Crystal Palace 3 Millwall 1: Eddie Nketiah seals place in FA Cup quarter-finals but game marred by Mateta horror injury
ALEX NEIL urged his Millwall players not to do anything silly at Selhurst Park with VAR in the building.
But after six minutes, Lions keeper Liam Roberts committed one of the worst challenges you are ever likely to see in football – and in the process almost took Jean-Philipe Matata’s head off.
When Will Hughes played a ball forward, the Palace striker managed to shrug off Jake Cooper and was about to break clear.
Roberts had come racing out of his box and with the ball bouncing he attempted to clear before Mateta could pounce.
He managed to get part of the ball but his stray left foot thumped Mateta in the face.
Incredibly, Michael Oliver had to be invited by VAR to watch the incident again before he sent off the 30-year-old keeper.
There was no malice from Roberts but it was a moment of complete and utter madness.
Poor Mateta needed TEN MINUTES of treatment by medics — still receiving oxygen when he was finally taken to hospital with a nasty-looking gash on his head.
For the Championship side, it was going to be an uphill struggle at Selhurst Park anyway, never mind with 10 men.
During the time Mateta was stricken on the ground, some sick Millwall fans chanted: “Let him die”, with some moronic Palace fans also chanted this later at Lions ace Camiel Neghli, when he was down crocked before hobbling off.
Everything that could go wrong for the Lions did in a first-half horror show.
Former Spurs defender Japhet Tanganga headed past replacement and normal first-choice keeper Lukas Jensen to put Palace into a 33rd-minute lead.
And then he inadvertently deflected a Millwall clearance into the path of Daniel Munoz, who otherwise would have been in an offside position, to add a second seven minutes later.
Tanganga must wonder if he had run over a cat in Norwood or something as he seems jinxed at Selhurst Park.
Just four years ago, he was sent off for Tottenham here.
However, Wes Harding pulled one back in the 13th minute of first-half stoppage time and the Lions gave it a real good go in the second half before Eddie Nketiah headed home the clincher with nine minutes left.
Palace will have seen this game as a great opportunity to go deep into the FA Cup.
With their Premier League status all but mathematically secure and the likes of Liverpool and Arsenal out of the Cup, they have as much chance as anyone in what is beginning to look like one of the most open FA Cups in years.
Millwall work so hard as a club in shrugging off its bad reputation and fans chanting “Chelsea rent boy” at Ben Chilwell flies in the face of everything they are trying to do at The Den.
Boss Oliver Glasner made three changes for the Eagles.
In came Matt Turner, Chilwell and Jefferson Lerma for Dean Henderson, Adam Wharton and Tyrick Mitchell.
Millwall are in great league for – losing one of their last eight and having knocked Leeds out of the competition at Elland Road – made four.
In came Roberts, Billy Mitchell, Josh Coburn and Wes Harding for Lukas Jensen, Tristan Carma, George Saville and Mihailo Ivanovic.
Millwall played a psychological trick by making Palace attack their noisy Holmesdale stand for the first half after winning the toss.
Lions keeper Roberts, though, gave them the worst possible start with that moment of madness.
Nketiah came on for his stricken team-mate and with his first touch fired the ball into the net – but the ball had hit his arm before he shot.
Millwall almost stunned the hosts a few moments later.
Harding’s long throw was flicked on by Casper De Norre and Josh Coburn almost guided the ball home.
Nketiah then saw a powerful effort kept out by keeper Lukas Jensen.
Yet Palace were denied when Jensen made a brilliant save from Chilwell.
But the hosts moved in front when Tanganga inadvertently headed into his own net as he attempted to block a Will Hughes effort.
Chilwell then clattered the crossbar with a David Platt 1990 World Cup-esque volley on the turn
And Palace added a second when Daniel Munoz, who was in an offside position, poked past Jensen.
But the ball struck Tanganga as Millwall attempted to clear before it fell into the path of the Palace ace, meaning Munoz was not offside.
Incredibly, the Lions pulled one back when Femi Azeez’s cross was spilled by Matt Turner and Harding cracked a deflected shot home.
Palace were subdued after the break and Millwall came out fired up having got themselves back into the game.
Glasner introduced ex-Millwall winger Romain Esse for his third appearance since completing a £14.5million move to Selhurst Park in January in a bid to inject more attacking imputes.
The 19-year-old came on for Ismaila Saar and Wharton replaced Hughes.
Millwall had been starting to find space in and around the Palace box.
And a fine move saw Azeez almost fund 6ft 3in Coburn sliding into the six-yard box.
The visitors — despite being down to 10 men for almost an hour — were not only being stubborn and hard to break down but carrying a threat in the final third.
Palace, however, sealed their place in the quarter-finals with nine minutes left when Nketiah powered a header home from 10 yards after Chris Richards nodded the ball into his path.
The Eagles ace refused to celebrate as he is a childhood Millwall fan raised in Deptford.
Jefferson Lerma was not too far away from adding a third but cracked a long-range effort inches over. Esse fired a shot straight at the keeper at the death.
Palace can play a lot better than this but they march on into the last eight — and all focus is now on the wellbeing of Mateta.