A substandard Rovers performance saw Chilean and Pepsi superstar, Ben Brereton Díaz salvage a draw from the jaws of defeat, as his late flick salvaged Rovers a point, to continue their unbeaten start to the league campaign, as they debuted their new Yellow Anniversary third kit, in-front of a hostile Den.
As Rovers prepared for their first away trip of the campaign, which came at one of the fieriest stadiums in the Football League, in The Den, Tony Mowbray picked an unchanged side, to the won that produced the opening day victory at home, against Swansea City.
After kick-off was delayed until 3:15pm, due to traffic around the ground, the game was set underway by Tyrhys Dolan, but not before both teams and their supporters engaged in a heartfelt minute’s applause, in memory of all the Millwall supporters who had passed since fans had last attended games; this was also coupled as a ‘Thank You’ to the key workers and the NHS who had worked tirelessly throughout the height of the pandemic.
The first opportunity of the game fell the way of the hosts, after just five minutes of play. A Jed Wallace corner was swung in towards the near-post, where it was met by Jake Cooper, who couldn’t keep his effort down.
After a quiet 20-or so minutes, Millwall again earnt themselves as corner in the 24th minute which Jed Wallace again took. The good delivery was met by Stoke City loanee, Benik Afobe, whose header, under the challenge from Harry Pickering, also flew over the bar, as Rovers were awarded a goal-kick.
Despite the game running for half-an-hour, neither side had been able to test their opponent’s ‘keeper, with the game mainly fizzling out into a battle for possession in the middle of the park.
Millwall’s obvious threat from dead-ball situations continued to show in the 36th minute as Wallace and Cooper combined, but despite Cooper’s nod, coming at the far-post, the outcome remained the same as his near-post effort, as the ball flew over Thomas Kaminski’s bar.
The home side’s pressure continued during the latter stages of the first period as George Saville tried his luck from close-range, but saw his effort blocked behind for a corner by Rovers skipper Darragh Lenihan.
From the corner, Millwall’s pressure remained as they were soon awarded a wide free-kick which Scott Malone whipped in towards the head of Daniel Ballard. The young defender was unable to mark his Millwall league debut with a goal, as the on-loan Arsenal centre-back – much like his defensive partner, Cooper – also failed to direct his header on target.
As the first period came to a close, referee Andy Davies only added one extra minute to a half which had already dragged, particularly from a Rovers perspective.
Following a foul on Bartosz Białkowski, following a Rovers free-kick which was swung into the box, the official called time on what had been a lacklustre first-half, as Rovers had failed to show the intensity and cutting edge that had been on display in last week’s victory at Ewood Park.
Home manager, Gary Rowett would have been the happier of the two bosses, after his side had put on a dominant display, both, in-front of goal and in the possession department. After the Lions had ended the first period with the lion’s share of possession – ‘scuse the pun! – the home manager would have been disappointed that his side had been unable to make their dominance count, both in open play and through the many set-pieces they had mustered and would have been wary of a potential Rovers onslaught in the second period.
Visiting boss, Tony Mowbray would have been scratching his head as to why his side had started so poorly in the first-half. Although the trip down to the Den had been a long one, which wasn’t helped by the 15-minute delay prior to kick-off, Mowbray would have expected his side to at least muster an attempt at goal, despite their lack of possession, which they had failed to do. The boss would have had big decisions to make at half-time as to whether he would change personnel or indeed, the system, in order to match Millwall’s five-back. Regardless, Mowbray would have been offering his players encouragement, as he would have wanted to cap the debut of the new third kit with a bang.
Following the break, the teams returned, with Millwall getting proceedings back underway, as they went in search of their first league victory of the campaign, after starting their season with a 1-1 draw away at Queens Park Rangers.
Just before Millwall restarted the game, Rovers made their first change as Hayden Carter came on to replace Tyrhys Dolan, as Mowbray altered his system to match the five-back of Millwall.
Rovers started the second period brightly as Hayden Carter got his first involvement. On the 49th minute, a Joe Rothwell corner was flapped at by Białkowski as the ball dropped for the young substitute. Although he collected the ball at a tight angle, Carter tried his luck but was only able to hit the side-netting.
