Richard Cawley’s big-match verdict on Huddersfield 0 Millwall 1 – Lions show fight to earn another excellent away result

BY RICHARD CAWLEY

Defeat to Huddersfield was the start of Millwall’s sticky run. Now Gary Rowett will be hoping Wednesday’s gritty and tenacious victory over the same opposition will signal a change in fortunes.

The question is whether the Lions chief can get some consistency out of his playing squad, because a good performance of late has tended to be followed by a poor one.

You thought a corner had been turned after a deserved 2-0 win at Bristol City but then Millwall served up a listless showing against Coventry. They were unlucky not to take maximum points at Bournemouth but were then distinctly off the pace last weekend at Nottingham Forest.

One thing that has been consistent in the 2020-21 campaign is that Millwall do not lose when they score first. They have got their noses in front eight times this season and gone on to win four of them.

And for all of their travails at The Den, they sure love their road trips.

Since Rowett was appointed they have 12 victories and nine draws from their 29 away games. Only Watford have won more home games than Huddersfield this season – and only leaders Norwich City had prevented them scoring at John Smith’s Stadium. Now the Lions have been added to that select list.

Millwall had taken 11 points from a possible 45 from the end of October. And if they needed something to settle any nerves and provide an injection of confidence, it was duly supplied by Scott Malone in West Yorkshire.

The fact the Lions were attacking from a corner reversed their wing-backs positions. Danny McNamara whipped a cleared ball back in with his weaker left foot – with Malone opting for his stronger side too to ping an excellent effort in off the inside of the post.

Millwall had something to hold on to. And they did that with only a few fraught moments. The most notable of which came when Ben Thompson conceded a penalty.

McNamara’s desire to press and win the ball backfired as it opened up space behind and referee Peter Bankes did not like the midfielder’s challenge on Lewis O’Brien. There was nothing wrong with the power of Fraizer Campbell’s spot-kick but it clipped off the top of the crossbar.

That miss by the former Crystal Palace striker was hugely costly. Especially when you consider that both sides only had one effort on target each.

Naby Sarr, another with South London connections, had Town’s other potentially game-changing moment. But the ex-Charlton centre-back, on his 100th league start in English football, slid in but failed to nudge Campbell’s flick on target.

Huddersfield had 68 per cent of the possession and completed 553 passes – with Millwall managing 202. But keeping the ball was not the challenge for Carlos Corberan’s side, the question was whether they could break down entrenched opposition.

The answer was no. Of the Lions’ six league wins, five of them have been when they have kept clean sheets. The only exception was the 2-1 result at Wycombe Wanderers.

Some of the club’s fanbase have been critical of Rowett of late, but his tactical calls in midweek paid off.

Ryan Leonard slotted in as a right-sided centre-back and was one of their best performers on the night – along with the energy and enthusiasm of Thompson, plastered in mud by the end, livening up the midfield.

Rowett also deserves credit for a quadruple change with 15 minutes to go in a sapping contest on a soaked pitch – Kenneth Zohore, Tom Bradshaw, Mahlon Romeo and Shane Ferguson adding some fresh legs to see them over the finish line.

The key for the South Londoners, as it is every season, is to ensure they retain their Championship status. Anything else is a bonus.

Fifty points is seen as the normal safe mark. That leaves Millwall needing 21 from 22 matches.

STAR MAN
Ben Thompson. These kind of wet and wild nights are made for the Millwall midfielder. Added an extra layer of hussle to the midfield.

BEST MOMENT
Easy – Malone’s excellent first-time strike to down his former club.