Millwall 2-0 Birmingham Four Things: Lions outclass Blues

Morrison and Wallace celebrate – bbc.co.uk

A Maxime Colin own goal and a Ryan Tunnicliffe strike helped Millwall to a deserved 2-0 win over Birmingham on Saturday evening. Here’s four talking points from the game.

Lions strong start

Neil Harris’ side pressed well early on and looked dangerous in the transitional phases of play, with Marc Roberts among others guilty of giving the ball away in dangerous areas. The hosts got into some excellent positions but, initially, lacked the end product required to make the most of them. In one of many half-chances, Aiden O’Brien flicked the ball over the bar after Jake Cooper’s 17th minute knockdown.

Vassell’s big chance

Birmingham offered next to nothing going forward, but the game might have transpired differently had Isaac Vassell taken their best chance. The ex-Luton forward was played through on goal by David Davis moments before half-time, but he couldn’t get his bearings right from a tight angle and slid it wide.

Millwall had a Plan B

This blog’s main doubt about Millwall before this season was not whether they would have the battling qualities required – Harris and the fans would accept nothing less. Rather, it was whether they had the tactical variation to compete in a modernizing Championship, having relied as an attacking threat on Steve Morison’s aerial prowess in League One. Morison was excellent, his strong run moments into the second half being key to the opener, which was inadvertently knocked in by Colin, and the veteran’s teammates weren’t shy to use his strengths. They also played some controlled, possession football after the break and look a more technically assured outfit. Tom Elliott looked bright after replacing Morison and when his 76th-minute shot was pushed away by Tomasz Kuszczak, Tunnicliffe tapped home.

Birmingham didn’t have a Plan A

The away side’s statuesque defending for that second goal epitomized their performance. The defenders would often clear their lines but then the midfielders and forwards were too slow to apply pressure in the secondary phases of play, allowing Millwall’s midfield too much time on the ball. While the Lions passed with quality in that second half, Blues were far too sloppy in possession and wasted many opportunities to break. They can have no complaints about the defeat.