Millwall 2 Leeds United 0: Sorry Whites suffer second-half shocker
YEP 28/9/13
by Phil Hay
You could say that Brian McDermott saw it coming. Not this week, perhaps, or even this month but the possibility of a black spot ahead has been on his mind for a while.
Roll back a fortnight to the day when the Republic of Ireland job came up and Leeds United’s manager phoned members of his board to pledge his loyalty and rule himself out of the running.
What did he ask for in return? “Support,” McDermott said. “By definition when you talk about support you talk about money but support comes in different ways. You might lose two or three games but have the support of your board saying ‘keep going, you’re doing things right.’”
This is it, that delicate period he spoke of two weeks ago. An invidious month has steered McDermott into his first minefield, rounded off by a two-fingered salute from Millwall. What came back at him on Saturday was a tweet from his chairman, Salah Nooruddin, saying the hunt for new signings was on but implying that United’s squad should have beaten Millwall regardless.
There was a grain of truth in that assertion, though Nooruddin and his confidants in the Elland Road boardroom should not delude themselves into thinking that all eyes are on McDermott. Dour as Millwall were in a shambles of a match, they found a way and Leeds did not. United’s manager was inwardly furious, accusing his players of “failing to turn up” for the second half.
Find a way. It is one of McDermott’s stock phrases and in London he tried, invoking a system which broke from convention and trying his luck with a teenage midfielder who had the misfortune to make his league debut on an afternoon like Saturday.
There was an element of trial and error about a formation which slipped Alex Mowatt, United’s 18-year-old prodigy, into a bank of three players behind Luke Varney, and McDermott will think again before tomorrow’s game against Bournemouth.
Leeds lost their way badly and Millwall scored twice in 11 second-half minutes. A third straight Championship defeat followed.
McDermott has nipped and tucked his team repeatedly this month, partly because of an unhelpful schedule overloaded with away fixtures and partly because the results since Leeds’ win in Bolton have caused him considerable grief. There were 12 points on offer in September and Leeds took three. The best team, the best strategy, the most effective set-up? McDermott seems unsure.
“I’m trying to tweak the system, to make something happen, to get us a goal,” he said after full-time at The Den. For the fourth time in six matches, his players failed to score.
“But I’m very disappointed with how we played in the second half. We didn’t turn up. I asked the question of the players – tell me what that was about. It’s a shock to my system. We now have to get a result, whatever way we do it and whichever way we play.
“I’m bitterly disappointed because the players here are decent players but they’re not at their full level at this moment in time. We need to make sure that they’re at it tomorrow.”
If Nooruddin is as good as his word then the cavalry might be around the corner in the form of a winger, a goalscorer or both but Leeds were so off-key on Saturday that an addition here or there might have made no difference.
Mowatt toiled bravely and brought to mind Ross Barkley at Barnsley last season, a raw teenager leading the fight. The example which mattered came from Millwall, set purely by goals from Martyn Woolford and Scott Malone; the sugar-coating on an awful spectacle. Steve Lomas, Millwall’s manager, made no attempt to be clever about the match his team had won. “The Championship is basically a battle for 75 minutes,” he said. “Then things start to stretch.” As it happened, Millwall cut Leeds open before the 75th minute but Lomas had it right.
There is not a huge amount of football played in the Championship and it pays to dig in as Millwall did.
Up until the moment when Woolford curled a shot around Paddy Kenny, with 65 minutes played, the contest was heading for the graveyard slot on the Football League’s highlights reel. The first half was barren, save for a Martyn Waghorn shot on the turn which hit the base of one post and a push by Rodolph Austin on Malone inside United’s box. Certain replays showed Austin touching the ball; others showed him knocking Malone off balance first. The way the second half went, neither Lomas nor McDermott mentioned the incident afterwards.
Jason Pearce hacked a close-range volley over Millwall’s crossbar in first-half injury-time but that was that, occasional breaks in the head-tennis and frenzied engagement. It is not effort that the Championship lacks but quality. Nottingham Forest’s laboured win over Derby earlier in the day – a fatal blow for Nigel Clough – made that point.
“There was nothing in the game at half-time,” McDermott said, which was true in more senses than one.
The key moment for Leeds came shortly after the restart when Mowatt hooked an inviting cross onto Ross McCormack’s instep, only for McCormack to cushion it wide with goalkeeper David Forde to beat.
Lomas saw the need for a change and pulled Jermaine Easter from the field, making way for Lee Martin. Spaces began to appear and Millwall’s performance opened up. When Martin and Woolford passed their way to the edge of United’s box in the 65th minute, Woolford took the opportunity to size up Paddy Kenny and sink a shot to his left.
Eleven minutes later, Liam Trotter carved Leeds open again with a simple 1-2 which Malone collected and swept into the far corner of Kenny’s net. United looked beaten and their pursuit of any tangible reward was as desperate as it had been against Burnley. Malone almost conceded an own goal but recovered to hack his wayward touch against a post and away to safety. Woolford struck the woodwork at the other end as Leeds left themselves exposed at the back. The Den lapped it up, knowing the game was won.
“I’ve no complaints about the result,” McDermott said. “Millwall were good value for their victory. On the whole our mentality has been okay this season but in the second half it wasn’t right. The mindset wasn’t right and we got beat.
“I’ve not had that problem before but we need to get it right for Bournemouth.”
The odd tiresome chant about Istanbul interspersed Saturday’s match, leading to replies of ‘boring, boring Millwall.’ It almost seemed as if the clubs’ rivalry was losing interest. But on trips to The Den, Millwall’s players rarely fail to send you home with the feeling that deep down they want this fixture more.
by Phil Hay
You could say that Brian McDermott saw it coming. Not this week, perhaps, or even this month but the possibility of a black spot ahead has been on his mind for a while.
