Millwall 2-0 Leeds United: Dave Hockaday given rough welcome to the Championship
New Leeds United manager suffers defeat in first Championship game
Millwall took an early lead through Mark Beevers strike in the eight minute
Shaun Williams sealed the three points with a late penalty for the home side
By RIATH AL-SAMARRAI
Poor Leeds. They left their coach to boos from the Millwall fans and exited the pitch to laughter and waves from the same supporters.
In between, they could probably count themselves lucky to have lost the match by only two goals, scored by Mark Beevers and Shaun Williams.
Make no mistake, Dave Hockaday's side were extremely disappointing in their first competitive fixture under the new manager. Barring the chance fluffed by Noel Hunt early in the second half they offered next to nothing, the only consolation being that their play after the break was better than that which went before.
Had Hunt scored, they might have taken a draw or gone on to better, which really would have been an insult to Millwall, who flirted so intensely with relegation to League One last season but looked a cut above Leeds.
Within nine minutes, Beevers had put Ian Holloway's side ahead. And moments later he probably should have doubled the advantage.
In the first instance, Lee Martin, impressive throughout, found space down the right and whipped over a cross. It was a low delivery that Mark Beevers met with a volley to the right of Marco Silvestre. A goal up and it soon should have been two.
Ironically, the chance that fell to Millwall's centre-half after 17 minutes was probably easier. A corner came over from the right and Beevers out-jumped – perhaps out-muscled – Scott Wootton at the far post. Silvestre was nowhere close but Beever's header missed the target.
Alan Dunne had an even better chance in first-half stoppage time, but was unable to direct his free header away from Silvestre.
That he had so much time and space said plenty about Leeds. They looked disjointed. A lack of cutting edge is one thing, and quite expected when a player like Ross McCormack is sold, regardless of the grand fee. But they also lacked fluency in all areas of the pitch.
Hockaday, despite the modesty of his management CV, was known for stylish football at Forest Green. There was none of that at The Den; indeed it was hard to recall a reasonable opportunity in the first half.
Millwall, on the other hand, played with spirit. Maybe that's a Holloway thing. He has set up a players' committee to let them have a whinge when necessary, so long as they balance their grievances with positive thoughts.
The atmosphere at this club last season was, according to those involved, poor. They turned their season around by virtue of an eight-game unbeaten run and that seems to have continued into the new campaign.
In Ricardo Fuller they have a striker whose attributes include more than a passing friendship with Usain Bolt. He was not at his most effective yesterday, but in holding play up, he was an obvious platform for attacking runs from Martin and and Martyn Woolford.
It was Woolford who twice had excellent chances to score Millwall's second in the opening moments after the break.
First, he went clean through only to shoot straight at Silvestri. He then had a reasonable call for a penalty ignored when he was tripped by Sam Byram after beating two defenders.
Hunt, meanwhile, blew Leeds best chance after a howler from David Forde, who left his line and failed to gather a loose ball. It fell to Hunt but his poked shot was cleared off the line by Dunne.
That was as good as it got for Leeds, but after such a modest rise came a sharper fall when Lee Gregory was brought down late on and Shaun Williams scored the penalty.