Millwall 1 West Brom 1 - Lewis Cox analysis - video Dailymotion

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Millwall 1 West Brom 1 - Lewis Cox analysis

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00:00Well, it's finished here at the Den in Millwall. Millwall won, Albion won. The draw really

00:06I think that most of us would have predicted, let's be honest. I mean, I'm not a gambler

00:12but the smart money today was on a draw, certainly. I think the fifth draw in a row between these

00:17two sides. Albion, it must be said, haven't drawn for a little while given the previous

00:22run of draws, certainly under Carlos Corbijn. This was the first under Tony Mowbray today

00:27in his sixth game back at the helm. Amid that run of six games now, he's without a clean

00:34sheet as the new baggage boss and that's a bit of a concern at the moment, I would say.

00:39Certainly, externally to me it feels like that. I mean, we've asked Tony about it there

00:44after the game and he gets it and he agrees. He feels it's coming, he feels that the partnership

00:51will happen in time. Obviously, Kyle Bartley's suspended and he's a big miss and he was a

00:54miss today. But whenever he's back and he can maybe partner Ajayi or partner Heghan,

00:59Albion will be that bit more solid. But look, fewer clean sheets is going to be a thing

01:05isn't it under Tony Mowbray compared to Carlos Corbijn. They're totally different styles

01:08in that regard. Today, one or draw, both goals came in the first 25 minutes here in Millwall.

01:16Millwall took a deserved lead. Big, big centre-off. Jake Cooper, he's towering, isn't he? Dominant.

01:22He wins everything in the air and by the time he nodded in a simple 17th minute opener,

01:27he could have had three goals. The centre-off, that's how much control and certainly dominance

01:32I think Millwall had in the final third in those opening exchanges. They were on top

01:37and they deserved the opener to be honest. The baggies equalised eight minutes later,

01:4125 minutes on the clock and it was through an unlikely source really. It was an own goal.

01:47It was a Millwall player, it was left-back Joe Bryant inadvertently turned into his own

01:51net. I haven't seen a very good replay to be honest, but it seemed to hit his standing

01:55foot a low Darnell Furlong cross after Dean Garner had played him in well for 1-1. I'd

02:00say that was 25 minutes and Albion really put their foot to the throat at that point

02:05and for the final 20 minutes of the first half, a really good Grady Dean Garner at the

02:10centre of most. He hit the woodwork soon after. Dean Garner had a strong game and Jed Wallace

02:14did back at his old stomping ground before he limped off later in the second half. Those

02:18two did well. Fast forward a little bit to the second period where in truth it was all

02:24Millwall if I'm being honest. Not all Millwalls, maybe a bit strong, but they had the lion's

02:29share of the openings in the second period. Not necessarily one-way traffic, but Joe Wildsmith,

02:34the Albion keeper, was forced into a string of decent stops. Maybe nothing outstanding,

02:39stops you'd maybe expect, but some good ones in there and Albion had to dig in, defend

02:44well. Shemi Ajayi, one of the big lines today back in the side, first time he's played in

02:50certainly more than three months, best part of four months. He grew into the game, a little

02:54bit of a ropey start, but I thought he defended really well by the end. Ousmane Diakite, big

02:58physical presence in midfield, a first stop for him under Mowbray and Diakite really grew

03:03into it, got better and better and better, making big tackles, big clearances by the

03:07end. Both of those two and others were big parts in sort of a battling, resilient, backs

03:13against the wall point by the end, Wildsmith making some big saves. Albion had one or two

03:17moments themselves in a frenetic end-to-end finale, but it was Millwall who probably felt

03:23they had more of it and deserved more, but Albion, they don't win it very often, do they?

03:28I think it was one win in 12 against Millwall, full stop before today, so that extends, as

03:33we say, and now five draws in a row. You'll be able to read this on the Expressing Style

03:37website by the way, but some interesting post-match quotes from Tony Mowbray to us actually. The

03:43first thing he said, and I've written it for the site, is that, look, we have to come

03:48here with respect to Millwall and stop being satisfied and not be satisfied with a battling

03:52point really. We have to be a team that expects to win these games with the quality we have

03:57in the squad. He said, nowhere near enough control for me, we don't want to be on the

04:02end of attack after attack and defending and blocking, last ditch and saving. We want to

04:07be in control, we want to be creating more. That wasn't the case today, so work to be

04:12done in that regard. You can read Tony Mowbray's thoughts on that. A couple of other big pieces

04:17of news and stories from today. Daryl Dike got on, he was a sub, and that was really

04:21heartwarming and wholesome really. Dike got 13 minutes plus stoppages at the end, more

04:26than a year after his bad Achilles injury, a year and five days to that fateful day at

04:32Portman Road. He comes back and, to be honest, he got through it. He got through the under

04:3521s in midweek, he got through today, and credit to him, he looked good for it. A couple

04:41of moments where he was involved, he helped play in Jason Molumby late on, who had a bit

04:46of an opening. John Swift had a bit of a clear chance towards the end in stoppage time. Good

04:51for Dike, that's a major plus. Ajayi coming through it and growing stronger is a plus,

04:55Diakite as well. Overall, I've been still searching for that formula for regular wins

05:04and regular wins under Tony Mowbray certainly, and clean sheets. We've had a week, a three-game

05:10week where it started with Alaska's win, as we know, but that was a game of six changes

05:14to the side. Midweek disappointment at Blackburn, three changes to Mowbray's start in XI, today

05:20five changes. The Albion boss has got options, but he's clearly going through them, tinkering,

05:25trying to find the right formula. Learning on the job, as he said, and Albion are still

05:30six today. It says a lot about the pushers, the runners and riders for the playoffs. It's

05:36not a remarkable race, is it, in terms of a high points tally will be needed. Albion

05:41need to start putting consistent results together and nobody is more aware of that than Tony

05:45Mowbray. Anyway, I'm getting out of the rain. For all the reaction and more thoughts and

05:50all of that, stick it on our website, expressionstar.com.

Millwall 1 West Brom 1 - Lewis Cox analysis

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