Millwall were on their way to three points before a cynical challenge from Ryan Leonard gave Sunderland a penalty and a share of the points after a 1–1 draw at The Den.
Goalscorer: SUN: 78' Jack Clarke (Pen) MIL: 44' Kevin Nisbet
Shots (On Goal): MIL: 7(4) SUN: 10(3)
Possession: MIL: 40% SUN: 60%
Man of the Match: Brooke Norton-Cuffy
a first half goal, finally
The Lions played a lovely first 45 minutes of football against the Black Cats at The Den but it was the goal Millwall scored just before halftime that gave everyone in SE16 life after enduring consecutive listless performances from their side.
Brooke Norton-Cuffy made one of his patented runs down the right flank and delivered a gorgeous cross into the penalty area toward Kevin Nisbet. The Millwall striker waited for the ball to drop and just before it hit the ground, Nisbet powered a right-footed volley into the net to give the Lions the 1–0 lead in the 44th minute.
Nisbet deserves loads of credit for not skying his shot on the volley and Norton-Cuffy again set his teammate up with a strong run down the right side.
It’s nice to see Millwall have a strong first half performance capped by a goal after the last two matches.
Start Nisbet
New Millwall head coach Joe Edwards can pencil in one lineup decision for the rest of the season: Kevin Nisbet starts over Tom Bradshaw.
Nothing against Bradders, but Nisbet’s quality and hold up play are more valuable in a starting role for this Millwall squad over a 60–70 minute period in each match. It’s also clear that Bradshaw isn’t going to come close to repeating his 17-goal output from the last campaign, so it is best for the Millwall number nine to preserve his minutes going forward.
Edwards dispatched the two properly against Sunderland, starting Nisbet before replacing him with Bradshaw in the 64th minute up 1–0. That should be the routine entering the new year.
Ryan Leonard, what were you thinking?
The Lions defender/midfielder made one of the worst challenges you will ever see on Jack Clarke in the Millwall penalty area and had the audacity to tell the referee that he had gotten the ball.
Not only did Leonard get none of the ball on his ill-fated challenge but the Sunderland attacker was a half-step from running out of space. The tackle resulted in a penalty kick that Clarke dispatched, giving the Black Cats the goal they needed on the road to salvage a point.
The tackle from Leonard was selfish but the reaction from his teammates was far worse. Jake Cooper argued with the referee until he’d earned himself a card and Tom Bradshaw earned a yellow of his own moments later.
This is the behavior of a locker room that’s falling apart under a new head coach.
