Championship: Millwall’s impenetrable Den form broken by 10-man Swansea as Oli McBurnie completes comeback

A 10-man Swansea City came from behind to beat Millwall 2-1 at The Den, becoming only the second team to win here since November last year. Murray Wallace opened the scoring for the home side, the comeback led by goals from Kyle Naughton and Oli McBurnie.

It’s been a tough few weeks for both managers, Neil Harris and Graham Potter. Transfers and results alike haven’t been the easiest of challenges. For Harris, after two defeats on the road, it was a chance for some solace at home. For the latter, there've been no wins from four games in all competitions. League debuts also came for players either side, Ben Amos in goal for Millwall, and Courtney Baker-Richardson and Daniel James for the Swans.

Not that their Welsh visitors were expecting a warm welcome to begin with in South Bermondsey, but Millwall fans gleefully burst into sarcastic chants of “Eng-er-land” just after kick-off. The response, as you can imagine, was not as pleasant.

It didn’t take long for some aggression on the field, and not from the side you might expect. Just five minutes into his first game, Baker-Richardson went flying wildly into a tackle with his studs up, sending Lions defender James Meredith flying. There was one colour coming out of the referee’s pocket, and there was no doubt it was red. Stood just a few paces away, it wasn’t exactly the start Graham Potter was looking for from the 22-year-old.

Millwall had a handle on the game for most of the first half. Every moment Swansea found a bit of space, they were soon surrounded. As Swansea continued to retreat, a man down, the attacks came wave after wave from the home side, drifting in to make use of the space. Every typical Millwall long ball gave either Steve Morison or Lee Gregory a quick opportunity to chase.

The Lions edged closest to drawing first blood on a number of occasions. The best of the bunch came 23 minutes in, when a lofted ball forwards was headed on to Jed Wallace in the box. But he couldn’t get his feet to do what his brain was thinking, scuffing his attempt at a scissor-kick wide.

With nothing positive to offer on the pitch, the travelling crowd looked to take out their anger on the negatives off it. Some fans were still clearly unsatisfied with the lack of effort behind the scenes financially, and called once again for chairman Huw Jenkins to “get out of their club”, as they have before.

The Millwall momentum meanwhile spilled over into the second half. The counter-attacks and long balls kept coming, and so did the chances. Shots from from Aiden Obrien and Wallace just outside the box were skied. But as the pressure continued, it felt like it was only a matter of time before the Lions opened the scoring.

open image in gallery

That goal finally did come, on the hour from a corner. Driven long over to the far post, Jake Cooper headed the ball back across goal. All it needed was a touch in between the rack of bodies, and Murray Wallace was there to deliver for his first of the season. It was relief for Neil Harris on the touch line, swinging a clenched fist in celebration.

There was only one side really in the game for most of it, and there could’ve been more goals to add to the damage had Millwall’s luck come through, but they failed to make the possession count, and started taking it for granted.

Headed into the last 20 minutes, it was déjà vu once again for Harris’ men. As with Middlesbrough, and Derby, the home side began to let their guard slip, and suddenly Swansea were back in the game against the run of play.

Jefferson Montero found space on the left wing. Turning past Mahlon Romeo, his neat ball across the box found Naughton. As he spun round, he unleashed a stunning effort past an outstretched Amos into the bottom-left corner. The Den fell silent, but for a small Welsh sea of white and orange.

Straight up the other end from kick-off, Gregory could, and should have equalised, tucking his shot wide one-on-one. Then substitute and Jiri Skalak fired a rocket of a strike just over. It had been all Millwall, and yet somehow they couldn’t make their chances pay. The visitors were now the ones finding gaps and space aplenty. And so then came the ultimate punishment.

With five minutes to go, Montero broke down the wing again. A quick one-two, and a good ball found Oli McBurnie at the far post, who had been quiet throughout most of the game. He tapped it home easily, to put Swansea into the lead and grab his fourth goal in six league games.

As Millwall tried desperately to find a way back in, the drama pin-balled from one end to the other. The Swans' Tom Carroll hit the post from just outside the box, and on the break, Tom Elliot’s header found the bar, and then the safe hands of Erwin Mulder, as he kept it just the right side of the line.

As the final whistle went, it was jubilation for Swansea and Graham Potter, embracing his assistant with a beaming smile. They'd conjured a second-half comeback from nowhere, scoring twice from just two shots on goal, and robbing their opponents of all three points. On the other side, Millwall had played 85 minutes against 10 men, but threw their chances and, as a result, the game away. Neil Harris still has a bit of work to do on game management.