Championship 2018/19: Brentford Vs Millwall

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Brentford ended a nine-game winless run in all competition with a hard working 2-0 victory at home to fellow promotion rivals Millwall. Newly-appointed head coach Thomas Frank saw his first victory as Brentford manager as strikes from Sergi Canos & Ollie Watkins overcame a stubborn Millwall resistance.

Shocking Opening Ten Minutes

I can honestly say in all my life of watching football, I have never seen a worse opening to a crucial match than what Brentford and Millwall produced, in what was some of the most shocking football Griffin Park would have seen this season. From the stray passes to ill-thought of long balls, the opening 10 minutes had it all. This made the tempo in the first 10 minutes rather quick, however, both Brentford and Millwall did not display an ounce of composure in bringing the ball down and attempting to play football. The first 10 minutes also saw ZERO shots on goal for both Brentford and Millwall, which rather sums up the poor nature of the beginning to the match.

What also emphasised the dreadful opening to the game on Saturday afternoon was the amount of times possession was surrendered. In the opening 10 minutes, possession was given away a total of 35 times, with Brentford surrendering the ball 17 times, and their opponents Millwall, 18.

Below are images depicting just four times where Brentford and Millwall players gave away possession cheaply, rather than showing composure.

Stubborn Millwall Defensive Work

As mentioned at the beginning of this analysis, Brentford earned a hard-working victory vs a stubborn Millwall side. After an opening 10 minutes lacking in pretty much everything, stubbornness is exactly what the opposition as they managed to hold out a free-flowing Brentford attack for the rest of the half. A mixture of good shape and a rigid formation helped Millwall reduce Brentford to just three shots on target for the entirety of the fixture on Saturday. As well as just three shots on target the entire game, Millwall also limited Brentford to just seven shots in the entire second half, with four of those shots off-target and the other three blocked by Millwall defenders. 

After a shaky opening 10 minutes, Millwall settled down into a shape that frustrated Brentford. Below are annotated images of the shape and formation that ensured Millwall came out firmly on top, in a good first-half for the Lions.