Soccer
Phil Parkinson praises Wrexham ‘mentality’ in comfortable win over Millwall
Manager Phil Parkinson praised his Wrexham side for standing up to Millwall physically as they recorded a first Championship win of the season at the New Den.
The visitors swept to a 3-0 victory in south London as Alex Neil’s team made it eight goals conceded in their two matches following Saturday’s hammering at Southampton.
A first-half own-goal by Zak Sturge saw Wrexham edge a tight first period before the home side folded after the break, conceding twice more to excellent finishes by Kieffer Moore and Jacques Ekomie.
It was a Millwall team hit badly by injuries but nevertheless the Welsh side made light work of victory to move into the top half of the table.
“I am pleased to get the first win of the season,” said Parkinson. “I felt it was deserved. I am pleased with the response after getting beaten by Birmingham.
“In reality we probably should have had more points than we’ve got, but you’ve got to respond and I felt like we did.
“Coming to Millwall is one of the hardest grounds to come to. It’s about quietening the crowd and trying to get an element of control in the game.
“But also dealing with the physicality. It was a huge team Neil picked. We had to deal with that. I felt we were very comfortable in that.
“As the game went on we got better and better in terms of dictating the game with the ball.”
It marked Wrexham’s biggest margin of victory since returning to the second tier just over a year ago.
“Coming here, you’ve got to be ready,” said Parkinson. “The mentality has to be strong, the character has to be right.
“I’ve played here many times myself, I’ve managed here a lot of times, and if there are certain boxes not ticked, you come away with nothing.”
Millwall boss Neil, whose side were beaten 5-1 at St Mary’s following wins and clean sheets over Bristol City and Norwich, reflected on the impact injuries had on his team’s performance.
Matters were compounded by the loss in the first half of midfielder Casper De Noor, who could now miss Saturday’s game at home to Bolton.
“A disappointing night at the office,” said Neil. “We had to change our shape because of a lack of wide players.
“I didn’t think it was a great game of football. In the first half I thought the game was in the balance. I thought we gave as good as we got.
“The start of the second half it was relatively in the balance again. I thought it changed when we lost Casper. He was very influential in the game.”
