Thomas Waddingham's fortuitous 82nd-minute winner earned in-form Portsmouth a come-from-behind 2-1 victory over Millwall at Fratton Park. Millwall captain Jake Cooper's attempted clearance ricocheted off Waddingham and into the back of the net to settle an error-strewn Championship contest. Jenson Metcalfe had put the visitors ahead early on after a mistake from Pompey goalkeeper Nicolas Schmid, but it was quickly cancelled out by Lyndon Dykes' own goal. The win marked John Mousinho's side's third victory in four matches, continuing their strong run of form despite a challenging schedule and difficult conditions.
Portsmouth made four changes to the side that drew midweek at Wolves, with Zak Swanson, Marlon Pack, Ryan Kavuma-Mc Queen and Marko Milovanovic starting. Millwall, managed by Alex Neil, made two changes as Max Crocombe replaced the injured Filip Marschall in goal and Luke Cundle came in for Mark Sykes. Millwall made the brighter start with Metcalfe scoring just six minutes in, capitalising on a calamitous pass forward from Schmid. A response came 10 minutes later when Adrian Segecic's scuffed free-kick deceived Dykes at the near post, forcing the Millwall forward to get the final touch as it nestled into his own net.
An end-to-end first half ended level, but the intensity continued into the second period with both sides battling the wet and windy conditions. Millwall would have reclaimed their lead on the hour mark if not for the heroics of Madiodio Dia, who threw his body on the line on two separate occasions in quick succession to block shots. Pompey came close to taking the lead in the final 20 minutes when Swanson's right-footed corner caused chaos in the Millwall box, but nobody in blue was able to poke the ball home. Soon after Waddingham, in his first appearance since August due to injury, almost made an instant impact off the bench when he got close to getting on the end of Adams' cross. The persistence of the striker was rewarded with eight minutes left when Cooper tried to clear from inside his penalty area but the ball hit Waddingham and flew past Crocombe. Millwall seemed to run out of ideas and were unable to find their way back in the contest as their winless run extended to three games.
Source: Sky Sports Champions League · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing