Millwall 1 - 2 Coventry City

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Millwall 1 - 2 Coventry City

Postby dutchman » Sat Jan 02, 2021 6:30 pm

Coventry leapfrog out-of-form Millwall

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Coventry secured their first win in five games to leapfrog out-of-form Millwall in the Championship table.

The opener arrived when Jordan Shipley's shot cannoned back off the post and was diverted in by Lions defender Jake Cooper after 20 minutes.

Gustavo Hamer stretched the lead six minutes later, firing home after his initial free-kick was blocked.

A foul on Troy Parrott allowed Jed Wallace to halve the deficit from the penalty spot but namesake Murray Wallace was sent off in stoppage time for a second yellow card as Coventry held on.

Coventry were without a goal or win in four games going into this fixture and the omens did not look good when joint top-scorer Matt Godden was forced off with an injury after only 15 minutes.

But the Sky Blues went ahead five minutes later when Shipley's shot struck the post and rebounded against retreating Lions defender Cooper, who could not stop it going over the line.

Hamer extended the lead from just outside the penalty area. The midfielder's initial free-kick was blocked by the wall but the rebound came back to him and he fired a deflected shot past the helpless Bartosz Bialkowski.

Millwall failed to register a single shot at goal in the first half, prompting Lions boss Gary Rowett to make two changes at the break, introducing Scott Malone and Troy Parrott for Jon Dadi Bodvarsson and Mason Bennett.

However, they had little immediate impact and Coventry almost scored seconds after the restart when Shipley hit the post.

The hosts eventually called Ben Wilson into action in the Coventry goal after 50 minutes but he was comfortably behind Shaun Williams' shot, and Tom Bradshaw volleyed over soon after.

Millwall were given a lifeline with 16 minutes remaining when half-time substitute Parrott was brought down in the penalty area by Dom Hyam, allowing Wallace to halve the deficit with his sixth goal of the season.

But their chances of salvaging a point evaporated when Murray Wallace was dismissed in second-half injury time, with defeat meaning the Londoners drop to 17th, with Coventry moving a place above them.

Coventry boss Mark Robins told BBC Coventry & Warwickshire:

"It was a brilliant performance. Absolutely outstanding and a good start to the new year. I think there's only one complaint and that's that we didn't finish the game off earlier.

"We've had a number of chances today to have a really healthy scoreline. We finished last year by not scoring for four games in a row so it was nice to get back on the scoresheet.

"There were outstanding performances from Gustavo (Hamer) and Callum O'Hare. The confidence should be coming, certainly with performances like this one today. It was outstanding."

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Re: Millwall 1 - 2 Coventry City

Postby dutchman » Sat Jan 02, 2021 10:15 pm

The Sky Blues recorded only their second victory in 18 attempts at Millwall with a superb 2-1 win

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Coventry 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.

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