South London outfit Millwall have officially confirmed their spot in the EFL Championship play-offs for the first time since 2002. This has come after the Lions successfully defeated Stoke City 3-1 at the Bet365 stadium.
Millwall only needed to pick up a singular point to guarantee their place, regardless of how other results went. Camiel Neghli, Femi Azeez and Josh Coburn all got themselves on the scoresheet to secure a play-off appearance in emphatic fashion.
Millwall have been a consistent top half side since their promotion in 2017. However, this is the first time that Millwall have actually made it into the league’s top six. Until this point the highest they have achieved is 8th, on four separate occasions.
Their first season back in 2017/18 they proved themselves as one of the best promoted sides the league has seen. Sadly for the fans though, the sides quality and good spirits was not enough to get over the line.
Perhaps the most devastating for Millwall fans would be the closing of the 2022/23 season. Millwall were mathematically guaranteed play-offs at half time on the final day. The Lions lead Blackburn 3-1 at the interval, but a second half comeback from Rovers devastated the London side.
Even looking at only last season, Millwall’s form under Alex Neil was enough to make them surprise contenders going into the seasons close. Defeat on the final day against second-placed Burnley unfortunately proved too much for the side.
Millwall could have mathematically guaranteed this spot on Saturday. With a victory against London rival QPR in the 12:30 kick-off, a Wrexham defeat would have made this an early guarantee. Wrexham’s 2-0 win against Stoke however pushed the date forward to the Tuesday night.
Millwall would travel to Stoke City, who they had beaten off comfortably in the reverse fixture. This was a very different Stoke side to the one Millwall faced prior, but in the Lions favour it must be said. The Potters had dropped from promotion pushers down to 17th in that time.
Camiel Neghli would fire at the 20 minute mark. Femi Azeez would double the lead early into the second half, with a shot from the edge of the box feebly punched in by Stoke goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu.
The Lions would have a brief scare, with Lamine Cisse forcing an own goal out of the dependable Caleb Taylor. But a loose pass from the Stoke defense left Camiel Neghli to neatly set up Josh Coburn, regaining the two goal advantage.
Whilst Wrexham won again beating Oxford United 1-0, they were unable this time to prevent what many Championship fans believed was inevitable.
Many Millwall fans at the season’s early stages would point at play-offs being the goal. With the way the season has played out though, just a play-off spot might be a disappointment to some.
With two games left, Millwall are placed in second. The Lions need to travel away to already relegated Leicester City before a final day battle against potentially already relegated Oxford United. This is a very favourable run-in.
After the same amount of games, Millwall are three points ahead of Southampton in fourth. Ipswich have two more games than Millwall to play and are currently three points behind with better goal difference. But if the Lions win their two games and Ipswich drop four points, then Alex Neil’s side may just secure themselves Premier league football for the first time in the club’s history.
Whilst play-offs are therefore confirmed, the Lions have chosen to set their hopes even higher. Having picked up at least two points against everyone in the play-off push, the Lions will still fancy themselves regardless of a second place finish or not.
