Millwall will spend Christmas Day in the bottom three of the Championship table after losing 1-0 at Stoke.
The Lions fought hard and played some good football but were lacking a cutting edge that would come back to bite them. Saido Berahino powered a header past Jordan Archer in what would prove to be the games only goal.
Neil Harris made two changes to his side after last weeks defeat at Preston. Shane Ferguson and Tom Elliott came in to the side while, Aiden O’Brien and Steve Morison dropped to the bench.
It was quick start to the match, with the first chance coming in the first minute. Jed Wallace broke down the right hand side and delivered the ball into the box, Ryan Shawcross diverted it towards his own goal forcing Jack Butland into a superb reaction save. Both Lee Gregory and Ryan Tunncilffe then failed to covert the rebound.
Stoke first attempt of the game came and went without any problem. Sam Clucas shooting from distance but failed to hit the target. Shane Ferguson broke down the left hand side, crossing for Tom Elliott who was penalised for foul on Ashley Williams.
James McClean, who’s every touch was being booed by the travelling Millwall support then shot straight at Jordan Archer.
Stoke had yet to wake up and Millwall went close again. This time Ferguson did brilliantly to break free down the left hand side. He found Lee Gregory in the box and Ashley Williams cleared his shot on the turn off the line.
In the second half Millwall again started the better side but were unable to carve out a clear-cut chance. Stoke replied and showed Millwall they were in the game. Clucas played the ball into the box for Joe Allen who missed his kick.
The Lions did not learn from that and against the run of play fell behind. A simple cross comes into the box and Saido Berahino was there to power a header past Jordan Archer who was helpless.
Five minutes later Joe Allen broke into the box weaving his way past the Millwall defence he attempted a shot from an acute angle which grazed the crossbar and went away to safety.
Steve Morison and Aiden O’Brien both went close as Millwall attempted to get back in the game but they were unable to force home an equaliser, thus leave empty handed. The result also means Millwall will spend Christmas Day in the bottom three of the Championship table.
Verdict
In many ways that was the Millwall of last season, very hard to beat and made life very difficult for Stoke to get into their groove. Even when Stoke scored the goal they did not look comfortable and Millwall were causing them plenty of problems.
The Lions showed a lot of grit and were defensively solid for long periods of the game. That is something that has been missing this season so far. There is many positives to take from this game and they take a lot of confidence into the game with Reading on Boxing Day.
