Millwall 1-0 Sheffield United: Jake Cooper gives Lions fourth consecutive win
- Published
- comments
Jake Cooper's goal was his third of the season
Jake Cooper's second-half goal gave Millwall victory over Sheffield United - the Lions' fourth consecutive win.
Centre-back Cooper rose to head home Jed Wallace's free-kick just after the hour mark at The Den.
It consigned United to a first defeat in 10 matches and dealt a blow to their play-off hopes.
The Blades had not conceded a goal in their previous five matches and were fairly comfortable in the first half, but Millwall were much improved after the interval.
George Saville went close for the hosts before Cooper's third goal of the season broke the deadlock.
Millwall then had to withstand a spell of pressure as the visitors searched for an equaliser, but Gary Rowett's side defended well.
United's loss saw them drop a place to seventh, but they remain in the thick of the Championship promotion race.
Millwall's recent run means they are also contenders for a play-off place. They are 11th in the table, just five points behind sixth-placed Luton.
They have been excellent at home, winning seven and losing just one of their past 11 league matches at The Den, conceding just six goals in the process.
Millwall manager Gary Rowett:
"To win four on the spin is a brilliant achievement for the players, especially in the scenario that we're in, with players going down injured in every single game.
"It's quite phenomenal really, to play a team like Sheffield United after Wednesday night's exertions [at Derby].
"They obviously had the luxury of making three strong changes to their team. They can bring very strong players on and we're in a position, at the moment, where we've almost got to keep grinding it out."
Sheffield United manager Paul Heckingbottom:
"If you look at statistics and passes, and all those things that don't really matter, we probably shaded it.
"We'd have taken a 0-0 the way we played, and come away with a point from here, with the form that Millwall are in. But, performance-wise, we didn't think we were at our best and that's the disappointing thing.
"When it was there for us to go and create, we didn't, and then when we were moving the ball quicker that's when they had the lead and were defending very well."