The lowdown on Millwall 3 Sheffield Wednesday 0 – Lions claim first league win of the season
Millwall secured their first win of the Championship season with a comfortable 3-0 victory over Sheffield Wednesday.
Here is the lowdown on the match:
THE LINE-UPS
Millwall: Jensen, Leonard, Tanganga, Cooper, Bryan, Saville, De Norre, Esse (Azeez 84’), Honeyman (Emkahu 90’), Watmore (Wintle 84’), Coburn (Langstaff 77’).
Subs not used: Roberts, McNamara, Hutchinson, Scanlon, Kelly.
Sheff Wed: Beadle, Lowe, Bernard, Ihiekwe, Valery, Charles (Ingelsson 83’), Bannan, Lowe (Smith 60’), Musaba (Valentin 83’), Gassama (Kobacki 60’), Ugbo (Windass 60’).
Subs not used: Charles, Famewo, Palmer, Johnson.
SNAPSHOT OF THE GAME
A game that both sides needed to win. Wednesday had lost their last two in the league, while the Lions were winless so far.
It was the home side who started the stronger and on the front foot, with Danny Rohl’s side happy to sit and soak up the pressure.
It would be Watmore who added to Millwall’s advantage in the 71st minute when he turned home Joe Bryan’s corner. The Lions rounded off a great performance as Jake Cooper headed home Casper De Norre’s cross with two minutes left to play.
TACTICAL APPROACH
Millwall set up in a 4-2-3-1 formation. New signing Coburn, who joined on deadline day from Middlesbrough, went straight into the side for the injured Tom Bradshaw. The Lions played on the front foot, as you would expect at home. They were solid at the back for the most part, but some of the technical players in Wednesday’s ranks, such as Anthony Musaba, caused a couple of early problems.
However, the threat from Wednesday was minimal. Millwall made it very hard for the opposition’s wide players to get involved, which kept their threat very low and limited them to just one shot on target.
STAR MAN
Romain Esse – He signed a new long-term contract this week, and he has kicked on. The 19-year-old was the best player on the pitch – creating a lot of Millwall’s chances and being involved in everything going forward. His confidence has certainly improved the more he has played. He also was not afraid to have a shot.
BEST MOMENT
A debut goal for Josh Coburn. It was a brilliant moment for his first appearance. The whole move for the goal was tremendous. George Honeyman’s ball into Watmore was great, and the former Middlesbrough man pulled the ball across goal for Coburn to fire home, to the delight of the home fans.
MOAN OF THE MATCH
The persistent fouling from Wednesday. Most teams like to make it physical when they come to The Den. Wednesday were very physical. All this did was make the game a frustrating watch at times as the referee’s whistle would continue to blow for silly little fouls.
A TALKING POINT DOWN THE PUB
How easy Josh Coburn settled in. The Middlesbrough loanee looked very comfortable for someone that had only played ten minutes in the Championship this season before today. He did not look out of place. For a taller player, he is very mobile. Now, with Ivanovic through the door as well, Millwall look very well stocked up front. The question will be, when all are fit and firing, who will be the number one choice to fill that role?
WHAT THE BOSS HAD TO SAY
“The reason I wanted him [Coburn] was because I played with Steve Morison and Richard Sadler.
“For me, he’s a cross between the two.
“There’s a lot of praise there – two top players – and I don’t want to put too much pressure on Josh’s shoulders, but it shows how important he’s going to be to us as a group over the coming season.
“He gives us that focal point.
“The first thing he did was press the goalkeeper and force him to kick it out of play early on, and the fans went with him.
“He linked the play, won headers, and got better and better. I thought his combination play with George Honeyman was excellent and it really enabled Duncan Watmore and Romain Esse to give us some real flair and quality with the ball.”
PICTURES: BRIAN TONKS