Millwall recorded their third straight Championship victory as they defeated Burnley at The Den on Sunday afternoon.
Here is the lowdown on the match.
THE LINE-UPS
Millwall: Jensen, Leonard, Tanganga, Cooper, Bryan (McNamara 73), De Norre, Saville, Esse (Watmore 75), Azeez (Wintle 75), Honeyman (Hutchinson 90), Langstaff (Coburn 75). Subs not used: Roberts, Kelly, Emakhu, Ivanovic.
Burnley: Trafford, Esteve, Egan-Riley, Brownhill, Anthony, Humphreys (Sarmiento 63′), Roberts, Cullen, Laurent (Mejbri 63), Koleosho, Hountondji (Rodriguez 63). Subs not used: Hladky, Sambo, Egan, Pires, Dobson, Agyei.
SNAPSHOT OF THE GAME
As has been the case in many of Millwall’s recent games, this was tight. Burnley rattled the post inside the first five minutes when Luca Koleosho broke free from Joe Bryan, he was found by Josh Laurent, his shot came back off the post but Lukas Jensen looked to have had it covered.
James Trafford was forced to keep out a Macaulay Langstaff header just before the break, the England international tipping over the Millwall striker’s looping header. Trafford was beaten in the 51st minute, Femi Azeez’s superbly delivered cross was met by an equally impressive header from Lions captain Jake Cooper that was out of the keeper’s reach.
TACTICAL APPROACH
Neil Harris made three changes to the side that won at Swansea last weekend. Azeez, Casper De Norre and Bryan all returned to the team with Danny McNamara, Ryan Wintle and Duncan Watmore dropping to the bench.
The Lions were very happy to sit back and give the visitors the ball and soak up the pressure. It worked as Harris’ side reduced Burnley to speculative efforts from outside the box. Harris stuck with his plan for the second half – frustrating the away side by giving them the ball but only in places where they were unable to hurt the Millwall defence.
As the away side started to exert a bit of pressure midway through the second half, the Lions boss freshened up his pack by bringing on the likes of Josh Coburn, Wintle, McNamara and Watmore.
STAR MAN
Joe Bryan. Despite having to go off in the 73rd minute with what looked like concussion, Bryan was outstanding all afternoon. He had a tough task up against Burnley’s brightest spark in Koleosho. He managed his battles and duels really well, something that got significantly harder when he picked up a booking midway through the first half. His use of the ball was also impressive, completing 22 out of 30 accurate passes.
The former Fulham man will now miss the Leeds game on Wednesday due to suspension, a big blow for Harris and his side.
BEST MOMENT
Cooper’s superb header. Cooper is not someone who gets a lot of help in the box. His height seems to put him at a distinct disadvantage when trying to get fouls from set-piece situations. There were a number of occasions in this game where his shirt was pulled from corners. The ball into him from Azeez was top quality and you knew where his header was going the moment it left the skipper’s head.
MOAN OF THE MATCH
Gavin Ward’s use of the whistle made things very stop-start. It was quite noticeable the amount of decisions that went the way of the visitors. Connor Roberts was lucky not to give a penalty away in the second half for a foul on Cooper. Romain Esse was also fouled a number of times with Ward not forthcoming in free-kick decisions in favour of the home side.
A TALKING POINT DOWN THE PUB
How far can the Lions go? This win takes them up to seventh in the Championship table and just two points outside the top six. Harris’s side were on the end of criticism after the 1-1 draw with Derby but have since managed three consecutive wins and clean sheets. Form at The Den is once again getting back to the levels that you would expect of a Millwall side. Harris made it clear he wants SE16 to be a tough place to come and be feared again. It’s getting there.
Leeds arrive in the capital on Wednesday night and ahead of that game this is a real statement victory. Can the Lions once again be a surprise package in the Championship? Let’s also remember they still have players to return who will only strengthen the side.
WHAT THE BOSS HAD TO SAY
“We’re disappointed we’re not higher up the league. We should have a lot more points than we have. We won’t bemoan that because we feel we are a team going in the right direction, but we haven’t come across a team better than us yet. The players are flying at the moment.”
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