Alex Grace’s four takeaways from Millwall’s loss at Coventry – leads keep slipping but Esse takes his opportunity
Coventry City became the latest team to inflict defeat on Millwall after they came from behind to secure all three points on Sunday afternoon at the CBS Arena.
The Lions had taken a half-time lead, Romain Esse netted his second goal of the season on his first start since the 3-1 defeat at Norwich back in August.
Things could have improved for the visitors had Michael Obafemi not been thwarted by home goalkeeper Brad Collins. The Lions were made to pay for missing their chances. Japhet Tanganga fouled Haji Wright, and the Sky Blues’ record signing converted from the penalty spot to equalise before scoring the winner three minutes later.
Here are Alex Grace’s four takeaways from the CBS Arena.
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THE LIONS THROW AWAY YET MORE POINTS
This is getting very repetitive. It’s also becoming very costly for Millwall. They have now dropped a staggering 24 points from winning positions this season. Sixteen of those have come in the 16 games in which Joe Edwards has been in charge.
The Millwall head coach knows how he wants this team to play, but the debate is, does he have the right players to play the system? That would not be the case at this time, with eight of those 16 games ending in defeat.
Presently, the problems are all individual mistakes. Tanganga’s mistake led to the penalty, and some positional errors in the defence, along with some questionable goalkeeping from Matija Sarkic, saw Millwall go from being 1-0 up to 2-1 down in the space of three second-half minutes.
It has been noticed a few times this season that Millwall seem to struggle for 10-15 minutes after conceding a goal to regather their composure. If you think back to the Ipswich game at the end of November, the Tractor Boys found two goals in seven minutes. You also saw in the recent home game against Preston that after their equaliser, they took control of the contest, something that Edwards is very concerned about and that he and his staff are working hard to alleviate it.
ESSE TAKES HIS CHANCEÂ
Fans have been calling for Esse to get a chance in the startling line-up and he got that chance at Coventry. It’s been a difficult period for the England U19 international, who has struggled to break his way into the side.
He certainly took the chance. His performance was bright, and the 63 minutes he played were some of his best minutes of the season to date. His finish was also well executed. It is similar to his only other goal this season at Middlesbrough on the season’s opening day.
It’s clear to see there is quality there, and more than likely, he will play at the top level at some point in his career. Millwall fans will want to see a bit more of that quality in SE16 before that time.
Despite not starting, he has been coming on in games and recently has also made an impact – something that Edwards has noticed. He was full of praise for Esse after the game and praised him for his work ethic.
However, he also stressed the need for patience. You can understand that he is still a very young player.
FAN PATIENCE BEING TESTEDÂ
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What is clear since Edwards’ arrival is that the team are playing much better football. Gary Rowett’s reign was, of course, one that saw stability and all those solid foundations, but it also never showed signs of exciting football. With Edwards, you will see exciting football at times but also a lot of risk vs reward. At the moment, it’s a lot of risk without reward regarding points on the board.
Only a few would have thought the Lions would be in a position where they are battling relegation, not after the last four seasons, which have seen play-off pushes in all of them. Fan mood and trust in Edwards remains high-Â as the majority know that changing the style of play with a team full of Rowett and even some Neil Harris signings will take time. But football is a results-based business, and patience will be tested if results do not turn soon.
It’s clear to see in the stadium and on social media there is a positive reaction to the style of play the former Chelsea coach is trying to establish. When he arrived, he was honest with the fans, saying there would be ups and downs, and that is how it’s panned out so far.
TWO MASSIVE HOMEÂ GAMESÂ
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Millwall’s home form has been atrocious this season.
It is very uncharacteristic of a Lions team in recent years, but this is a huge week coming up. Ipswich visit SE16 on Wednesday and this is a good time to play the Tractor Boys, who are in a bit of a rut themselves. They have only taken six points since the turn of the year and find themselves falling out of the automatic promotion race. The form of Southampton and Leeds has put a lot of pressure on Kieran McKenna’s side, and they have struggled in recent weeks.
It’s a big game for both in their respective situations. Despite the poor run Millwall find themselves on, they remain in a strong position compared to their relegation rivals. QPR are on a four-match unbeaten run, in which they’ve won two, but they are still four points behind the South Londoners. Although, they face a crunch six-pointer at Stoke City on Valentine’s night.
Sheffield Wednesday come to Bermondsey on Saturday looking for revenge for the 4-0 thrashing the Lions handed out on Edwards’ debut. Take six or four points from those two games, and things could look much better on Saturday evening.
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