Roll back a fortnight to the day when the Republic of Ireland job came up and Leeds United’s manager phoned members of his board to pledge his loyalty and rule himself out of the running.
What did he ask for in return? “Support,” McDermott said. “By definition when you talk about support you talk about money but support comes in different ways. You might lose two or three games but have the support of your board saying ‘keep going, you’re doing things right.’”
This is it, that delicate period he spoke of two weeks ago. An invidious month has steered McDermott into his first minefield, rounded off by a two-fingered salute from Millwall. What came back at him on Saturday was a tweet from his chairman, Salah Nooruddin, saying the hunt for new signings was on but implying that United’s squad should have beaten Millwall regardless.
There was a grain of truth in that assertion, though Nooruddin and his confidants in the Elland Road boardroom should not delude themselves into thinking that all eyes are on McDermott. Dour as Millwall were in a shambles of a match, they found a way and Leeds did not. United’s manager was inwardly furious, accusing his players of “failing to turn up” for the second half.
Find a way. It is one of McDermott’s stock phrases and in London he tried, invoking a system which broke from convention and trying his luck with a teenage midfielder who had the misfortune to make his league debut on an afternoon like Saturday.
There was an element of trial and error about a formation which slipped Alex Mowatt, United’s 18-year-old prodigy, into a bank of three players behind Luke Varney, and McDermott will think again before tomorrow’s game against Bournemouth.
Leeds lost their way badly and Millwall scored twice in 11 second-half minutes. A third straight Championship defeat followed.
McDermott has nipped and tucked his team repeatedly this month, partly because of an unhelpful schedule overloaded with away fixtures and partly because the results since Leeds’ win in Bolton have caused him considerable grief. There were 12 points on offer in September and Leeds took three. The best team, the best strategy, the most effective set-up? McDermott seems unsure.
“I’m trying to tweak the system, to make something happen, to get us a goal,” he said after full-time at The Den. For the fourth time in six matches, his players failed to score.
“But I’m very disappointed with how we played in the second half. We didn’t turn up. I asked the question of the players – tell me what that was about. It’s a shock to my system. We now have to get a result, whatever way we do it and whichever way we play.
“I’m bitterly disappointed because the players here are decent players but they’re not at their full level at this moment in time. We need to make sure that they’re at it tomorrow.”
If Nooruddin is as good as his word then the cavalry might be around the corner in the form of a winger, a goalscorer or both but Leeds were so off-key on Saturday that an addition here or there might have made no difference.
Mowatt toiled bravely and brought to mind Ross Barkley at Barnsley last season, a raw teenager leading the fight. The example which mattered came from Millwall, set purely by goals from Martyn Woolford and Scott Malone; the sugar-coating on an awful spectacle. Steve Lomas, Millwall’s manager, made no attempt to be clever about the match his team had won. “The Championship is basically a battle for 75 minutes,” he said. “Then things start to stretch.” As it happened, Millwall cut Leeds open before the 75th minute but Lomas had it right.
There is not a huge amount of football played in the Championship and it pays to dig in as Millwall did.
Up until the moment when Woolford curled a shot around Paddy Kenny, with 65 minutes played, the contest was heading for the graveyard slot on the Football League’s highlights reel. The first half was barren, save for a Martyn Waghorn shot on the turn which hit the base of one post and a push by Rodolph Austin on Malone inside United’s box. Certain replays showed Austin touching the ball; others showed him knocking Malone off balance first. The way the second half went, neither Lomas nor McDermott mentioned the incident afterwards.
Jason Pearce hacked a close-range volley over Millwall’s crossbar in first-half injury-time but that was that, occasional breaks in the head-tennis and frenzied engagement. It is not effort that the Championship lacks but quality. Nottingham Forest’s laboured win over Derby earlier in the day – a fatal blow for Nigel Clough – made that point.
“There was nothing in the game at half-time,” McDermott said, which was true in more senses than one.
The key moment for Leeds came shortly after the restart when Mowatt hooked an inviting cross onto Ross McCormack’s instep, only for McCormack to cushion it wide with goalkeeper David Forde to beat.
Lomas saw the need for a change and pulled Jermaine Easter from the field, making way for Lee Martin. Spaces began to appear and Millwall’s performance opened up. When Martin and Woolford passed their way to the edge of United’s box in the 65th minute, Woolford took the opportunity to size up Paddy Kenny and sink a shot to his left.
Eleven minutes later, Liam Trotter carved Leeds open again with a simple 1-2 which Malone collected and swept into the far corner of Kenny’s net. United looked beaten and their pursuit of any tangible reward was as desperate as it had been against Burnley. Malone almost conceded an own goal but recovered to hack his wayward touch against a post and away to safety. Woolford struck the woodwork at the other end as Leeds left themselves exposed at the back. The Den lapped it up, knowing the game was won.
“I’ve no complaints about the result,” McDermott said. “Millwall were good value for their victory. On the whole our mentality has been okay this season but in the second half it wasn’t right. The mindset wasn’t right and we got beat.
“I’ve not had that problem before but we need to get it right for Bournemouth.”
The odd tiresome chant about Istanbul interspersed Saturday’s match, leading to replies of ‘boring, boring Millwall.’ It almost seemed as if the clubs’ rivalry was losing interest. But on trips to The Den, Millwall’s players rarely fail to send you home with the feeling that deep down they want this fixture more.
