Championship match report: Millwall 0-4 Ipswich Town

The Blues struggled in the opening stages of the match but quickly turned things around. Nathan Broadhead opened the scoring before Wes Harding turned the ball into his own net. Kieffer Moore wrapped up the win before half time, and fellow January recruit Ali Al-Hamadi scored from the spot to make it their biggest win of the season so far.

Millwall have been known for starting well in games this season, and they had two good chances to score in the opening five minutes of the game. The first came from a clever corner routine where Ryan Leonard fired over the bar from distance. The second was a free-kick that bobbled towards the feet of George Saville, who forced Vaclav Hladky into a save with a powerful strike.

Nathan Broadhead followed up his goal against West Brom by opening the scoring at The Den (Image: Pagepix)

Some sloppy play in the final third allowed the Lions to counter in the ninth minute. Romain Esse intercepted a pass and played through Tom Bradshaw, who only had to beat Luke Woolfenden to be one-on-one with Hladky. Harry Clarke rushed back just in time to make the block, but the hosts were fully on top.

They kept knocking on the door. A foul from Sam Morsy presented Millwall with another chance as Leonard smashed a shot at Hladky, winning another corner in the 12th minute, which Ipswich cleared.

Town began to grow into the game, dominating possession and creating chances. Broadhead clipped the crossbar with a flick from Leif Davis’ corner, encouraging the travelling fans at the other end of the pitch.

Wes Harding turned the ball into his own net to make it 2-0 (Image: Pagepix)

Wes Burns was quick to pounce on a mistake from Jake Cooper, running through and winning a corner with a cross off the towering centre-back. It allowed the Blues to take the lead in the 24th minute as the ball ended up with Omari Hutchinson, who curled a cross onto the head of Broadhead, allowing him to loop the ball over Matija Sarkic and into the back of the net.

It was the first time that Ipswich had scored the first goal in a league game since the 2-2 draw against Norwich City, which was all the way back on December 16th.

They doubled their lead not long after as Broadhead was played down the left by Cameron Burgess, who dinked a superb pass over the top of Millwall’s back line. The Wales international cut into the box before crossing into the middle, forcing the ball off Harding for an own-goal in the 32nd minute.

Kieffer Moore secured his first win in an Ipswich Town shirt (Image: Ross Halls)

They could’ve made it three seconds later as Moore was played through on goal, but a last-ditch tackle stopped the striker before he could take aim. It was clear that Kieran McKenna’s side had killed their opponents’ early momentum.

They ended up getting their third goal in the first minute of first-half stoppage time, infuriating the Millwall fans. Harry Clarke played a quick one-two with Hutchinson, rushing to the byline before chipping a cross onto the head of Moore. He powered it into the ground, allowing it to bounce up and into the net to wrap up the game before the break.

Joe Edwards' side looked better after the break, but Ipswich took their foot off the gas instead of pushing for a fourth goal. Bradshaw's quick flick forced Hladky into a save on the hour-mark, but the goalkeeper wasn't really troubled.

The Blues won at The Den for the first time since August 2017 (Image: Ross Halls)

The game slowly fizzled out. A deflected shot from substitute Conor Chaplin forced Sarkic to parry the ball into a dangerous area, but he couldn't capitalise.

Just as it looked like the action was over, Al-Hamadi was able to wrap up the win after he was bundled over by Murray Wallace in the box. The Iraq international stepped up to take the penalty, dispatching it to make it 4-0 in stoppage time.

Millwall XI: 3-4-2-1: Sarkic; Leonard, Harding (De Norre 46'), Cooper; McNamara, Honeyman (Mitchell 71'), Saville, Wallace; Esse (Mayor 71'), Flemming; Bradshaw (Watmore 71')

Town XI: 4-2-3-1: Hladky; Clarke, Woolfenden, Burgess, Davis; Morsy, Luongo (Travis 76'); Burns (Jackson 86'), Hutchinson (Chaplin 66'), Broadhead (Sarmiento 66'); Moore (Al-Hamadi 76')