Millwall grit the job done as Joe Edwards taps into past core values that have brought success to see off QPR

For all that Joe Edwards has been expected to bring about a change in Millwall’s style of football since his appointment as head coach, it was reverting to what previously made the Den such a fearsome place to visit that helped him to his first home win.

Goals from Tom Bradshaw and Murray Wallace, stalwarts of Gary Rowett’s four years in charge, secured a 2-0 success over QPR on Boxing Day and a seven-match run without a victory came to an end.

Although The Den was not quite full to capacity, it still rocked at the final whistle as Millwall proved too physically overpowering and tactically astute to be dragged further into relegation trouble by a desperately poor Rangers outfit.

A survival fight was surely the last thing on Edwards’ mind after he oversaw that triumphant 4-0 hammering of Sheffield Wednesday on his managerial debut, as he lauded a George Saville goal that was scored with every Millwall player in the opponents’ half and vowed that his new side would only get better when in possession.

However, the results that have followed that dream Hillsborough start have suggested that the process will take time. The winless run sent them plummeting towards the Championship relegation zone and hinted that trying to make such a seismic shift in approach mid-season was possibly unwise.

The Lions were just three points above the bottom three on Christmas Day, and although performances had improved in draws against fellow strugglers Huddersfield Town and Stoke City, patience with the new boss was starting to be tested as he approached a fourth home game without a win as part of a wider run that had seen no victories at the Den since September.

Edwards wants his side to dominate the ball and outplay opponents but it was grit and a resolute defence that got the job done against Rangers.

He made four changes from the side that had drawn 0-0 in the Potteries, the most impactful being just a fourth start of the season for Aidomo Emakhu.

The 20-year-old Irishman was constantly looking to get involved, charging down the flank early on to unsettle an already nervy QPR defence and he also played his part in the aggressive pressing that rarely allowed the visitors to build attacks from deep.

With the majority of the first-half action contained to QPR’s half, it made sense that the few opportunities to open the scoring fell the way of Millwall.

Emakhu has had to wait patiently for game time under Edwards but he shone. An early cross deserved a team-mate in closer attendance.

The lack of quality in the contest was summarised as half-time approached, with a flurry of Millwall half chances quashed by unconvincing finishing as much as they were by last-ditch defending.

However, that moment of front foot, direct forward play offered an obvious route to goal for the home side and they soon set about exploiting it.

After QPR failed to clear a Ryan Leonard long ball, Duncan Watmore slid a pass into the path of Saville on the edge of the box, and although it initially appeared the midfielder had spurned the game’s clearest opening to that point, what looked a wayward finish turned out to be a pinpoint cross for Bradshaw to finish on the stroke of half-time.

The Welsh international, who scored more goals under Rowett than any other Millwall player, has surely had few more straightforward opportunities to find the net throughout his time in South London.

There was understandably anxiety around The Den in the second period given the calamitous way in which points were dropped to Huddersfield, particularly as this stop-start game began to reach its conclusion.

But QPR did little to trouble Matija Sarkic aside from a wayward finish from substitute Reggie Cannon when well placed in the penalty area.
It was Millwall that always looked more likely to find the second goal.

Emakhu forced Asmir Begovic into a save after robbing Kenneth Paal, and Zian Flemming curled just wide from the edge of the box after being introduced as a substitute.

Begovic had largely been untested as well, yet when he failed to claim a George Honeyman corner as the fourth official held up the board for stoppage time, Wallace charged in to take full advantage.

Having come off the bench to make his 207th Millwall appearance, the defender showed the determination that had encapsulated his side’s afternoon to shrug off Osman Kakay and turn home at the back post.

Although the nature of the win perhaps did not tally with the remit Edwards was appointed to introduce, relying on what has made Millwall so effective in the past may buy him enough time to make real change in the long term.

STAR MAN
Aidomo Emakhu. Provided an attacking thrust that has often been lacking for Millwall under Edwards. Surely set for more starts in the coming weeks.

BEST MOMENT
Saville looked to have miscued his shot, but it turned out to be the perfect pass to find Bradshaw at the back post to open the scoring in the game’s first moment of quality.