Match Report: Substitutions the difference in deserved Millwall win

[Olé]

After a desperately long wait for a celebratory pint, having peeled off from the police escort and sneaked into the Spoons at Surrey Quays, we overheard a couple of very old Millwall boys disecting the game in the queue for the bar. I was pleased to hear the first surmise “Didn’t deserve anything, they ran the game” but more interested as his mate responded “Fack off you’re joking, both teams were shite, they had the ball a lot but there was nothing in it for 70 minutes, they had one shot we had one shot, big deal. The substitutions were the difference.”

Refreshingly (like the pint itself) they both had a point. City were absolutely in control of the game throughout and deserved winners, but not without the reality check that they created very little threat from their dominance and if not for Matty James’ 94th minute bicycle kick, might be rueing a lot of wasted effort. They were also right that subs - something Nigel Pearson gets criticism for - were decisive. Millwall badly needed an injection of pace and it came too little and too late. Energetic City needed only a top up and had long since introduced theirs.

So with the hosts only finding direct running in the final 10 minutes - Max O’Leary making a crucial save from a free kick - City were already ably executing their second wave of pressure via subs Hayden Roberts, Anis Mehmeti, Kal Naismith and the relentless Harry Cornick, crucial strength in depth for a side that in prior years would have run out of steam. Further enhanced by chucking in 17 year old Ephraim Yeboah for exhausted Sam Bell as a final gamble on a winner. The teenager drew defenders from Cornick’s long throw and James was unmarked to oblige.

On a cloudy, muggy day in in South East London the atmosphere pre kick off was tense to say the least. The sell out home crowd for the memorial of sadly departed chairman John Berylson was boisterous but stoic in equal measures. This coupled with train strikes forcing away fans to converge at the Den from all directions - where an endless convoy of police vans and small army of glum faced coppers watched on nervously - gave the day something of an edge. Happily fans on all sides impeccably celebrated the memory of the much loved Millwall owner.

City fielded two changes from the side which drew 1-1 with Preston, Joe Williams replacing the injured Andi Weimann in midfield and Mark Sykes replacing Cornick out wide. The pattern of the match was obvious almost immediately as Millwall in a 5-3-2 looked to release wingbacks Joe Bryan and Danny McNamara down both touchlines but got little change from an organised City back four that consistently blocked their lanes or ran them out of play. Conversely in the middle City had complete control and looked a yard sharper and faster than their hosts.

Zak Vyner’s diving block to deny Duncan Watmore’s rate sighter of goal was typical of the resolute defending while at the other end Sykes and Nahki Wells were agonisingly close to rifling home at close range from a James corner. City had two passable calls for a penalty, once as a defender blocked Wells touch and the ball ricocheted up into his outstretched arm, then later as Bell, in one of his characteristic surging diagonal runs from out wide, appeared to be bundled over chasing through into the box off the left flank. Keith Stroud was not interested.

For all their dominance City had nothing to show for it at half time - and there was always a fear they may rue the failure to convert possession into advantage. The conversation at half time was that Millwall surely couldn’t be as poor in the second half. Thankfully, they were. The Lions continued to labour out wide, while City continued to build slickly through the middle, although breaking the lines against the hosts back 5 meant chances in and around the box were at a premium, and the game began to develop an attritional feel with several robust challenges.

But it was the substitutes who breathed new life into the match for City after the hour where otherwise they may have fizzled out. Pearson’s men appeared re-energised and more incisive with Cornick and Mehmeti running from wide against back-pedalling defenders. First James ran from the channel and curled a low fizzing shot from outside the box that roared wide. Next typically blood and thunder work from Pring allowed it to open up for Mehmeti’s run and from a similar position in the left channel he slammed a drilled effort inches past the same post.

Smart thinking from Tanner from a tame Naismith right wing corner recycled the opportunity as he headed a half clearance back into the box and over the entire defence where Bell turned his head to instinctively glance the ball onward at the near post but just the wrong side of the woodwork. As he had done on Wednesday, sub Roberts appeared to introduce another level of precision and thought in attacking situations, as City turned the screw, Jason Knight stealing the ball away in midfield and striding upfield to play in Cornick, whose shot was blocked.

