The Sky Blues recorded only their second victory in 18 attempts at Millwall with a superb 2-1 winCoventry City earned a brilliant second away win in the Championship in a superb performance that could have produced more goals had it not been for Millwall’s outstanding goalkeeper.
An own goal sparked by Jordan Shipley and superb Gus Hamer strike gave the Sky Blues a comfortable lead at the break as the visitors dominated a sluggish looking home side at the Den.
City hit the post and saw the inspired Bartoz Bialkowski deny them three times after the break when the Lions pulled a goal back from the penalty spot.
The result – only City’s second league win in 18 attempts at Millwall, dating back to the mid 1950s – comes as the club’s sixth win in the division so far this term and means they move up 16th in the table.
The only down side to the game was injury to striker Matty Godden who went down for treatment in the sixth minute and limped off in the 13th with what looked like his recent foot problem troubling him, replaced by Max Biamou.
But the Sky Blues played some enterprising football going forward and grabbed the lead in the 20th minute from an own goal, made by Shipley.
Callum O’Hare picked the midfielder out in space in the box to the left of goal and he had time to send a powerful shot across the keeper, bouncing off the far post and hitting centre-back Jake Cooper and into the back of his own net.
And the outstanding Gus Hamer doubled the lead five minutes later when Millwall conceded a free-kick on the edge of the box and the inspirational midfielder hit a powerful setpiece shot into the wall. But it bounced straight back out to him and he caught it beautifully on the volley to steer it into the far corner.
City could have had two more before the break had it not been for the heroics from goalkeeper Bartoze Baialkowski who got a hand to deny Hamer, brilliantly tipping out for a corner on 27 minutes before Ben Sheaf was played through by O’Hare on the break but had his angle shot palmed away.
O’Hare played Biamou through on the stroke of half-time as the visitors looked to put the Lions to the sword but the striker’s shot was blocked out for a corner at the last second, the resulting flag kick almost producing a second own goal as Shaun Hutchinson headed onto the underside of his own bar and out.
The Sky Blues had a shot count of nine, three of which were on target, at the break compared to none for the home side which told the story of an impressive opening 45 minutes from Mark Robins’s men.
Millwall had their first shot in the 50th minute, a tame effort straight at the keeper from midfielder Shaun Williams, but striker Tom Bradshaw should really have tested Ben Wilson when he burst clear to the left but fired wide as they attempted a fight-back.
City suffered a second injury blow just after the hour when Shipley limped off, replaced by Ryan Giles who almost scored within minutes when he ventured forward on the left and hit a cross-cum-shot that looked to be dipping in until the keeper got a firm hand to make a brilliant save.
Wilson made his first save of the afternoon in the 71st minute when he dived to deny Jed Wallace before Millwall got themselves back into the game from an incredibly soft penalty, conceded by Dom Hyam who went to ground and appeared to win the ball against Troy Parrott, leaving Wallace to slot home the spot-kick.
That gave the home side a lift as they pushed for an equaliser but City were desperately unlucky not to restore their two goal cushion when Giles hit a ferocious shot that the keeper tipped wide before O’Hare was through with just the keeper to beat but denied by an out-stretched foot from Millwall’s clear man of the match.
Coventry saw out their victory in five minutes of added time when Murray Wallace was sent off for a second yellow card against the deserved winners on the day.