The ACN Match Review: Millwall (a)

How did we play? 

As I was leaving the pub after the full-time whistle, I overheard someone say that this was Norwich’s worst performance under Clement. Since then, I’ve been trying to think of a match which ranks lower and have failed to do so. 

Obviously, it would be remiss of me to focus entirely on what the Canaries failed to do. Millwall played some fantastic football, dominated the game, and rightfully came out as the victors. Based on their finish last season, this should come as no surprise and I fully expect them to be one of the front runners for promotion this time out as well. 

However, two things can be true at the same time. The fact is, Norwich were pretty woeful. This wasn’t just a case of not taking our chances, it was a case of failing to create any in the first place. Combine this with a frustrating inability to push the game out of our defensive third, and the final scoreline felt all but inevitable. 

I know it’s still early days, and it’s near impossible to draw any conclusions this early on in the season, but we need to get the ball rolling with some positive results if we want to be a serious promotion challenger in what is shaping up to be one of the strongest and most competitive championship seasons for a number of years. 

What was the best bit of the game? 

I’ll be honest, I really struggled to think of a highlight. The best I can do is Schwartau’s effort on goal in the first half, which he directed wide of the near post. This moment summed up most of our chances, all of which left me thinking that we really lack a clinical edge. 

What was the worst bit of the game? 

Cordoba’s second yellow really was the writing on the wall for us. Of course, you can make the argument that it was a tactical foul and we stood a better chance of salvaging the game at 2-0 with ten players than at 3-0 with eleven. However, there was no guarantee that Millwall would have scored, and all we were left with was a mountain to climb. 

What was the atmosphere like? 

A first game at the Den this season for Millwall saw a bumper home crowd. Changes to the away allocation also meant that the travelling yellow army were consigned to half of the North Stand, rather than taking up the whole end as we have done on previous seasons. 

As I did not make the trip to South London on this occasion, I have been reliably informed that the atmosphere in the away end was good at first, before souring by full time.  

Hero of the match 

If it wasn’t for Kovačević, we could have lost this match by a significantly larger margin. Throughout the ninety, he pulled of some truly excellent saves. The pick of the bunch for me came in the first half, where his dive to the right put a stop to an impressive Camiel Neghli volley. 

Summary in Five Words 

We never win in August.