On the 65th minute of what had been a sensational performance from The Lions, James Henry stepped up to the penalty spot to bury the ball into the bottom right corner, to wrap up a 4-0 victory over Preston North End.
This was the 60th league goal of the season for Millwall in the 2010/11 Championship season, the last time the 60-goal barrier was broken by a Lions side. A flaw for South-East London side ever since, has been the inability to score a high number of goals, and the maiden season of Gary Rowett in the dugout of The Den has been no different.
The Recent Rot
With nine games of the season remaining, Rowett has guided Millwall to within just two points of the Championship play-off places, with a chance of making their way to the pinnacle of English football, in the form of the Premier League. The one key weakness of the side is their inability to score, as The Lions notched just three goals in the entirety of February, leaving Millwall with the fourth worst goalscoring record in the Championship and the worst in the top half of the table.
Throughout February’s dismal form in front of goal, Rowett looked to change his side’s fortune in front of goal. Speaking ahead of Millwall’s game against Nottingham Forest he said, “We’ve played 5-2-3 and 4-2-3-1, we have been more direct and also had two out-and-out wingers. We’re trying everything within the squad to find a solution.”
Standing Out
Equalling their goals scored in February in their first game of March, Rowett’s side finally showed signs of a killer’s instinct in a 3-0 win against Nottingham Forest. Even more impressive than the team performance was the individual performance of frontman Matt Smith. Smith followed up his first goal with another two in the space of the proceeding 13 minutes, to seal his first hat-trick for the club, whilst taking his league goal tally to 11 for the season, his best in the Championship.
Scoring a goal in every 140 minutes in all competitions this season, Smith has been the shining light in the dim threat that Millwall have possessed in attack, form that has made him The Lions’ top scorer having started less than half of Millwall’s league games.
Speaking after Millwall’s win against Forest, Smith was aiming to continue his impact for the games ahead, “Hopefully I can keep using my experience in this division to my advantage and keep scoring goals.”
Other Contributors
Smith also touched on the pressure faced by the attacking line, “The onus is on the likes of me, Bradders [Tom Bradshaw], Jon Dadi [Bodvarsson] and Jed [Wallace] to chip in with goals.” With a combined 32 league goals between the four forwards, Bodvarsson has struggled the most with just two goals, while Bradshaw has chipped in with eight but has failed to find the back of the net since New Year’s Day.
Meanwhile midfielder Jed Wallace, has bagged 10 goals for The Lions, leaving him just one goal off Smith. Wallace had a blistering start to the season, scoring 7 goals in his first 15 Championship games, but has failed to replicate such form throughout the rest of the season.
The over-reliance on Wallace has added to the lack of goals, as Rowett touched on the importance of Wallace after the victory over Forest: “We are struggling to score goals from nothing whereas in the first 10 games Jed [Wallace] was producing something from nothing to win us matches. We can’t expect just him to do that every week when we’re in tight encounters.”
Mid-Season Reinforcements
With all the frantic transfer activity that comes on 31st January, The Den welcomed its newest member through the door, as Mason Bennett joined on a loan deal until the end of the season from Derby to bolster the front line. The forward’s record of just nine goals in 127 professional games prior to signing, didn’t boast well for a side in need of goals. In his 11 appearances this season, he is yet to score as his forms adds to the already misfiring front line.
The Defensive Machine
Through all the goalscoring issues that have plagued Millwall, their defence has been exceptional, as The Lions boast the sixth best defensive record in the league having conceded just 40 goals. Their 12 clean sheets is the second best behind league leaders Leeds.
Whilst Millwall have struggled for goals, the performances of Shaun Hutchinson have placed him in the top three average ratings on WhoScored within the Championship. Behind him, Bartosz Bialkowski has performed exceptionally. The Polish shot stopper has conceded just nine goals since the turn of the year, and while the front line has failed to find the net, Bialkowski has ensured that others don’t find his.
