The lowdown on Millwall 1 Blackburn 0 – Emakhu rewards caretaker Livermore after being handed first league start of campaign

Mihailo Ivanovic scored a 96th-minute winner as Millwall ended their three-game losing streak with a 1-0 win over Blackburn Rovers.

Here is the lowdown on the match.

THE LINE-UPS

Millwall: Jensen, Leonard, Tanganga, Wallace, Bryan, Saville, De Norre (Wintle 77), Azeez (Ivanovic 65), Esse, Emakhu, Langstaff (Watmore 88).  Subs not used: Roberts, Hutchinson, Harding, Mitchell, Honeyman, Bradshaw.

Blackburn: Pears, Rankin-Costello, Hyam, Batth, Pickering (Hedges 76), Tronstad, Travis, Cozier-Duberry (Dolan 61), Ohashi (Beck 66), Cantwell (Wiemann 66), Gueye. Subs not used: Hilton, Brittian, McFazdean, Buckley, Baker.

SNAPSHOT OF THE GAME

A scrappy contest for the most part.

Blackburn arrived at The Den having won their last six in a row and had not conceded a goal in their last five outings. Millwall had not scored in their last three games, so it’s no real surprise it was not a goalfest.

It was the South Londoners who created the best chances. Femi Azeez had the best of the home side’s efforts, forcing Aynsley Pears into a good stop in the 37th minute.

Rovers’ best chance arrived in the 77th minute when two substitutes, Ryan Hedges and Andi Weimann, combined but the latter’s effort was saved easily by Lukas Jensen.

Just when the game looked to be heading for a goalless draw, up jumped Ivanovic to rise highest and head Ryan Leonard’s cross into the net to send the Den wild.

Dave Livermore, in his first game as interim head coach, made two changes to the side that lost at Middlesbrough. Aidomo Emakhu came in for his first league start of the season and Joe Bryan returned in place of Danny McNamara.There was plenty of attacking intent from the home side, with Emakhu, Azeez and Esse all included in the starting 11. The substitutions made by Livermore also showed that intent with Ivanovic coming on as Azeez’s replacement in the second half.

STAR MAN

Aidomo Emakhu – Making his first start of the season it was clear he was out to impress, he did just that. He looked lively in the attacking situations and offered the Lions a bit of extra pace down the right hand side.

BEST MOMENT

Azeez’s recovery challenge on Amario Cozier-Duberry. The Blackburn man was away on goal but a 60-yard sprint from Azeez enabled him to make a superb challenge and deny Cozier-Duberry the chance to shoot at Lukas Jensen.

MOAN OF THE MATCH

Referee’s inconsistency. Both teams would have been disappointed with referee David Webb. There was a distinct lack of consistency with the decisions he made. He did for the most part seem very whistle-happy which, at times, made it very hard for the game to flow.

The return of Aidomo Emakhu. It’s been a tough ride for Emakhu this season.

The Ireland U21 international was set to move on loan to Wycombe Wanderers on deadline day before the move collapsed and he struggled to break into the team under Neil Harris.

He has bags of raw talent – that is clear to see. His pace is certainly something that can cause teams plenty of problems. Joe Rankin-Costello really struggled and needed help on a number occasions as Emakhu was getting the better of him. If the new head coach can get the best of Emakhu, he could be a key weapon for Millwall in the second half of the campaign.

WHAT THE BOSS HAD TO SAY

“I just thought the game at 0-0 might suit him (Ivanovic). They have got two big centre-backs who were batting the ball back quite a bit. I thought if we could get Mihailo up against them and maybe Macaulay off of him, just a little bit deeper, that might cause them a few problems.

“What Mihailo is really, really good at is attacking the ball from crosses. As you saw from his goal. We see it daily in training when we do finishing etc etc – he finishes with his head really well.”