Millwall 0-2 Blackburn Rovers, Championship: report, ratings and verdict

VS.

Millwall 5-2-3

0

2

Blackburn Rovers 4-3-3

Half Time: 0 - 1 The Den ( Attendance: NA )
1 min

Millwall’s slim Play-Off hopes appear over after they fell to a 2-0 Championship defeat against Blackburn Rovers at The Den.

The visitors took the lead through a deflected Bradley Dack effort from the edge of the box 18 minutes in after the Lions failed to get their defensive set-up right.

Tyrhys Dolan should then have made it two when a Millwall clearance was played straight at him but indecision set in while another effort of his curled wide minutes later.

The early second-half introduction of Matt Smith provided Millwall with their best chance to equalise but the forward headed wide from Scott Malone’s cross.

Blackburn continued to dominate and Millwall keeper Bart Bialkowski made an excellent diving save from Sam Gallagher before Ryan Woods was lucky not to see red and give away a penalty for an apparent foul on Dack.

However, Rovers made the game safe with fifteen minutes to play when a poor Jake Cooper pass to Shaun Hutchinson gave possession to Joe Rothwell whose initial shot was blocked by Cooper only to rebound off Gallagher and go in.

Malone hit the post and Jon Dadi Bodvarsson forced a save from Thomas Kaminski late on but Millwall deserved nothing from the game.

Key Points

Check out all the key talking points and reaction from London Football Scene below…

Key Moment

Millwall never recovered after Bradley Dack’s early goal and were well-beaten.

Moan of the Match

Even when Millwall play poorly with the ball, they usually look solid defensively but they were lucky not to concede more against a well-drilled Rovers side.

Talking Point

Should Blackburn have had a second-half penalty when Ryan Woods brought Dack down in the box?

Man of the Match

Sam Gallagher – ran the Lions’ backline ragged and deserved his goal to wrap up the game.

Tweet of the Match

Referee Watch

Matthew Donohue (Greater Manchester) – consistent and fair for the most part, though Woods should have seen red when he fouled Dack in the box.

Atmosphere

Millwall fans would have made their opinions known on this poor display and the atmosphere could have turned toxic if fans were in attendance.

Verdict

Blackburn fully-deserved the three points as Millwall put in arguably their worst display under Gary Rowett.

Line Ups

Millwall 5-2-3

Bialkowski; Romeo (McNamara, 73), G. Evans, Hutchinson, Cooper, Malone; Mitchell (Smith, 55), Woods (Williams, 84); J. Wallace (Burey, 72), Bodvarsson, Bennett (Ferguson, 73)

Subs not used:

Fielding, Pearce, Tiensia, Thompson

Booked

Woods, G. Evans

Blackburn Rovers 4-3-3

Kaminski; Rankin-Costello (Nyambe, 62), Lenihan, Harwood-Bellis, Douglas; Buckley (Elliott, 71), Trybull (C. Evans, 90+2), Dack (Johnson, 71); Brereton (Rothwell, 70), Dolan, Gallagher

Subs not used:

Pears, Downing, Travis, Bennett

Booked

Gallagher, Trybull, Kaminski

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