Early season optimism is draining away as set-pieces prove to be Millwall’s Achilles heel

It might still be August, but that early season optimism that was in the air in Bermondsey before the season opener at QPR already feels like a lifetime ago.

It’s now four league games without a win for Millwall after a miserable reverse in the Welsh capital – not the start to the new campaign anyone in SE16 would have wanted.

Gary Rowett’s men travelled to Wales looking to make amends after putting in a poor display against Fulham in midweek. Unfortunately they didn’t fare much better against Cardiff than they did at the Den against their London rivals.

Every single one of the Bluebirds’ eight league goals this season have been headers, so the Lions would have been well-drilled on where their opponents could hurt them.

Not that you’d have known it from the goals they shipped at the weekend – no one in a Millwall shirt will want to watch any of the Cardiff goals back.

Set-pieces have been an area of expertise for Gary Rowett’s men over the past few years in both boxes, but they are fast becoming their Achilles heel this season.

A fizzed free-kick found Aden Flint inexplicably free to nod the simplest of finishes beyond Bart Bialkowski. The warning signs were there before Flint broke the deadlock though. Former Lions target Kieffer Moore peeled away from his man to guide a floated cross against the top of the crossbar after the hosts recycled a half-cleared free-kick.

It was two shortly after, with that man Flint cashing in again to double the host’s advantage.

That effectively spelled the end for the Lions’ quest for their maiden three-point haul of the campaign – scoring more than twice in a game is a feat they’ve managed just twice in 23 games.

Millwall’s progress under Rowett has been built on a sturdy defensive foundation – but that is something which appears to have eroded in the early knockings of this campaign.

The prospect of Shaun Hutchinson being sidelined for up to six weeks is a pretty harrowing one right now. His leadership at the heart of that defensive unit was a glaring miss on Saturday afternoon.

The Lions backline looks leakier than it has in a long, long time right now – far from ideal for a side that doesn’t tend to rack up an abundance of goals.

Further injuries to Danny MacNamara and Ryan Leonard aren’t exactly the defensive boost that Rowett needs right now either.

Benik Afobe’s second goal in as many games was at least one plus on an afternoon to forget. The on-loan Stoke striker opened his account with a fortuitous deflection against Fulham last Tuesday.

His strike against Cardiff also took a knick – but this one felt like it was destined for the target anyway. It was a deserved one too after another determined display chasing down lost causes.

Scott Malone wasted a golden chance to get Millwall level minutes later, but any momentum the Lions had was shattered after Sean Morrison scored what will probably be the simplest goal of his career from a routine long-throw to cap a rotten result for the visitors.

Even though the season is just four games old, this feels like a big week for Rowett and the Lions.

Failure to dispatch Blackpool on home turf on Saturday would see the Lions heading into the first international break without a win – which could make that two-week breather feel very long indeed.

Things don’t get much easier after that either, with Rowett’s men facing a trip to The Hawthorns to negotiate a West Brom side which have looked a cut above anyone else in the league so far.

We’re still in the early innings of the new season and it’s important to keep perspective. It feels like this Millwall side is yet to click and there is still scope for that to happen. But Rowett and his men will be desperate for that to happen sooner rather than later.

The Lions boss will be eager to their Championship duck before the two-week break at the end of the month to try and kickstart their stuttering start to the new campaign.

STAR MAN
Benik Afobe. Striker deserved his second goal in as many games after a committed and determined display.

BEST MOMENT
Afobe’s strike at least gave the Lions’ travelling support something to cheer about.