The lowdown on Millwall 1 Stoke City 0 – Ivanovic spot on in game lacking quality
Millwall recorded a fourth successive home win over Stoke City as Mihalio Ivanovic’s 93rd-minute penalty ensured they bounced back from their defeat against Championship promotion hopefuls Leeds United on Saturday lunchtime.
Ivanovic converted from 12 yards after his strike partner Josh Coburn was fouled by Stoke’s Ben Wilmot. The win sends Millwall back into the top half of the Championship table.
Here is the lowdown on the match.
THE LINE-UPS
Millwall: Jensen, Crama (Harding 74), Tanganga, Cooper, Bryan, Emakhu (Connolly 74), De Norre, Mitchell, Bangura-Williams (Cundle 90), Coburn, Ivanovic. Subs not used: Evans, Wintle, Saville, Kendall, Matthews, Sturge.
Stoke City: Johansson, Tchamadeu, Phillips, Wilmot, Bocat, Thompson, Burger, Baker (Moran 78), Koumas, Bae (Manhoef 79), Al-Hamdi (Gallagher 63). Subs not used: Bonham, Rose, Pearson, Seko, Lawal, Lowe.
SNAPSHOT OF THE GAME
It was a poor game that lacked any real quality. Neither side were able to really get any form of attacking moves together, which sums up how the season has gone for both teams in front of goal.
The relegation-threatened visitors were the better of the two sides in the first half and had two very good chances in the second half to break the deadlock. Joon-Ho Bae fired an effort against the bar and Lukas Jensen made a superb stop with his boot to deny Wouter Burger.
Wilmot turned out to be the ultimate villain in the 92nd minute as his foul on Coburn saw Andy Davies point to the spot. Ivanovic stepped up and fired the penalty into the top corner.
TACTICAL APPROACH
Alex Neil made five changes to the side that lost at Leeds on Wednesday. Femi Azeez and George Honeyman were injured at Elland Road. The Lions head coach opted to play with two up front partnering Coburn and Ivanovic.
It did not give the results that perhaps he had hoped for, as Stoke proved very hard to break down. City having an extra man in midfield made it hard for the likes of Casper De Norre and Billy Mitchell to have any real attacking threat – instead spending most of the game containing the City threat.
STAR MAN
Joe Bryan. Had the best chance in the first half, albeit a tame effort from the edge of the box in the first half. He created the most chances in the game (three) and looked comfortable in his defensive duties.
BEST MOMENT
Ivanovic’s late penalty. Spot-kicks have been a problem for Millwall this season, so to see one put away with real quality at the death was great for the home fans.
MOAN OF THE MATCH
A general lack of quality. Both of these clubs have big issues scoring goals, having scored 36 and 37 goals respectively. Thankfully, for the Lions they have been very good defensively for the majority of the campaign.
Supply into the box has been one of the real gripes from a Millwall perspective this season. Coming into the game, Millwall had the second worst record in the league at goals from corners, with three scored from 179 attempts. For such a big side that is a very poor return and something that Alex Neil will need to address in the summer.
A TALKING POINT DOWN THE PUB
Did the 4-4-2 gamble pay off?
Millwall have always been classed as one of those traditional football clubs, that you would expect to play with two strikers. Think back to Neil Harris’ first stint in charge – it was 4-4-2 the whole way. Alex Neil has got two big strikers to utilise, but it did not seem to pay off too much this afternoon.
Between them in the first half they managed one touch in the box that is nowhere near enough and will not threaten defences. It was a tough afternoon for the two strikers as the service into them was also very limited. It could be something to work on going forward, if so it will need fine tuning.
WHAT THE BOSS HAD TO SAY
“We are pleased with the win. In the second half we were dominant. We got into some good areas and didn’t have as many clear-cut chances as we would have liked but, based on the second half performance, if anyone deserved to win it was us.”