6th November, 2024, EFL Championship.
It’s annoying I know, and disappointing, but no team is going to win every week and results like this will happen every now and again, even for the best teams. Despite losing a league game for the second time this season, our first away from home, we are still a good side, probably still the best in the division.
Leeds dominated the game last night in much the same way we’ve dominated almost every minute of every game but a moment of defensive slackness and our old friends weak finishing and the poor final ball meant we suffered yet another London reverse; we’ve had a few of those over the years!
75 per cent of the possession, 14 shots to their 6 and 12 corners to two is as dominant as you can get and it’s therefore no surprise that Daniel Farke told reporters after the game: "I'm not annoyed at all with our performance – I thought we were excellent.” and it’s “about efficiency to use your chances or to make sure there are not little mistakes and in these terms they were better than us today.” Those two statements sound a little contradictory but I understand what he means. At the end of the day we have to accept that there will be bumps along the road but, as long as we bounce straight back on Saturday against QPR then I think we can safely file it as “just one of those games” and move on.
Having said all of that I did think our performance was below par and not as fluent or as well organised as many recent games. We’ve generally been watertight in defence although we need to remember that we’ve been so dominant in most games that we’re seldom under pressure at the back. When we have been pressed, there are still occasions when we sometimes appear to react too slowly or are not maybe as strong as we need to be. The goal last night started with an unlucky free kick given away in midfield – I thought referee Leigh Doughty gave too many soft free kicks – but then we allowed Jake Cooper to win a header in our box. The ball looped to Tanganga and he was quicker to the ball than we were to send a weak volley towards goal. Not for the first time I winced when I saw the replays as the ball beat Meslier well inside his left post.
Our chances, when they came, could not be described as great ones so this wasn’t a game when we can really blame our finishing although maybe Willy Gnonto should have at least hit the target with a second half near-post header that he put over the bar and maybe several strikes from Aaronson, James and Piroe could have been better directed; all went straight at the Lions’ keeper Lukas Jenson. Incidentally, make a note of that name – he deserves some stick if and when he appears in front of the Leeds fans in the Elland Road return fixture. His antics in goading the Leeds fans at the end of the game went far beyond banter.
The one other aspect of our play that was below par was the way we used both Bogle and Firpo out wide. Both players had lots of possession but neither looked on their game and too many promising situations were wasted. On the right, it was perplexing why Dan James continually ran inside Bogle rather than use his pace on the outside as an example. Maybe they were both in need of this game to get back up to speed after their respective one-game bans.
Overall, it was very much like the only previous league defeat, the home game with Burnley. A dominant performance but lacking better control in the final third and then one moment going in favour of the opposition costing the points. It certainly wasn’t a performance deserving of the ridiculous and vile abuse a few Leeds fans hurled at the players and particularly at Daniel Farke when they came over to applaud us at the end; it was thankfully only a few and I know the beer plays a part but, come on lads, give your heads a wobble , in good times and bad and all that and it really doesn’t help. We are better fans than that.
Sky Bet Championship
Millwall 1 (Tanganga 40’)
Leeds United 0
Millwall: Jensen (GK), McNamara, Cooper (C), Tanganga, Wintle (Hutchinson 90’), Langstaff (Coburn 62’), Leonard, Watmore (De Norre 62’), Saville, Esse (Azeez 78’), Honeyman. Subs not used: Roberts (GK), Wallace, Kelly, Emakhu, Ivanovic.
Leeds: Meslier (GK), Bogle (Bamford 80’), Firpo, Struijk (C), Rodon, James, Rothwell (Solomon 72’), Piroe, Aaronson, Tanaka, Gnonto (Joseph 81’). Subs not used: Darlow (GK), Guilavogui, Byram, Schmidt, Wöber, Crew.
Referee: Leigh Doughty
Booked: Tanganga, Honeyman (Millwall) Firpo (Leeds)
Venue: The Den
Attendance: 16,693 (2,035 away)