Four takeaways from Millwall’s 1-0 defeat at Hull – Another individual mistake leads to a goal as Nisbet faces spell out

Milllwall are still searching for their first win since New Year’s Day after a 1-0 defeat at Hull on Saturday afternoon. 

It’s now five games without a win for Joe Edwards’ side following the reverse fixture in Humberside on Saturday afternoon. 

Jaden Philogene scored the only goal of the game in the fifth minute as Millwall’s lack of attacking threat was evident once again in a season that has seen them struggle in both the defending and attacking thirds of the pitch. 

Here are Alex Grace’s four takeaways from another disappointing afternoon. 

ANOTHER INDIVIDUAL MISTAKE LEADS TO A GOAL 

It has been one of those seasons for Millwall, hasn’t it?

You could have lost count of the number of times an individual mistake has cost the team dearly this season. 

It was an error from Japhet Tanganga last weekend against Preston – this weekend it was Wes Harding’s turn. 

His defensive header went wrong, described as a minor error by Lions head coach Edwards but it led to a goal. It’s been a recurring theme this season and is something that is costing Millwall a lot in recent weeks. 

There is no doubt all of these players have quality – even some of the world’s best make mistakes. You only have to look at Virgil van Dijk’s mistake against Arsenal on Sunday afternoon – it can happen at the top of the game. The worry for Millwall is it’s happened too much this season, and nine times out of 10, it has been punished with the other team scoring a goal. 

These errors need stamping out and it needs to happen fast. 

FIRST START FOR OBAFEMI AND A RETURN FOR TOM BRADSHAW 

Perhaps Joe Edwards, given a choice, would not have started the Burnley loanee in this game. He has not had regular football for a long time and has only had one full week’s training with the Lions, so he won’t have been ready to start. The injury to Kevin Nisbet, of course, accelerated Obafemi’s progress.  

Just as the Lions saw against Preston, the 23-year-old has pace. Once he is up to scratch and has got to the fitness levels required, we will see a lot more of him. It was a tough 45 minutes for the team as a collective – Hull kept the ball well and stopped Millwall from getting out and creating anything. Even when they did manage to create anything, there was a severe lack of quality. Not much for the former Swansea man to go on. 

He was replaced at half time by Tom Bradshaw who himself is coming back from injury. There is an argument that both players could play together up front. Obafemi offers a bit more of a physical presence than Bradshaw, but the Welsh international causes defences all types of problems with how busy he makes himself.   

They could make a very effective front two when both are fit and ready. 

NISBET THE LATEST TO FACE A SPELL OUT

As mentioned above Tom Bradshaw made his comeback during the defeat in Humberside, having missed the last couple of games with a hamstring injury. Kevin Nisbet, who was deputising for him, has now suffered what has been described as a “significant” hamstring injury. 

Injuries are, of course, part of the game. Millwall are no strangers to a long treatment table list, but it seems just when players are coming back, another one seems to fall by the wayside.  It’s got to be very frustrating for Edwards. 

A squad that is already small and under pressure is hard enough to manage. It makes the arrival of Obafemi an even bigger signing for the club. However, they need him to get going and find the net quickly to help out Bradshaw, who himself has struggled in front of goal this season. 

GAP CLOSING TO THE BOTTOM THREE AHEAD OF TWO TOUGH FIXTURES 

Before the trip to QPR, things were looking rather positive for Millwall. They were 11 points clear of the bottom three and the play-off gap was smaller than that to the bottom three. However, defeat at QPR two weeks ago saw that gap close to eight points. The R’s managed to pick up another win at Blackburn Rovers on Saturday and have managed to close that gap by another three points making the table a little bit uncomfortable viewing for Lions fans.

Relegation is something that has not crossed the thoughts of people associated with Millwall over the last few years, but, with two tough-looking fixtures to come in the next week, there is concern that the gap will continue to close. 

Millwall does have a habit of pulling a win out of the bag when it’s needed and causing a shock. Coventry have been in fine form. Their unbeaten run ended at Norwich so they will be on the hunt for a response when they host the Lions live on Sky on Sunday afternoon. 

You feel the South Londoners need to take something from at least one of these next two games against the Sky Blues and an Ipswich side who have faltered in recent weeks to avoid being dragged into the relegation dogfight.