Four takeaways from Millwall’s 1-0 loss at Huddersfield – no dispute over Lions’ best defender as they fail to show attacking intent

BY ALEX GRACE

Jonathan Hogg’s 82nd-minute header condemned Millwall to just a second defeat in 11 Championship games. In truth Huddersfield were the superior team throughout the game but, like their visitors, have had problems in the final third.

Gary Rowett made just one change to the side that beat Stoke last time out, George Saville returning from suspension to replace George Evans who missed out with a thigh injury.

The defeat leaves the Lions 12th in the league table with 21 points – just three off the top six with home games against Reading and Derby to come.

Here are Alex Grace’s takeaways from the trip to West Yorkshire.

NO ATTACKING FLAIR

A big complaint for Lions fans this season has been the fact there has been no attacking intent from their team and that was most certainly the case at Huddersfield. From the 15th minute onwards the home side dominated. They were good in possession, some very neat and crisp passing and the movement of the likes of Lewis O’Brien and Danny Ward created problems. Although they did not create an awful lot in the first half they kept the Lions pinned back in their own half. It didn’t seem as if Rowett’s men wanted to move forward and create any major chances. The game plan was to sit tight, soak up pressure, see if there was a mistake and seize on it. Both sides played with a back three so it was evident there would not be an awful lot of goalmouth action and so it proved. Eventually, if you are under that much pressure for so long, you will crack, and a mistake will be made and that’s what happened. Jonathan Hogg broke free from his marker, drifted into the six-yard box and had a free header to win the game for the Yorkshiremen.

SHAUN HUTCHINSON DOMINATES AND LEADS BY EXAMPLE

The period earlier in the season ended the debate about who is the most crucial part of this Millwall defence. Shaun Hutchinson is Millwall’s leader and defensive anchor. He dominated the proceedings. Everything that came into the Millwall box he powered away. He blocked every cross and made those last-ditch challenges that prevented the Huddersfield attacks from ever really causing any problems. His statistics from the game back up my claims. He won 13 duels, made eight recoveries and seven clearances. He was by a million miles Millwall’s man of the match and the standout player on the day for Gary Rowett’s side. The captain has led by example all season as he has done for the majority of his Millwall career.

NO LINK UP BETWEEN MIDFIELD AND FRONT THREE

The idea of playing a 5-2-3 formation is to press from the front and as a unit. Tom Bradshaw starting really allows Millwall to play their pressing game as he leads by example as the central striker. The front three of Sheyi Ojo, Bradshaw and Jed Wallace did this very well. Huddersfield like to play out from the back and the press forces issues, and it did on a few occasions. However, where it went wrong for Millwall was there was no link between the midfield duo of Saville and Billy Mitchell to the front three. This left gaps for Huddersfield to exploit, and they did that well. Building their attacks from the back was a key part of their game plan. Rowett saw that was a problem and brought on Maikel Kieftenbeld to try and bolster the midfield, switching to a 3-5-2 formation. It did help in terms of giving the Lions more of a foothold in the game in the second half although it did not change the pattern of the game was massively in their favour.

NO CONCERN OVER DANNY MCNAMARA

The Lions academy product was not included in the matchday squad however, there is no concern over the young wing back. I asked Gary Rowett about him and whether there was any injury and he said leaving him out was purely a tactical decision. Millwall missed what McNamara could have brought to the side. Ryan Leonard does a good job on the defensive side of things but does not have the same pace and attacking intent that McNamara does and that could have been a big difference. To have him and Scott Malone on the other side could have created openings and making life harder for a Huddersfield defence that had a rather easy day.