The lowdown on Millwall 0-1 Luton – Lions down to one senior striker after Josh Coburn injury blow
Millwall were beaten 1-0 by Luton Town at The Den on Saturday afternoon.
Defender Teden Mengi scored the only goal of the game with a sublime first-time effort in the 10th minute and he would have had a second were it not for a fine save from Lukas Jensen towards the end of the first half. Tahith Chong also hit the posts for the visitors, who fashioned the better chances.
Substitute Macaulay Langstaff missed a golden opportunity to equalise for Millwall in the second half when he was put through one-on-one but couldn’t beat Thomas Kaminski, who also denied Shaun Hutchinson from a corner right at the death.
Here is Dan Marsh’s lowdown from the game:
THE LINE-UPS
Millwall: Jensen, Leonard, Tanganga, Cooper (Hutchinson, 46), Bryan (Scanlon, 79) , De Norre, Saville, Esse (Emakhu, 79), Honeyman (Azeez, 67), Watmore, Coburn (Langstaff, 34).
Subs not used: Roberts, McNamara, Wintle, Kelly.
Luton Town: Kaminski, Burke, Mengi, McGuinness, Bell, Doughty, Walsh (Holmes, 93), Nakamba (Mpanzu, 69), Clark, Chong, Adebayo (Morris, 67).
Subs not used: Shea, Andersen, Moses, Woodrow, Taylor, Nelson.
SNAPSHOT OF THE GAME
Referee Josh Smith tried to let plenty go but there were plenty of calls which left The Den restless. Luton took the lead through the first half’s only real moment of quality with Millwall getting some joy with turnovers high up the pitch with the visitors happy to play out.
Millwall pushed in the second half and put the Hatters under pressure but bar Langstaff’s late miss and a last-gasp effort from Hutchinson, Kaminski wasn’t overly troubled.
TACTICAL APPROACH
Millwall mixed things up really well against Sheffield Wednesday but the loss of Josh Coburn to injury took the direct route away. They did win a number of high turnovers with Luton’s desire to play out from the back but made little of them.
Neil Harris introduced Femi Azeez for George Honeyman in the second half and moved Romain Esse into the No.10 position as the Lions upped the ante.
Millwall were the better team on the basis of play and recorded a higher xG than their opponents (0.82 to Luton’s 0.65) but they failed to make the most of the chances they did manage to fashion after the break.
A TALKING POINT DOWN THE PUB
Deja vu anyone? Josh Coburn’s first-half injury means Macaulay Langstaff is the Lions’ only senior No.9, with both Tom Bradshaw and club-record signing Mihailo Ivanovic currently sidelined.
While it remains to be seen how bad Coburn’s issue is, a lay-off would give Neil Harris a major problem. It felt like Millwall needed two strikers in on deadline day had Zian Flemming stayed put. And lo and behold, on an afternoon where the Dutchman made his bow for Burnley playing as a No.9, Millwall look short on striking options again, given Ivanovic will need to be eased back in even if he does return ahead of schedule.
STAR MAN
Casper De Norre. Millwall midfielder was everywhere and pulled the strings in the middle but wasn’t lacking grit either.
BEST MOMENT
Japhet Tanganga’s tackle, complete with a drag back by the dugouts, left Tahith Chong flying into thin air.
MOAN OF THE MATCH
Referee Josh Smith made a number of dubious decisions in the first half and only got worse as the game went on. The home side got very little out of the match officials, who also let play continue when Joe Bryan was down with a head injury in the second half.
A TALKING POINT DOWN THE PUB
Deja vu anyone? Josh Coburn’s first-half injury means Macaulay Langstaff is the Lions’ only senior No.9, with both Tom Bradshaw and club-record signing Mihailo Ivanovic currently sidelined.
While it remains to be seen how bad Coburn’s issue is, a lengthy lay-off would give Neil Harris a major problem. It felt like Millwall needed two strikers in on deadline day had Zian Flemming stayed put. And lo and behold, on an afternoon where the Dutchman made his bow for Burnley playing as a No.9, Millwall are looking short on striking options again – and they went on to lose Jake Cooper to injury too.
WHAT THE BOSS HAD TO SAY