A tired looking Bell had two further chances, but Millwall were also capitalising on space afforded by City’s confident attacking, with Bryan firing wildly over following a counter attack. Indeed the unthinkable started to occur to City’s massed ranks as the home side belatedly added pace up front in the final 10 - they couldn’t produce a smash and grab win from a match they were comfortably second best in? That seemed possible when sub Romain Esse was felled by Vyner and George Saville’s low free kick required a brilliant O’Leary double save in the final minute.

Even the draw was flattering Millwall so an unlikely win would have been surreal. But instead it was neither thanks to James’ bit of magic deep in injury time. Cornick, grinning at the two tiers of away fans to his right as they encouraged his long throw, launched the ball into the box. Late sub Yeboah and Dickie converged short for the flick on, drawing defenders as they did. Bryan threw himself to the ground hoping for a foul, the ball carried to the back of the box where City’s captain was unmarked and swivelled to catapult his dipping volley into the bottom corner.

It’s an overused word but pandemonium in the stand behind the goal as fans cart wheeled towards the front of the terracing in rapture, while away players mobbed their skipper. Sometimes games deserve goals, and this was the goal this game deserved. Pearson’s side had played with an energy, confidence and self-belief that was the better of their fancied opponents, but all of that endeavour had amounted to zero advantage for 90 minutes. So back in a Surrey Quays pub garden one elderly Lions fan had a point - but happily in the end City had all three.

O’Leary 7

Tanner 8

Pring 8

Vyner 8

Dickie 8

Williams 7

Knight 8

James 7

Sykes 6

Bell 7

Wells 6

 

Naismith 6

Mehmeti 7

Cornick 8

Roberts 7

Yeboah 6

[Davefevs]

40 minutes ago, Olé said:

The substitutions were the difference

That period from 63 mins when the subs were made fall into the 61-75 point above….our highest pressing intensity of the match.  No drop off from the subs, more intensity instead.  Millwall also made a sub at the same time, their intensity increased too from what it had, and their 3 subs in the final 10 minutes increased again.  But we kept our levels up.

 

PPDA - https://www.coachesvoice.com/cv/ppda-explained-passes-per-defensive-action/#:~:text=PPDA stands for passes per defensive action.

 

A lovely read Rob.

 

[lenred]

44 minutes ago, Olé said:

After a desperately long wait for a celebratory pint, having peeled off from the police escort and sneaked into the Spoons at Surrey Quays, we overheard a couple of very old Millwall boys disecting the game in the queue for the bar. I was pleased to hear the first surmise “Didn’t deserve anything, they ran the game” but more interested as his mate responded “Fack off you’re joking, both teams were shite, they had the ball a lot but there was nothing in it for 70 minutes, they had one shot we had one shot, big deal. The substitutions were the difference.”

Refreshingly (like the pint itself) they both had a point. City were absolutely in control of the game throughout and deserved winners, but not without the reality check that they created very little threat from their dominance and if not for Matty James’ 94th minute bicycle kick, might be rueing a lot of wasted effort. They were also right that subs - something Nigel Pearson gets criticism for - were decisive. Millwall badly needed an injection of pace and it came too little and too late. Energetic City needed only a top up and had long since introduced theirs.

So with the hosts only finding direct running in the final 10 minutes - Max O’Leary making a crucial save from a free kick - City were already ably executing their second wave of pressure via subs Hayden Roberts, Anis Mehmeti, Kal Naismith and the relentless Harry Cornick, crucial strength in depth for a side that in prior years would have run out of steam. Further enhanced by chucking in 17 year old Ephraim Yeboah for exhausted Sam Bell as a final gamble on a winner. The teenager drew defenders from Cornick’s long throw and James was unmarked to oblige.

On a cloudy, muggy day in in South East London the atmosphere pre kick off was tense to say the least. The sell out home crowd for the memorial of sadly departed chairman John Berylson was boisterous but stoic in equal measures. This coupled with train strikes forcing away fans to converge at the Den from all directions - where an endless convoy of police vans and small army of glum faced coppers watched on nervously - gave the day something of an edge. Happily fans on all sides impeccably celebrated the memory of the much loved Millwall owner.

City fielded two changes from the side which drew 1-1 with Preston, Joe Williams replacing the injured Andi Weimann in midfield and Mark Sykes replacing Cornick out wide. The pattern of the match was obvious almost immediately as Millwall in a 5-3-2 looked to release wingbacks Joe Bryan and Danny McNamara down both touchlines but got little change from an organised City back four that consistently blocked their lanes or ran them out of play. Conversely in the middle City had complete control and looked a yard sharper and faster than their hosts.

