Talking points from Millwall’s 2-0 loss at Leeds United – Lions can’t tame Championship leaders

Millwall’s chances of sneaking into the Championship play-offs were dented on Wednesday evening as they suffered a 2-0 defeat at Leeds United.

Here are Edmund Brack’s talking points from the game.

POOR START KILLED MILLWALL

After a bright opening 120 seconds for the Lions, it took just three minutes for Leeds to bounce back from their 1-0 loss at Portsmouth on Sunday afternoon – a first defeat in 17 Championship outings.

Casper De Norre was dispossessed in the centre of the pitch and a one-two between Joe Rothwell and Joel Piroe saw Manor Soloman played into the box.

The Spurs loanee’s cross was deflected off Jake Cooper and found a way into the back of the net as Lukas Jensen, who had already moved out of his goalmouth to collect the cross, put the ball into his own net.

Alex Neil’s side did well in weathering the storm after the opener but were unable to fashion any chances of their own for the rest of the first half – a late flurry of set-pieces the closest Millwall came to troubling Illan Meslier.

They kept a strong defensive structure in the second half and frustrated Leeds, with Dan James and Brenden Aaronson both having shots blocked inside the box.

But Leeds’ patience paid off with five minutes of normal time remaining when Ao Tanaka arrived on to Junior Firpo’s cutback to curl a shot beyond Jensen.

“LUFC defeat FA Cup fifth round finalists Millwall,” was posted by the hosts X account, underlining the needle between the two clubs.

Millwall, who had knocked United out of the competition, had to come out and attack Leeds if they wanted to stake a claim and spark a late charge into the play-offs.

Instead, they probably showed their opponents far too much respect and allowed them to control the tempo of the game.

The performance was summed up by recording no shots on target.

NUMBER 10 IS A PRIORITY SIGNING

The change of George Honeyman for Billy Mitchell after the ex-Sunderland attacker went down with a groin injury after 28 minutes saw Neil surrender an attacking player to help combat the midfield battle against Joe Rothwell, who was running the game for the hosts.

But the change in shape meant the South Londoners were unable to create a chance for Mihailo Ivanovic, who did not touch the ball once in the opposition’s box during the first half.

The Serbian striker’s isolation continued at the start of the second half, with Leeds dominating the play and looking to break down Millwall’s stubborn defence.

If Millwall were getting any joy when attacking Leeds, it came in the shape of Femi Azeez, but Daniel Farke’s side doubled up on the former Reading attacker to cut out his threat.

Neil looked to get Azeez more space when he brought on Aidomo Emakhu and pushed the summer signing over to the right-hand side.

Luke Cundle played as a number 10 for the rest of the match, but in terms of having a clinical passer on the bench who could help bring a bit of structure to Millwall’s attack through the centre of the pitch, it is clear those skill sets are missing from the squad.

WHAT IS LEFT TO PLAY FOR THIS SEASON?

While the play-offs are not mathematically impossible for the Lions, closing an eight-point gap with nine games left to play while hoping teams above slip up, is highly unlikely.

Neil can soon start preparing for next season and having his first full summer in charge, a transfer period that could see a fair amount of work done to the squad.

Honeyman, Duncan Watmore and George Saville are out of contract.

The likes of Josh Coburn and Zak Sturge will also have the chance to show the Lions that they should spend to turn their loan deals into full-time moves.

Millwall had looked into signing Coburn in the January window – as exclusively revealed by the South London Press.

The final eight games could also give Neil the chance to blood youngster Ra’ees Bangura-Williams.

The ex-Tooting & Mitcham youngster has been in and out of the side since starting four Championship games in a row just over a month ago.

But the final few games now presents the chance to give the attacker additional minutes and get him more comfortable with Championship football before his first full senior season.