Alex Neil welcomes ‘clinical’ Millwall display in win over West Brom

Millwall head coach Alex Neil thought his team were much improved at both ends of the pitch as they got back on track with a comfortable victory over West Brom.

Neil made seven changes from the line-up that was put to the sword by new Sky Bet Championship leaders Coventry on Wednesday, their third defeat in four games at The Den this season.

The Lions were unrecognisable from midweek, not allowing their visitors to settle while they found a finishing touch through goals by Jake Cooper, Femi Azeez and Zak Sturge.

Neil said: “We’ve had some really good performances this year, we just haven’t been clinical at times and I think that clinical aspect makes the games look different.

“I thought Coventry were clinical against us and that’s why the scoreline looked the way it looked, but I thought today we were clinical in good moments.

“I thought we were threatening, we got our goals at good times, and then I thought defensively that sort of 4-4-2, more passive block towards the end helped us.

“Bear in mind, we’ve still got the likes of Mass [Luongo] coming back after needing a little bit of a breather, Billy [Mitchell] coming back I thought looked knackered, [Thierno] Ballo coming back, Femi coming back.

“So we’ve still got a lot of lads who I wouldn’t say are fully up to speed and then we’ve obviously got Alfie [Doughty] and Casper [De Norre] coming back.”

Millwall were almost ahead when Josh Coburn nodded Ballo’s hanging cross back across for Cooper, whose header was clawed away by West Brom goalkeeper Josh Griffiths.

But Cooper steered in Azeez’s cross in the 18th minute and Azeez doubled the home side’s lead spectacularly when, after being found in space by Mitchell’s long pass, he cut inside before bending in a stunning strike from 25 yards.

The result was wrapped up after 72 minutes when Ballo’s ball down the left put Sturge in behind and he finished superbly into the top corner.

West Brom boss Ryan Mason said: “I think it’s our worst performance, absolutely, in every element of the game.

“It’s the first time it’s happened this season that I’ve really felt that so it’s tough, it’s disappointing, but the players feel it as well, most importantly.

“I just think we probably didn’t show ourselves anywhere near what we needed to get anything from the game.

“I think when we had the ball, we were below par – I think in this type of game, with the wind, with the conditions, with the dry pitch, we needed to show personality and quality and we didn’t quite have enough today.

“We gave away far too many free-kicks, far too many set-plays, inviting pressure on our box, balls coming in.

“Really disappointing because we felt like as the game went on the space would open up, but we just didn’t earn the right to get to that point.”