Zak Vyner’s diving block to deny Duncan Watmore’s rate sighter of goal was typical of the resolute defending while at the other end Sykes and Nahki Wells were agonisingly close to rifling home at close range from a James corner. City had two passable calls for a penalty, once as a defender blocked Wells touch and the ball ricocheted up into his outstretched arm, then later as Bell, in one of his characteristic surging diagonal runs from out wide, appeared to be bundled over chasing through into the box off the left flank. Keith Stroud was not interested.

For all their dominance City had nothing to show for it at half time - and there was always a fear they may rue the failure to convert possession into advantage. The conversation at half time was that Millwall surely couldn’t be as poor in the second half. Thankfully, they were. The Lions continued to labour out wide, while City continued to build slickly through the middle, although breaking the lines against the hosts back 5 meant chances in and around the box were at a premium, and the game began to develop an attritional feel with several robust challenges.

But it was the substitutes who breathed new life into the match for City after the hour where otherwise they may have fizzled out. Pearson’s men appeared re-energised and more incisive with Cornick and Mehmeti running from wide against back-pedalling defenders. First James ran from the channel and curled a low fizzing shot from outside the box that roared wide. Next typically blood and thunder work from Pring allowed it to open up for Mehmeti’s run and from a similar position in the left channel he slammed a drilled effort inches past the same post.

Smart thinking from Tanner from a tame Naismith right wing corner recycled the opportunity as he headed a half clearance back into the box and over the entire defence where Bell turned his head to instinctively glance the ball onward at the near post but just the wrong side of the woodwork. As he had done on Wednesday, sub Roberts appeared to introduce another level of precision and thought in attacking situations, as City turned the screw, Jason Knight stealing the ball away in midfield and striding upfield to play in Cornick, whose shot was blocked.

A tired looking Bell had two further chances, but Millwall were also capitalising on space afforded by City’s confident attacking, with Bryan firing wildly over following a counter attack. Indeed the unthinkable started to occur to City’s massed ranks as the home side belatedly added pace up front in the final 10 - they couldn’t produce a smash and grab win from a match they were comfortably second best in? That seemed possible when sub Romain Esse was felled by Vyner and George Saville’s low free kick required a brilliant O’Leary double save in the final minute.

Even the draw was flattering Millwall so an unlikely win would have been surreal. But instead it was neither thanks to James’ bit of magic deep in injury time. Cornick, grinning at the two tiers of away fans to his right as they encouraged his long throw, launched the ball into the box. Late sub Yeboah and Dickie converged short for the flick on, drawing defenders as they did. Bryan threw himself to the ground hoping for a foul, the ball carried to the back of the box where City’s captain was unmarked and swivelled to catapult his dipping volley into the bottom corner.

It’s an overused word but pandemonium in the stand behind the goal as fans cart wheeled towards the front of the terracing in rapture, while away players mobbed their skipper. Sometimes games deserve goals, and this was the goal this game deserved. Pearson’s side had played with an energy, confidence and self-belief that was the better of their fancied opponents, but all of that endeavour had amounted to zero advantage for 90 minutes. So back in a Surrey Quays pub garden one elderly Lions fan had a point - but happily in the end City had all three.

O’Leary 7

Tanner 8

Pring 8

Vyner 8

Dickie 8

Williams 7

Knight 8

James 7

Sykes 6

Bell 7

Wells 6

 

Naismith 6

Mehmeti 7

Cornick 8

Roberts 7

Yeboah 6

It was beautiful pandemonium wasn’t it! Great write up as always Rob - I’d disagree slightly on Nakhi - on work rate alone I thought he’d deserve a 7 at least - but I’m splitting hairs there.  Glad you gave Cornick a good score - thought he was superb when he came on.  A fantastic day all round - the kind ‘wall fans even chucked me 10p near the end to help towards celebratory pint costs! 

[Nathandao]

Was stood right behind you in the away end and didn't expect to see a match report as I didn't notice you taking any notes. Seems you just do it from memory.

Great report as usual.

