Brighton 0 Millwall 1

By John Hill on February 1, 2010 11:26 AM |

Tagged with:

Steve Morison helped Millwall collect nine points out of nine as they held on to their play-off spot for another week.

The striker rounded keeper Michael Kuipers on 49 minutes to score the only goal of the game, slightly salving the memories of a 4-1 drubbing on the coast last time out.

However, the Lions couldn't extend the tiny gap between themselves and seventh-placed Huddersfield, since Lee Clark's side also returned from Yeovil with a 1-0 win. They remain a point ahead, but have played two games more.

Having scored his first goal for the Lions in the week, Shaun Batt partnered Morison up-front, with Neil Harris on the bench. It only took two and a half minutes for Batt to find himself splattered by a challenge from Tommy Elphick, earning the Brighton man an early booking.

Brighton saw chances from Inigo Calderon and Alan Navarro zoom wide in the first half hour, while Batt failed to get the ball past Kuipers just afterwards.

Dean Cox came on for Navarro at half time, but within five minutes his team was a goal behind. Morison caught Adam Virgo messing around on the edge of his own area, and advanced past Kuipers for the opener.

While Forster fizzed just over immediately afterwards, the home side were marshaled by a miserly Millwall defence. That said, hearts started beating like a late-night rave when Glenn Murray's header on 87 minutes nudged off the foot of the post.

As stoppage time clicked on, Batt spurned two one-on-ones thanks to blocks from Kuiper in the home goal.

Brighton: Kuipers, Elphick, Calderon, Painter (Holroyd 64), Virgo, Navarro (Cox 46), Dicker, Crofts, Bennett, Forster (Dickinson 63), Murray

Subs not used: Brezovan, Tunnicliffe, Hoyte, Carole

Millwall: Forde, Robinson, Craig, Ward, Smith (Dunne 74), Martin (Barron 83), Hackett, Batt, Abdou, Trotter, Morison

Subs not used: Sullivan, Laird, Harris, Grabban, Price

Attendance: 6,610