Underfoot conditions weren’t ideal but both team looked lively from the off and Millwall didn’t show any signs of travel sickness in the early exchanges. FPC keeper Glenny was called into action after 15 minutes, making an excellent stop from close range after a neat passing move that cut through the FPC backline.
Midway through the first hal, FPC were fortunate to keep 11 players on the pitch when Tonner retaliated to a challenge from behind but the ref deemed a booking sufficient. Despite this, the match was played in competitive but good spirit and there was nothing to separate the teams at the break.
Early in the second half FPC found their form and for the most part, pressure was on the visitors goal but chances were kept down by a spirited Millwall back four. At the other end, Tait marshalled his own defence by example, winning almost every header that came his way.
The opener came in similar fashion to the win over Clyde last week, in that the opposition keeper played a poor pass to his defence whilst out of position at the edge of his box. Once again it fell at the feet of Tonner, who rolled into the path of oncoming team captain MacKenzie. He picked his spot past three defenders on the line and slammed home a powerful drive from 12 yards.
With an hour gone FPC would have felt they could go on and seal the win with home advantage, however they barely had time to settle on their lead when a slicing passing move, Millwall’s best of the match, opened up the Corner lines, and the striker just held onside for the neat pass, slotting coolly past Glenny from the edge of the six yard box to level the tie.
With penalties looming at end of 90 minutes as opposed to extra time, FPC wanted to make the possession advantage pay, and in 75 minutes did just that. An excellent long ball by Tait was knocked to Galloway by Tonner. His flighted cross into the box was missed by all, but Steele recovered on the byeline to lay another ball back into the box for an onrushing midfielder. This time it was returning player manager McKnight, who was on hand to steer a clinical low shot into the far corner and restore the lead.
The Motherwell boys had three clear cut chances to finish the game when Fox and Steele both went through on the keeper, but he proved a tough target to get past and the one goal cushion remained. The final minutes were played out without much Millwall threat and FPC were pleased to hear the final whistle after a hard fought victory. The Corner boys now head into the quarter final draw, hoping to improve on last year when they were knocked out at that stage by Kidderminster, their last competitive defeat.
Fir Park Corner 2 – 1 Millwall (IFA British Cup, 28/1/12)