[Rocking Red Cyril]

On 13/08/2023 at 13:52, Olé said:

Great report thank you

Watched it in Robins TV, when it eventually worked. Felt City's performance throughout was better than I had expected. Thought we dealt with the physical aspect of Millwall very well. But we did seem to going down very easily at times. Midfield liked very solid and organised if not with enough attacking intent as I would of liked to have seen.  And the City's subs really did up the level of our game . I have to admit I normal feel NP misses a trick with City's subs. But today spot on. A good around performance today. Bring on Brum.

[REDOXO]

On 13/08/2023 at 08:40, lenred said:

It was beautiful pandemonium wasn’t it! Great write up as always Rob - I’d disagree slightly on Nakhi - on work rate alone I thought he’d deserve a 7 at least - but I’m splitting hairs there.  Glad you gave Cornick a good score - thought he was superb when he came on.  A fantastic day all round - the kind ‘wall fans even chucked me 10p near the end to help towards celebratory pint costs! 

Very good report.

But yes I agree as above. Wells work rate was immense. Their center backs were shot at the end due to the running they were forced into, that tiredness had a huge baring on the goal, to tired to jump, a poor clearance header and Jamo all alone on the penalty spot. 
 

 

Edited August 15, 2023 by REDOXO

[Rob k]

I think people underestimate what a chance Bell had, it wasn’t a half chance, he should have easily have scored IMO. We were by far the better side i thought.

[Sir Geoff]

Thanks Rob, another well balanced, thoughtful account. No mention though of the City coach inching past the 'Spoons, to the derision of some of the locals, pre match.

[Out of his pie crust]

On 13/08/2023 at 14:37, Davefevs said:

That period from 63 mins when the subs were made fall into the 61-75 point above….our highest pressing intensity of the match.  No drop off from the subs, more intensity instead.  Millwall also made a sub at the same time, their intensity increased too from what it had, and their 3 subs in the final 10 minutes increased again.  But we kept our levels up.

 

PPDA - https://www.coachesvoice.com/cv/ppda-explained-passes-per-defensive-action/#:~:text=PPDA stands for passes per defensive action.

 

A lovely read Rob.

 

Interesting-8.1 overall would put us pretty well placed amongst the elite European clubs, looking at the linked article (not sure how 8.1 ranks in the champ alone….) 

[Davefevs]

16 minutes ago, Out of his pie crust said:

Interesting-8.1 overall would put us pretty well placed amongst the elite European clubs, looking at the linked article (not sure how 8.1 ranks in the champ alone….) 

In terms of last season’s Champ it would’ve put us top.  Burnley were top with 10.1, Stoke 10.2.

This season (2 game sample), Southampton are registering 6.9.  We are 11th with 12.0.

[One Team]

No one can write up Millwall away as good as you @Olé, superb stuff! 

[Davefevs]

16 minutes ago, One Team said:

No one can write up Millwall away as good as you @Olé, superb stuff! 

FACT.

[maxjak]

On 13/08/2023 at 13:52, Olé said:

After a desperately long wait for a celebratory pint, having peeled off from the police escort and sneaked into the Spoons at Surrey Quays, we overheard a couple of very old Millwall boys disecting the game in the queue for the bar. I was pleased to hear the first surmise “Didn’t deserve anything, they ran the game” but more interested as his mate responded “Fack off you’re joking, both teams were shite, they had the ball a lot but there was nothing in it for 70 minutes, they had one shot we had one shot, big deal. The substitutions were the difference.”

Refreshingly (like the pint itself) they both had a point. City were absolutely in control of the game throughout and deserved winners, but not without the reality check that they created very little threat from their dominance and if not for Matty James’ 94th minute bicycle kick, might be rueing a lot of wasted effort. They were also right that subs - something Nigel Pearson gets criticism for - were decisive. Millwall badly needed an injection of pace and it came too little and too late. Energetic City needed only a top up and had long since introduced theirs.

So with the hosts only finding direct running in the final 10 minutes - Max O’Leary making a crucial save from a free kick - City were already ably executing their second wave of pressure via subs Hayden Roberts, Anis Mehmeti, Kal Naismith and the relentless Harry Cornick, crucial strength in depth for a side that in prior years would have run out of steam. Further enhanced by chucking in 17 year old Ephraim Yeboah for exhausted Sam Bell as a final gamble on a winner. The teenager drew defenders from Cornick’s long throw and James was unmarked to oblige.

