=\"c78749ece7fd074ea5dc1889e7c53f0f\" image-id=\"esmee7KvVIeb\" v=\"f9c32bd173b1b4ea497e63416f67ee6f\" style=\"width: 100%; display: inline-flex; max-width: 8100px; aspect-ratio: 8100\/5400;\"><\/smartframe-embed><!-- https:\/\/smartframe.io\/embedding-support -->","jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":{"format":"standard"},"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"jnews_override_counter":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[13590],"tags":[18186],"class_list":["post-478020","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-millwall","tag-update-me"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/478020","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/18969"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=478020"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/478020\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":478022,"href":"https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/478020\/revisions\/478022"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/478023"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=478020"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=478020"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=478020"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}