FA Cup: Nigeria-born Olise inspires Crystal Palace to victory against Millwall

For an optimistic, sometimes raucous half-hour, Millwall supporters truly believed in the overthrow of a team a full division above them in the English standings.

It took Crystal Palace a high-class 15 minutes from Nigerian born Michael Olise to restore hierarchy in an FA Cup tie which, while never spilling into grave disorder, featured bottles thrown onto the pitch, and a brief pause for a flare to be put out.

These are clubs separated by less than eight miles of South London territory.

Both sets of loyalists made it sound and feel like a full-blooded derby throughout, the Den loud and lively after Benik Afobe took advantage of a goalkeeping mistake to put the home team ahead.

After half-time, Olise took control, scoring and setting up Jean-Philippe Mateta for what turned out to be the winning goal.

Millwall had set about proving that the gap between 11th in the Premier League and the same placing in the division below need be no distance at all with great vigour. 

Another Nigeria born star Sheyi Ojo set the tone with a chase down the right flank, Scott Malone answered from the opposite wing with a low cross pushed just off target by Afobe.

They took the lead thanks to harrying Palace into panic, a step by step process that finished with the visiting goalkeeper, Jack Butland, losing his bearings.

The sequence began with Danny McNamara pressing a Palace throw-in and putting the Premier League team into retreat.

Ojo pushed up on Marc Guéhi, who sought to ease the pressure by inviting his goalkeeper to launch a long clearance.

But once Guéhi’s pass reached Butland, he was closed down by Tom Bradshaw and Afobe, the latter the beneficiary of Butland’s weak, anxious clearance.

Afobe merely had to steer his shot into a largely unguarded goal.

It was a wretched moment for Butland. The former England goalkeeper has to cherish the little action he sees in the Palace first-team, being understudy to Vicente Guaita.

His error obliged him to endure ironic cheers each time he made a sure touch for the rest of the afternoon.

But his teammates ensured the focus of the contest soon shifted to the other half of the pitch. Conor Gallager narrowly missed putting Palace on even terms before half-time.

After the break, Olise equalised.

Receiving from Gallagher he cut in onto his left foot, the tool to conjure up a spectacular goal, in off the far post.

The magic remained with him. For the next 15 minutes, almost everything Olise attempted seemed inspired, on a different plane.

First, he attempted a replica of his goal, and, but for a centimetre or so, would have copied it almost exactly. The shot came back off the post. No matter: Olise had found his groove. His cross for Mateta to head Palace into the lead was perfectly gauged.

Mateta ran to the corner flag to celebrate. He was greeted with a dozen plastic bottles and other objects. A flare, landing just inside George Long’s six-yard box, had to be extinguished by a steward, causing a short delay before the restart.

Olise would later be struck by a bottle while lining up a corner, though he appeared uninjured.

Millwall’s fire had not been entirely extinguished, but Palace, having quickly established command, kept a firm enough grip on their place in the next round, barring some nervous moments defending late crosses, through the remaining half hour.

Culled from Times of London