Four takeaways from Millwall’s 1-1 draw at Birmingham – Summer signing Nisbet doubles account as injuries begin to mount

Millwall backed up their 1-0 victory over Stoke City with a solid if unremarkable 1-1 draw at Birmingham City on Saturday afternoon. 

Kevin Nisbet scored his second goal in as many games to give the Lions a sixth-minute lead. 

A Ryan Leonard thunderbolt could have made it 2-0, but a deflection of Jake Cooper’s head from an offside position meant the goal was chalked off. 

Matija Sarkic fouled Scott Hogan in first-half stoppage time but made amends for his error by saving the resulting penalty from the Birmingham striker. Jay Stansfield equalised in the second half. 

Here are Alex Grace’s four takeaways from the contest.

A SOLID DEFENSIVE SHOWING 

Millwall’s last away day was nothing short of a disaster at Norwich – the Lions looked passive. But this performance on Saturday was a lot better. The performance against Stoke last weekend is the backbone on which Millwall need to base their season, and, for 45 minutes at St Andrew’s, they were on top and looked in control. There have been times over the season so far where the solidity of this team has been questioned. 

Millwall’s defence has been the backbone of all of their challenges to reach the top six. The Lions have conceded less than a goal a game since Rowett took over. Currently, this season, it stands at five goals conceded in five games, but three of those came in one game at Norwich City. 

The senior players in this team, the likes of Shaun Hutchinson, Jake Cooper and Ryan Leonard, have been very solid in the last two games. The leadership they show in defence will set the tone for how Millwall’s season will go. 

TWO IN TWO FOR NISBET

Kevin Nisbet opened his account for the Lions against Stoke with a cool finish under pressure and he backed that up with another strike at Birmingham.

Millwall have been crying out for a natural finisher for a long time, someone who can put chances away. They saw in pre-season the different types of goals that the Scot can score – in the box, outside the box, penalties and free-kicks.

He managed to win the battle to take the free-kick at St Andrew’s, and it proved to be the right decision as he found the net from a central position from just outside the box. The link-up play between himself and Tom Bradshaw has continued to build. Gary Rowett alluded to that in his post-match press conference, saying, “He’s got a good relationship with Bradders at the moment and there’s real possibilities and potential with that.”

A really exciting prospect for Millwall if they can get Nisbet and Tom Bradshaw firing. 

INJURIES MOUNTING 

It’s often a cliche question that journalists ask when an international break comes around. Has it come at a good time? I think most will agree that in Millwall’s case, yes the break has arrived at a good time. 

Millwall’s squad does look thin – it’s looked thin in recent years, but it looks even more so this year in certain areas. Millwall added genuine quality to the squad in the transfer window but not significant numbers. 

The biggest fear within the fan base was going to be an injury in defence. Joe Bryan was ruled out of the clash at St Andrew’s with injury and his replacement Murray Wallace was also forced off in the second half, meaning new arrival Ryan Longman was forced to play as left wing-back for the final stages of the game. The Lions boss confirmed Bryan’s groin injury, but he is hopeful that he will return in time for Leeds to visit SE16 on September 17. 

Rowett will also be sweating on Shaun Hutchinson – the skipper was forced off in the first half with the centre-half feeling his calf. A big worry for the Lions if he is set for a period on the sidelines.

NOT A BAD START ALL THINGS CONSIDERED 

We all know that Millwall don’t start seasons brightly. Gary Rowett has never had massively positive starts in his time at Millwall, but the Lions have the same number of points as they did at this stage last season, with seven from their first five games. It leaves them smack bang in the middle of the table. If they were to average the same record throughout the season, it would leave them with 64 points – four short of last season’s total. 

If you look at the fixtures that Millwall have had, Middlesbrough, Norwich and Birmingham all away from home, they are not easy fixtures.

Middlesbrough were play-off semi-finalists last season, whilst Norwich and Birmingham have added a lot of quality to their squads over the summer and both look like they will be a lot stronger than they were last season. 

The break gives Millwall time to work on certain things. Their next six fixtures will provide tests, but they would also feel confident about picking up some more points upon their return.