Alexander gets winner as Lions advance

MILLWALL edged past League One rivals Walsall to book their place in the FA Cup fourth round where they will face Coventry at the Ricoh Arena.

The home side took a 15th-minute lead after Ben May broke free to fire home and Gary Alexander produced a cool finish early in the second-half to make it two.

Alex Nicholls did volley in for Walsall but they could not force extra-time.

Early on the game was strewn with errors but on 15 minutes the Lions took the lead.

After a melee in the middle of the field, May burst into space and fired home from just outside the penalty area.

The 19-year-old midfielder blasted wide of goal when well-placed on two occasions.

With the second half just four minutes old, an unchallenged Alexander coolly curled the ball past Ince’s desperate dive from an acute angle for Millwall’s second.

Walsall hit back in style just after the hour when Nicholls’ ambitious volley flew, via a deflection, over Pidgeley’s head into the net.

MILLWALL: Pidgeley, Senda, Frampton, Robinson, Barron, Simpson (Forbes 64), Fuseini, Brammer, Gaynor (72 Bakayogo), Alexander, May

WALSALL: Ince, Weston, Gerrard, Taundry, Dann, Bradley (Boertien 68), Wrack (Dobson 65), Demontagnac (Brittain 70), Deeney, Sonko, Nicholls

Referee: Darren Deadman.