Related Articles
RUTHLESS Millwall scored two second-half goals to beat play-off rivals Hull City 3-1 at the MKM Stadium despite having to withstand an enormous amount of pressure.
The Lions converted three out of their four shots on target while the wasteful Tigers were nowhere near as efficient as their south London opponents, getting into dangerous positions time and time again but only having one goal to show from their 21 efforts.
The match was especially lopsided in the first half following an early exchange of goals, with Hull hitting the bar twice and having a goal wrongfully disallowed for a shove.
That theme continued into the second half, but again, the Tigers were wasteful and Mihailo Ivanovic and Josh Coburn pounced within seven minutes of each other to earn Millwall the win.
While it was not the most convincing display, the result means Millwall have put five points between themselves and fifth-placed Hull, giving their play-off push even more impetus with just ten games left in the campaign.
Hull had the first chance of the game in the third minute when the ball was put in from the left and McBurnie got his head on it but he was under severe pressure from Tristan Crama and Jake Cooper and it was easily collected by Anthony Patterson.
Millwall struggled to make headway in Hull’s half and were susceptible to getting countered on Hull’s especially large pitch, with the first of those transition opportunities coming in the fifth minute. The Tigers took a free kick quickly, and Kyle Joseph was off like a flash down the right. His first effort was blocked, then his second deflected out for a corner.
Joseph has scored an early brace in the reverse fixture and was a pest for Millwall’s back four again, crashing a ball off the bar in the eleventh minute after getting his head on John Lundstram’s cross.
Millwall immediately punished Joseph for his miss with a patented set-piece goal. Azeez curled the ball into the box, Crama flicked it on, and Cooper volleyed it in off the bar.
The Lions’ tails were up, but their lead would only last four minutes. Billy Mitchell made a hash of a clearance around the box, and Joseph tucked it round the corner for Gelhardt, who burst forward and then fired it in.
The momentum of the match shifted and it was mostly in Hull’s favour for the rest of the half, with the Tigers creating more than enough to score another.
Cody Drameh smashed one past the post shortly after the equaliser, Joseph took a pot-shot from range and Gelhardt had a shot blocked following a quick counter.
Hull’s best passage of attacking play came in the 28th minute, starting with excellent feet down the left from Liam Millar, skipping past two players before finding Oli McBurnie, who went down cheaply under pressure from McNamara howling for a penalty, but referee David Webb was unconvinced.
The Tigers recycled the ball and it was cut-back to John Lundstrum, whose effort was cleared off the line by Zak Sturge. Cooper then blocked Gelhardt’s effort and it spun up in the air before being bundled into the net by Joseph. The goal was immediately disallowed, however, with the referee signalling that McBurnie shoved Patterson.
Undeterred, Hull kept coming, hitting the bar yet again when Charlie Hughes connected with a free kick.
During a rare foray into the Tigers’ half, Coburn got his head on Azeez’s cross but he looped it over the bar.
Hull had a late chance to take a deserved lead into the interval when Joseph pounced on Neghli’s mistake the steal the ball near Millwall’s box, and it was cut back to Regan Slater, whose effort was saved.
Neil made a double change at the half, which initially stemmed the bleeding before the Tigers once again regained control.
They bombarded the Lions’ back four, which included a makeshift left-back in Camiel Neghli after substitute Alfie Doughty went off injured.
Millar, McBurnie and Regan Slater all had chances but failed to test Patterson in the Lions’ net, and they were once again punished for their profligacy.
With 20 minutes to go, Azeez drove at Millar on the right flank before putting in low cross that Pandur dove at but failed to deal with, giving Ivanovic an easy tap in.
Millwall doubled their lead eight minutes later afer some superb work by Coburn, who intercepted Semi Ajayi’s loose pass, drove at Hughes then smashed the ball into bottom left corner from just inside the box.
Substitute Lewis Koumas had a late chance to pull one back when he connected with a chipped cross, but failed get his effort on target and Kieran Dowell had a follow-up blocked.
Hull City: Pandur; Drameh, Ajayi, Hughes, Coyle (McCarthy 90); Lundstram (Hadziahmetovic 71), Slater (Collyer 90); Joseph (Koumas 71), Gelhardt, Millar (Dowell 81); McBurnie
Unused Substitutes: Matazo, Phillips, Egan, McNair
Millwall: 4-4-2 – Patterson; McNamara, Crama, Cooper, Sturge (Doughty 46 (Ivanovic 62); Azeez, Neghli, Mitchell, Watson (Cundle 46); Coburn (Smallbone 84), Langstaff (Ballo 84)
Unused Substitutes: Crocombe, Bangura-Williams, Bannan, Mazou-Sacko
Referee: David Webb
Attendance: 21,504
Source link
