Millwall 1-2 Coventry City: Sky Blues end winless run with victory over struggling Lions
- Published
Coventry scored twice in six first-half minutes after going seven hours without a goal
Coventry secured their first win in five games to leapfrog out-of-form Millwall in the Championship table.
The opener arrived when Jordan Shipley's shot cannoned back off the post and was diverted in by Lions defender Jake Cooper after 20 minutes.
Gustavo Hamer stretched the lead six minutes later, firing home after his initial free-kick was blocked.
A foul on Troy Parrott allowed Jed Wallace to halve the deficit from the penalty spot but namesake Murray Wallace was sent off in stoppage time for a second yellow card as Coventry held on.
Coventry were without a goal or win in four games going into this fixture and the omens did not look good when joint top-scorer Matt Godden was forced off with an injury after only 15 minutes.
But the Sky Blues went ahead five minutes later when Shipley's shot struck the post and rebounded against retreating Lions defender Cooper, who could not stop it going over the line.
Hamer extended the lead from just outside the penalty area. The midfielder's initial free-kick was blocked by the wall but the rebound came back to him and he fired a deflected shot past the helpless Bartosz Bialkowski.
Millwall failed to register a single shot at goal in the first half, prompting Lions boss Gary Rowett to make two changes at the break, introducing Scott Malone and Troy Parrott for Jon Dadi Bodvarsson and Mason Bennett.
However, they had little immediate impact and Coventry almost scored seconds after the restart when Shipley hit the post.
The hosts eventually called Ben Wilson into action in the Coventry goal after 50 minutes but he was comfortably behind Shaun Williams' shot, and Tom Bradshaw volleyed over soon after.
Millwall were given a lifeline with 16 minutes remaining when half-time substitute Parrott was brought down in the penalty area by Dom Hyam, allowing Wallace to halve the deficit with his sixth goal of the season.
But their chances of salvaging a point evaporated when Murray Wallace was dismissed in second-half injury time, with defeat meaning the Londoners drop to 17th, with Coventry moving a place above them.
Millwall manager Gary Rowett:
"The last 14 or 15 games we've not been good enough and it's not acceptable. We've had eight players with Covid-19 in the last two weeks and five of them started today.
"I don't know what the effect of that is, but certainly we looked a bit off the pace physically.
"It certainly wasn't the only factor, though, and it was a poor performance today - we deserved to lose by more."
Coventry boss Mark Robins told BBC Coventry & Warwickshire:
"It was a brilliant performance. Absolutely outstanding and a good start to the new year. I think there's only one complaint and that's that we didn't finish the game off earlier.
"We've had a number of chances today to have a really healthy scoreline. We finished last year by not scoring for four games in a row so it was nice to get back on the scoresheet.
"There were outstanding performances from Gustavo (Hamer) and Callum O'Hare. The confidence should be coming, certainly with performances like this one today. It was outstanding."