Millwall manager Alex Neil admitted surprise at Mihailo Ivanovic’s dead-ball antics after the 1-1 draw against Preston in the Championship.
The Scot was on course to win against his old club after Ivanovic’s 40th-minute opener, only for Emil Riis to equalise in the 47th minute with a long-range stunner.
“I know he’s got goals,” Neil said of his Serbian striker.
“If you look at the goals he’s scored of late, I think that’s just another one to his repertoire. I didn’t know he was so good on free-kicks and it was a great finish.”
On the game, Neil added: “I thought it was relatively even in terms of opportunities but I thought they dominated the ball.
“I thought they were the team that dominated in that sense and I think in the second half they came out better than we did.
“I think the goal is just an opportune moment where Riis has smashed it from 25 yards, it’s a great finish and it ended up in the back of the net.
“After that, I thought it was a really even game for large spells apart from the last five minutes where I thought Preston put a bit of pressure on us but I don’t think they had any chances of note.”
Preston boss Paul Heckingbottom was pleased with the result despite feeling Ivanovic’s free-kick goal should never have been a dead-ball.
“We were certainly the dominant team but it’s a positive point having gone behind to a team who defend really well,” he said.
“It’s a positive point and there were some good performances from a lot of the players as well.
“It’s not a free-kick that they score from. That’s the frustration. Ali (McCann) kicks it away with his left foot. That’s another reason that I’m pleased with the point in the end.”
North End striker Milutin Osmajic started on the bench just days after Burnley midfielder Hannibal Mejbri’s allegation of racist abuse against the Montenegro international, however, the 25-year-old replaced Brad Potts at the interval.
“For all the ball we had, we lacked penetration. It was more about risking the ball, being a bit more direct and putting our three (attackers) in the middle of the pitch high up,” Heckingbottom said.
On the allegations, Heckingbottom added: “There’s a development but I’m not going to be discussing it.
“We have to show the incident the importance that it deserves and one thing I’ve been disappointed about is all the nonsense that’s been put online and everywhere.
“I’m not getting involved in it and we’ve told everyone in the club not to get involved in it.”
Heckingbottom added that Osmajic was “upset” and “did not sleep” on the night of the allegations.
Jack Grealish dedicated his goal to his late brother after scoring in Manchester City’s 2-0 win over relegation-threatened Leicester on Wednesday.The England international hit his first Premier League goal for 16 months, on his first start in the competition since last December, as City moved back into fourth with a comfortable success at the Etihad Stadium.It came on the 25th anniversary of...
David Moyes bemoaned an “offside” goal that gave Liverpool a 1-0 win over Everton – but admitted James Tarkowski was lucky to avoid an early red card on a controversial night at Anfield.Diogo Jota’s 57th-minute goal gave Liverpool a 100th derby win and moved them a step closer to the Premier League title, but both sides were left unhappy with decisions from referee Sam Barr...
Eddie Howe hailed Sandro Tonali’s shooting power after seeing him cap a fine display with a stunning winner to edge Newcastle into the race for Champions League qualification.The 24-year-old Italy international brought an incident-packed encounter to a fitting conclusion with a 74th-minute piledriver which beat goalkeeper Mark Flekken from an improbable angle to hand the Magpies a precious 2...
Aston Villa boss Unai Emery believes Marcus Rashford is “progressively getting better” in all aspects of his game following his first Premier League goal for the club.The on-loan Manchester United forward set Villa on course for a comprehensive 3-0 win over fellow European hopefuls Brighton with a 51st-minute finish at the Amex Stadium.Rashford’s milestone strike came three days ...
Southampton boss Ivan Juric vowed to keep fighting as relegation moved sharply into focus after Crystal Palace denied them only a third Premier League win of the season.Substitute Matheus Franca’s stoppage-time header, to secure a 1-1 draw for the Eagles, means Saints will be down at the weekend if they lose at Tottenham and Wolves beat Ipswich.If relegation is confirmed on Sunday, Southampt...
Derby boss John Eustace insists his side are reaping the rewards for the hard work they have put in since he was appointed as manager after the Rams earned a 2-0 win over Preston to climb out of the Sky Bet Championship relegation zone.Derby came out firing after a lacklustre opening period and Craig Forsyth coolly slotted the hosts in front with his fourth goal of the season.The Rams doubled thei...
Notts County manager Stuart Maynard hailed a “massive” three points as his side comfortably saw off MK Dons at Meadow Lane to maintain their promotion challenge.Two stunning strikes from David McGoldrick and Will Jarvis from the edge of the box, either side of Nick Tsaroulla’s close-range effort, earned County a convincing 3-0 win.“I think every three points is massive now,...
Kieran McKenna was not getting too giddy dreaming of a miracle escape from relegation after Ipswich beat Bournemouth 2-1 to pick up their first Premier League win of 2025.Goals from Nathan Broadhead and top-scorer Liam Delap did the damage as Ipswich put a further dent in Bournemouth’s hopes of qualifying for Europe.McKenna, whose side are still nine points adrift of 17th-placed Wolves who t...
Liverpool re-established their 12-point lead at the top of the Premier League with Diogo Jota’s strike against Everton settling a second controversial Merseyside derby of the season.Jota’s first league goal since mid-January was potentially one of his most important of the campaign as the 1-0 victory kept second-placed Arsenal at more than arm’s length.It also ended Everton manag...
Ewan Otoo poured cold water on Livingston’s title ambitions in the Scottish Championship by netting the winner in struggling Dunfermline’s 1-0 win.Three points for the visitors would have been enough to lift them above Ayr United and within five of pace-setters Falkirk, but they were unable to take the chance.After back-to-back wins they were brought back to earth at East End Park, whe...
- 1 Hot WAG flaunts 'astonishing' washboard abs in bikini
- 2 Danny Rohl hails Sheffield Wednesday resilience in draw at Cardiff
- 3 Alfie May double sends Birmingham step closer to Championship
- 4 Marcus Rashford scores first Premier League goal for Villa in win at Brighton
- 5 Ryan Lowe and Conor Hourihane felt team deserved more as Wigan and Barnsley draw
- 6 Mat Sadler hails Taylor Allen set-piece skills after Walsall snatch draw
- 7 Chris Davies says Alfie May’s goal drought never concerned him
- 8 Football fan 'eats' raw pig's head in ultimate insult
- 9 Marcus Rashford still looking to improve after firing Villa into FA Cup semis
- 10 Chelsea prepare €70m for Barcelona defender