On a cloudy, muggy day in in South East London the atmosphere pre kick off was tense to say the least. The sell out home crowd for the memorial of sadly departed chairman John Berylson was boisterous but stoic in equal measures. This coupled with train strikes forcing away fans to converge at the Den from all directions - where an endless convoy of police vans and small army of glum faced coppers watched on nervously - gave the day something of an edge. Happily fans on all sides impeccably celebrated the memory of the much loved Millwall owner.

City fielded two changes from the side which drew 1-1 with Preston, Joe Williams replacing the injured Andi Weimann in midfield and Mark Sykes replacing Cornick out wide. The pattern of the match was obvious almost immediately as Millwall in a 5-3-2 looked to release wingbacks Joe Bryan and Danny McNamara down both touchlines but got little change from an organised City back four that consistently blocked their lanes or ran them out of play. Conversely in the middle City had complete control and looked a yard sharper and faster than their hosts.

Zak Vyner’s diving block to deny Duncan Watmore’s rate sighter of goal was typical of the resolute defending while at the other end Sykes and Nahki Wells were agonisingly close to rifling home at close range from a James corner. City had two passable calls for a penalty, once as a defender blocked Wells touch and the ball ricocheted up into his outstretched arm, then later as Bell, in one of his characteristic surging diagonal runs from out wide, appeared to be bundled over chasing through into the box off the left flank. Keith Stroud was not interested.

For all their dominance City had nothing to show for it at half time - and there was always a fear they may rue the failure to convert possession into advantage. The conversation at half time was that Millwall surely couldn’t be as poor in the second half. Thankfully, they were. The Lions continued to labour out wide, while City continued to build slickly through the middle, although breaking the lines against the hosts back 5 meant chances in and around the box were at a premium, and the game began to develop an attritional feel with several robust challenges.

But it was the substitutes who breathed new life into the match for City after the hour where otherwise they may have fizzled out. Pearson’s men appeared re-energised and more incisive with Cornick and Mehmeti running from wide against back-pedalling defenders. First James ran from the channel and curled a low fizzing shot from outside the box that roared wide. Next typically blood and thunder work from Pring allowed it to open up for Mehmeti’s run and from a similar position in the left channel he slammed a drilled effort inches past the same post.

Smart thinking from Tanner from a tame Naismith right wing corner recycled the opportunity as he headed a half clearance back into the box and over the entire defence where Bell turned his head to instinctively glance the ball onward at the near post but just the wrong side of the woodwork. As he had done on Wednesday, sub Roberts appeared to introduce another level of precision and thought in attacking situations, as City turned the screw, Jason Knight stealing the ball away in midfield and striding upfield to play in Cornick, whose shot was blocked.

A tired looking Bell had two further chances, but Millwall were also capitalising on space afforded by City’s confident attacking, with Bryan firing wildly over following a counter attack. Indeed the unthinkable started to occur to City’s massed ranks as the home side belatedly added pace up front in the final 10 - they couldn’t produce a smash and grab win from a match they were comfortably second best in? That seemed possible when sub Romain Esse was felled by Vyner and George Saville’s low free kick required a brilliant O’Leary double save in the final minute.

Even the draw was flattering Millwall so an unlikely win would have been surreal. But instead it was neither thanks to James’ bit of magic deep in injury time. Cornick, grinning at the two tiers of away fans to his right as they encouraged his long throw, launched the ball into the box. Late sub Yeboah and Dickie converged short for the flick on, drawing defenders as they did. Bryan threw himself to the ground hoping for a foul, the ball carried to the back of the box where City’s captain was unmarked and swivelled to catapult his dipping volley into the bottom corner.

It’s an overused word but pandemonium in the stand behind the goal as fans cart wheeled towards the front of the terracing in rapture, while away players mobbed their skipper. Sometimes games deserve goals, and this was the goal this game deserved. Pearson’s side had played with an energy, confidence and self-belief that was the better of their fancied opponents, but all of that endeavour had amounted to zero advantage for 90 minutes. So back in a Surrey Quays pub garden one elderly Lions fan had a point - but happily in the end City had all three.

O’Leary 7

Tanner 8

Pring 8

Vyner 8

Dickie 8

Williams 7

Knight 8

James 7

Sykes 6

Bell 7

Wells 6

 

Naismith 6

Mehmeti 7

Cornick 8

Roberts 7

Yeboah 6

Awesome report..........as always!   Thanks Ole.