First goal always looked to be game-deciding at Coventry as Millwall need to show their Championship resilience once again

“If you can meet triumph with disaster and treat those two imposters just the same,” is a famous quote by Rudyard Kipling. It’s a great piece of advice, but he didn’t have to deal with social media fallout after a football match.

Getting carried away by a victory or venting after a defeat has been a staple of messageboards and Twitter. It’s just what supporters do. Football managers and players tend to be able to obtain a fairly good level of emotional detachment from a one-off result. But for fans, the result of 90 minutes can make or break their week.

Win and their side’s strengths come to the fore, lose and their weaknesses come in for dissection.

We should’ve known that the first goal on Tuesday night at Coventry’s CBS Arena was going to be hugely important. Momentously so. And the hosts got it through their strikingly impressive frontman Viktor Gyokeres.

That was bad news. Really bad news. The Sky Blues’ 10 wins this season before midweek had all seen them record clean sheets.

And when they nudged that tally to 11, it meant that Millwall had only scored in one of their 11 losses in all competitions.

But Gary Rowett’s side are excellent when they take the lead. They have won 11 of the 12 matches when that has been the case this season, the only blot on their otherwise flawless copybook was Dennis Cirkin’s late equaliser for Sunderland at the start of this month.

Millwall’s quest for a play-off spot has been a bit like the hokey-cokey in recent weeks. Saturday’s 2-1 success at QPR, their first maximum points at Loftus Road since 1989, moved them up to fifth. In. A 10th reverse of the Championship campaign saw Sunderland and Watford climb above them after the first instalment of midweek fixtures. Out.

While Burnley and Sheffield United have been the model of relentless consistency in recent months, the positions below them have a high churn rate.

The question, as so often has been the case in the campaigns since Millwall climbed back into England’s second tier, is do they have the required firepower to get over the finish line in May and achieve their objective of play-off football?

The jury is out.

Just imagine if the Lions had Gyokeres as part of their frontline options?

Imagine is all you can do, because the Swede is no flatpack item from IKEA, Coventry reportedly put a £25million price tag on the 24-year-old in the January transfer window amid interest from Everton.

Gyokeres would fit Millwall like an eight-ounce boxing glove. Strong, quick and a fine finisher.

Twice George Long rushed out to save as Coventry’s number 17 rampaged through, one of those ricocheting back off of him and going narrowly the wrong side of the right upright.

Jake Cooper was booked after Gyokeres effortlessly spun him in the 40th minute and the Lions captain also made a vital block on a second-half shot. But Gyokeres was not to be denied.

Millwall are usually a difficult team to break down and even Rowett was left admiring the striker’s 67th-minute handiwork. Gyokeres darted away from Charlie Cresswell on the left of the box and arrowed a low, beautifully crisp right-footed finish past Long and into the bottom right corner.

Now none of the above dreaming about Gyokeres in a dark blue shirt is meant as any kind of slight on Tom Bradshaw. He had scored four times in six previous appearances against Coventry, only bagging more against Crewe (six) and Bradford (five). But Tuesday was all hustle and bustle with scant service.

Millwall got rewards from going direct against QPR and relying on turning their centre-backs or playing off second balls.

It didn’t work anywhere near as effectively when redeployed in the West Midlands.

Gyokeres had 10 touches inside the Millwall penalty area and three shots from that zone. Bradshaw had two touches in the Coventry penalty box.

Zian Flemming, now eight games without scoring, had one touch inside the area and two strikes from distance, one of those a free-kick which sailed harmlessly over.

The Dutchman did produce a fine threaded pass which bounced up off the heel of Jamie Shackleton for Romain Esse to drive across the face of goal, but it was an evening in which the Lions’ offensive players struggled to make a dent.

Millwall have shown an ability to stay in matches and find a way to win in the latter stages. Both Oliver Burke and Andreas Voglsammer were both stripped and readied to come on before Gyokeres broke the deadlock.

The Lions’ took until the 77th minute to have an effort on Ben Wilson’s goal. Charlie Cresswell, their third highest scorer with four goals, met Voglsammer’s corner but could only guide his header straight at the City goalkeeper.

Luke McNally also hacked away from his goal-line but Shackleton’s attempt looked to be heading wide anyway.

“He who faces no calamity gains no courage,” is another piece of sage Kipling advice.

There is plenty of calamity – and chaos – in the Championship. This Millwall side and Rowett, who has managed 506 matches, know that.

It’s a division about fine margins and game-shifting moments. Recovering from short-term setbacks is absolutely essential if you want longer-term success.

The Lions have shown, more than once, that they are dangerous after being hurt.

STAR MAN
Viktor Gyokeres. Head and shoulders the standout performer.

BEST MOMENT
Duncan Watmore’s pacey run off the left byline in the 59th minute. Millwall didn’t get him on the ball anywhere near enough.