Three minutes later, Rovers picked up their first booking, as skipper Darragh Lenihan hauled down Benik Afobe, just inside the home side’s half.
Nine minutes later, the card count became one each as Maikel Kieftenbeld was booked for fouling John Buckley. The resultant set-piece saw Rothwell pick out Lenihan, but the captain failed to convert from close-range.
After the 64th minute saw Ben Brereton Díaz denied an attempt on goal by the offside trap, Millwall managed to put the ball in the back of the Rovers net, less than 60 seconds later. The home side took the free-kick quickly as Daniel Ballard played a fantastic switch into the path of opposite wing-back, Scott Malone who had charged down the left, into space. The ball fell perfectly for the former Derby County man to deliver a first-time cross, which he obliged with, as he was able to pick out Jed Wallace at the far-post, as the whole Rovers backline were left stretched and stranded, as Millwall’s talisman tucked home from yards out to put the Lions ahead at 1-0.
Despite Rovers’ best attempts to get back into the game, they were unable to muster a clear-cut chance, which led to Tony Mowbray turning to his bench on the 73rd minute as Harry Chapman and Dan Butterworth came on to replace Harry Pickering and John Buckley, as Rovers once again, altered their system.
It only took three minutes for those changes to have a positive image on the game, as Rovers sparked back into life. A Rothwell free-kick from the right-hand side saw him loft the ball into a packed penalty area. Somehow, amid all of Millwall’s giants who rooted themselves in the box, it was Brereton Díaz who got himself first to the ball, as the summer sensation perfectly guided his nod past Białkowski to draw Rovers level at 1-1.
Millwall also reacted to being pegged back, as in the 80th minute, they brought on target-man, Matt Smith for Benik Afobe and tricky midfielder, Ryan Leonard for George Saville.
In the 88th minute, Millwall looked to solidify their midfield amid a late Rovers rally, as Billy Mitchell came on to replace, George Evans.
As the 90th minute beckoned, referee Andy Davies signalled for four additional minutes to be added onto the end of the tie, as both sides tried to look for a late winner.
Despite a late rally from Millwall which saw them win multiple free-kicks which were either cleared or caught by Thomas Kaminski, Andy Davies soon brought the game to an end, with Rovers probably breathing a sigh of relief that their poor display hadn’t see them fully punished.
There really isn’t much to say about this game in terms of overriding positivity. Rovers rather stumbled out of the starting blocks and really struggled to get going and were once again, forced to sit back and defend, as the opposition dominated the ball, as they did in last week’s victory. Although Brereton Díaz proved to be Rovers’ saviour, barring the late substitutions of Dan Butterworth and Harry Chapman, there weren’t very many bright sparks within the Rovers ranks, which would have undoubtedly concerned both, Tony Mowbray and the contingency of fans who made the long trip down to Bermondsey.
What this game did show, however, was the rather uncertainty that Rovers have in-terms of how they wish to utilise their system, going forwards. Despite switching to a 5-3-2 system for the second-half, Rovers’ possession didn’t really improve, which arguably leaves more questions, than answers. What is even more confusing, is how Rovers have ended up getting a better result with less possession, than they did in midweek, where they lost 2-1 to Morecambe in the Carabao Cup First Round, despite holding 69% of the ball. These two results, added to last week’s victory, where they won 2-1 whilst holding 28% possession, leaves a lot to be questioned and desired from this young squad, particularly after Adam Armstrong, who has been Rovers’ main source of goals for the past two seasons departed for Southampton, earlier this week and scored on his debut for the Saints.
Despite the mixed emotions, Rovers are still unbeaten in the league and sit in 8th position, with six points and a positive goal-difference of +1.
Next up for the Blues, is an away trip to Nottingham Forest on Wednesday 18th August at 7:45pm. Following that trip, Rovers return to Ewood to host West Bromwich Albion on Saturday 21st August, at 3pm. Once the recently-relegated side depart, Rovers hop back on the bus as they make the trip to Teesside, to face Middlesbrough on Saturday 28th August at 3pm.
