Millwall vs Coventry City. Sky Bet Championship.
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Report and free match highlights from the Sky Bet Championship match between Millwall and Coventry City at The Den on Saturday | Matty Godden, Tatsuhiro Sakamoto and Ben Sheaf net in easy Sky Blues win.
Saturday 25 November 2023 18:45, UK
Matt Godden's goal set Coventry on their way to a 3-0 triumph at The Den, as Joe Edwards suffered his first defeat as Millwall manager.
The Sky Blues' top scorer gave his side the lead midway through a pulsating first half that could have swung either way.
Tatsuhiro Sakamoto and Ben Sheaf made sure of things after the break to secure Coventry's second away win of the Sky Bet Championship season.
The Lions were in the ascendency during the early stages as Brooke Norton-Cuffy caused chaos from right-back.
The Arsenal loanee whipped a delicious ball into Coventry's box in the second minute before winning a free-kick in the Sky Blues' half moments later.
However, it was the visitors who had the first shot on target.
Josh Eccles put Haji Wright through on goal with an excellent pass, but the forward was denied by an even better save from Bartosz Białkowski.
Millwall's George Honeyman responded with an audacious effort from the right wing that struck the woodwork before Norton-Cuffy's driven strike from the edge of the box went inches wide of the post.
Despite the early pressure, it was the Sky Blues who broke the deadlock.
Godden tapped the ball into the back of an empty Millwall net in the 30th minute, responding quickest after Wright forced another excellent stop from Białkowski.
George Saville nearly got the hosts back on level terms, but Bradley Collins got down quickly to prevent his low shot from finding the bottom left corner.
Millwall regained control as the half drew to a close but it could have been 2-0 at the break after Eccles' shot from outside the box forced Białkowski into action once again.
The hosts played some lovely one-touch football around the edge of the box after half-time but Coventry looked incredibly dangerous on the break.
Casper De Norre took the first effort on goal of the second half, but it was always drifting wide and did not trouble Collins.
Duncan Watmore's low cross almost led to an equaliser two minutes later before De Norre went close with another long-range shot.
However, Sakamoto made it 2-0 in the 66th minute after Jamie Allen's powerful attempt had been parried directly into his path by Białkowski.
Millwall were desperate to get back into the game but struggled to carve out a clear-cut chance in the final 10 minutes.
Ellis Simms could have scored Coventry's third with five minutes remaining but his effort was straight at Collins and Wright had an opportunity to score his fifth goal of the season with three minutes left, but Białkowski was his equal once again.
However, it was 3-0 when Sheaf bundled in the resulting corner from close range, wrapping up a morale-boosting victory for Mark Robins' side.
Millwall's Joe Edwards:
"Overall, I would still say that we should be pretty disappointed with the performance because I think there were a lot of the basics, basics that this team are usually good at.
"There were a lot of duels in the middle of the pitch, second balls and players running off us in transition.
"It is just basic work ethic and basics of the game regardless of what kind of style of play you deploy as a team.
"We did not do well enough and they looked sharper than us, so I am still disappointed.
"3-0 was probably a harsh scoreline, but we were on the other end of that ourselves in our last game, we were clinical and won 4-0 so that is how it can go.
"There are definitely positives to take, we have spoken about being on the front foot and being aggressive here at The Den.
"The big thing for me today was us with the ball, we had a lot more of the ball than a Millwall team would typically have, and at times we looked composed and like we had a clear idea of how we wanted to build up.
"But in the opponent's half and particularly in the final third we did not ask nearly as many questions as you need to ask of an opponent's back four here at The Den, that was the disappointment."
Coventry's Mark Robins:
"We have been in every game this season, we went to Leicester away on the first day of the season and could have won that. We have got good players but it does dent confidence a little bit, that's just been it.
"They have trained really well in the last nine days, and you could see that they had the bit between their teeth, they were really courageous with the ball.
"The fact that we have kept two clean sheets on the bounce is another positive, we have got a tough run of games before the run into Christmas which is really heavy.
"Everybody has got to be ready, we have got a decent squad there that are all fit, that is a positive and the performance and the result today were also positives.
"I felt we were really good today, it is a difficult place to come at the best of times and on the back of not too many wins.
"When you have got the bit between your teeth, the players are all on the front foot, you could see that they were confident today.
"There was no lack of confidence, they're good players, they're positive and when they're positive and have that courage they can hurt teams at this level."
