Millwall 0-4 Ipswich: Tractor Boys thump Lions to return to winning ways

Report and free match highlights from the Sky Bet Championship clash between Millwall and Ipswich Town at The Den on Wednesday | Nathan Broadhead, a Wes Harding own goal, Kieffer Moore and Ali Al-Hamadi from the penalty spot secured a Tractor Boys win.

Wednesday 14 February 2024 22:52, UK

Ipswich moved to within three points of the Sky Bet Championship automatic promotion places as they returned to winning ways by thrashing struggling Millwall 4-0.

Kieran McKenna's early season challengers had won just one in nine league games but survived a slow start to run out deserved victors at The Den.

Nathan Broadhead scored one and made another in the first half while in-form Bournemouth loanee Kieffer Moore headed home and Ali Al-Hamadi converted a stoppage-time penalty as Ipswich eased to just a second league win of the calendar year.

Despite their drop-off in form, McKenna's side lost just twice in that run and the former Manchester United assistant will be hoping this result heralds a return to form - with a trip to Swansea next up on Saturday.

Millwall started the better of the two sides and the recalled Ryan Leonard hammered an effort over the crossbar after an early corner was cleared to the edge of the Ipswich box.

The home side showed four changes from their loss at Coventry and another returnee came close on four minutes as George Saville's drive was saved by Vaclav Hladky.

With the hosts on top, Tom Bradshaw should have done better as the Lions countered an Ipswich corner but the ball got caught under his feet and Harrison Clarke got back to clear.

Hladky was forced into action again to save low from Leonard as Millwall maintained their head of steam.

But despite their dominance, Joe Edwards' men fell behind at the midway point of the first half with Broadhead's accurate back-header from Omari Hutchinson's cross putting Ipswich ahead against the run of play.

The lead was doubled soon after as Harding inadvertently turned Broadhead's low cross into his own goal.

The points were all-but secured on the stroke of half-time, Moore heading into the ground and over Sarkic for his third goal in as many games.

The second half was a much more even affair as Millwall matched their visitors, who had taken their foot off the gas.

Still, though, the home side could not find a way to beat Hladky, the former Salford keeper going largely untested after the interval other than preventing a Bradshaw consolation.

Ipswich could have extended their advantage as Wes Burns and Conor Chaplin had decent chances before referee Sam Barrott pointed to the spot for a Murray Wallace foul on substitute Al-Hamadi. The January signing from AFC Wimbledon dusted himself down to score his first goal for his new club.

While Ipswich continue to look up, Edwards has now seen his side take just one point from their last six league games and - with Stoke and Huddersfield both winning - they have dropped to 21st in the table.

The managers

Millwall's Joe Edwards:

"It is a bit of deja vu, we started well with a clear plan that the players were executing.

"Their goalkeeper had a few saves to make early on. When you play against a team like Ipswich's level, they can score goals at any time but the manner of that (first) goal can't happen.

"It is a combination of things that throws us, we were feeling in a good place, with momentum and then the wind is taken out of your sails with a poor goal and from there until half time it just unravelled."

Ipswich's Kieran McKenna:

"I think we are long due a night like that to be honest. Statistically, in the last nine games we have been creating more shots and having less against than in the first nine games but sometimes football works like that.

"We were clinical and we produced the defensive moments whenever we needed to, we have been long overdue a night where things went our way.

"It was a good night's work, a good performance in different areas. I thought we were solid in free play and controlled large chunks of the game with the ball, created a few good opportunities and were really clinical when they came."