Match Report: Wells untimely exit exposes familiar weaknesses at Millwall

[Olé]

For most of his 20 months at Bristol City, Nahki Wells has been a bit part figure, not even making the starting line ups for the early part of this season. But after running the channels like a man possessed in the win at QPR away and then in a draw with division favourites Fulham on Saturday, his last minute withdrawal at Millwall seemed to badly disrupt City’s forward play, exposing a depressing lack of cutting edge for all their possession at the Den.

City were expected to build on a five match unbeaten run, and yet despite weathering a purposeful Lions opening, and then controlling the game led by Joe Williams in midfield, including an utterly dominant 15 minutes after half time, the visitors offered little actual attacking threat - and then threw away everything in a single moment as a sloppy Tyreeq Bakinson was caught out in midfield, and Benik Afobe raced clear to win the decisive penalty.

Despite reinforcements from the bench, City faded badly and never looked like levelling - a depressing reminder that for all the talk of transformation since last season, lacking both Wells and Semenyo’s pace, Massengo’s bite, and then suffering Baker’s exit in just the first half - once again the side is a hostage to player fitness, exposing a painful lack of pace and quality in attack, even after O’Dowda’s typically forgettable second half wing return.

With Nigel Pearson isolating and led by Curtis Fleming on the touchline, City switched to three at the back after the pre-game loss of Wells - and the disruption was obvious as Millwall dominated the opening exchanges at a sparsely filled and unseasonally cold New Den, Scott Malone, Matt Smith and George Evans efforts all forcing the visitors to defend in numbers, before City finally settled  and wrested control of the game after 10 minutes.

First Jay DaSilva capitalised on a poor throw in and swept the ball upfield for Bakinson to get clear down the left, cutting inside and racing into the box, but robbed of possession, the half clearance reached Matty James outside the area who unleashed a rising shot just over the angle of post and bar. On the quarter hour Bakinson’s looped ball forward and a defensive slip let Andi Weimann turn and race clear, but the keeper closed him down quickly.

By now City were starting to craft well worked football in the middle third, and good interplay led to James lifting another through ball which Bakinson stole onto inside the box only to miscontrol and be flagged for offside. Then at the midway point of the half Bakinson threaded DaSilva down the left and clear to the byline, his cross eluding several City options and finding fellow wingback George Tanner beyond the far post to nod down tamely wide.

Just before the half hour the visitors were rocked by the sadly familiar sight of Baker going down off the ball and requiring attention before being withdrawn, Cam Pring on in his place. Unsurprisingly Millwall capitalised with the first big chance of the game as Evans headed down behind City’s backline and Afobe skipped clear inside the box with just the keeper to beat, Bentley doing brilliantly to beat away the shot at close range in front of away fans.

Much of City’s best football was coming through DaSilva down the left and before the break two crosses in quick succession threatened an opening - first on the break his ball into the middle was bundled clear of the ineffectual Chris Martin, and then from the resulting corner, recycling the ball at the second attempt, the wing back centred and found Weimann whose flashing header went just wide of the far post as the visitors again failed to capitalise.

On the stroke of half time it should have been the hosts who went in front, rallying with a series of chances before the break, they worked the same proven combination as Evans again found Afobe behind City’s defence, the one time Ashton Gate striker heading down into the bottom corner at close range, Bentley tipping past the post. It was a stark reminder of the value of pace and purpose up front, compared to City’s largely anonymous front two.

As it happens Curtis Fleming’s men took the game to Millwall from the restart, attacking towards their travelling fans. Williams and James were dominating midfield, with time to pick their passes and find dangerous channel balls. But lacking both pace and cutting edge - Martin in particular turning in the box to find an angle only to lose out -  it didn’t take long for O’Dowda to be thrown on at the expense of DaSilva, as City tried to turn the screw.

It was one-sided football against a poor looking Millwall side and despite a succession of corners and getting both O’Dowda and Tanner racing clear down both flanks, City were utterly bereft of quality in the final third. Both wide men were guilty of squandering crosses - cut out or, in the case of O’Dowda, overhit with Weimann well placed to finish -  but in truth the failures owed much also to the absence of Wells and with it any real threat in the middle.

So the sucker punch came as no surprise after the hour mark. Bakinson, an increasingly uncertain figure alongside impressive central midfield colleagues, hesitated on the ball in the centre circle and was robbed of possession, a quick through ball highlighting the advantage of pace in attack as Afobe raced clear on goal and drew a foul from Rob Atkinson, substitute Jed Wallace smashing the resultant penalty into the top corner with unerring confidence.

And that was it. City had shown little quality in attack despite controlling the game from the tenth to the sixtieth minute, and by now their tiring midfielders had run out of options and let the game slip away from them, although there was briefly time for Bakinson to slash wide after Martin and Weimann combined in space on City’s right. Withdrawing the tiring Williams for the wrong sort of Kasey Palmer cameo compounded the complete surrender.

City, far from finishing the game strongly in search of an equaliser, were aiming quick balls forward at O’Dowda and Palmer, which sounds exactly as horrific as it actually was, the total lack of composure or fluidity that marked our earlier purpose, saving us only from the predictable sight of Chris Martin lumbering about in attack being outrun by anything that moved. This was a throwback to last season. An awful performance against a poor side.

 

Bentley 7 Two important saves from Afobe with the best chances of the game

Baker 5 Another early exit for his record of early exits - was it the knock from Saturday?

Kalas 7 Plays like he takes it all personally and worked hard throughout

Atkinson 6 Unfortunate with the penalty but some good marauding runs forward

Tanner 5 Tireless performance but can see the step up in quality needed going forward

DaSilva 6 One of our more effective performers, we were much worse after he went off

Williams 7 Our most purposeful of midfielders and drove the team forward until he ran out of steam

James 6 There is a good partnership with Williams to be had but they need players to aim for

Bakinson 4 Influential early on but became increasingly ponderous and careless - lacking confidence

Weimann 5 Given no service and played so far off Martin maybe maybe he thought Wells was playing

Martin 4 Please god not a season of this - a few knock downs and otherwise looked like he was queuing for petrol

 

Pring 5 Had one header over and at fault at least once when Millwall got in behind us

O’Dowda 4 Ran down the wing a few times, overhit a cross, fell over, then disappeared, standard stuff

Palmer 4 Tried one cute through ball straight to an opponent, rarely controlled any passes to him

Edited September 30, 2021 by Olé

[Dullmoan Tone]

These reports are essential for those of us who struggle to get to away matches. Thank you.

Love the topical critique of Martin.

[ralphindevon]

Let’s hope Martin finds some petrol soon and when he does it’s the high octane stuff. 

[One Team]

You’d think after his numerous chances O’Dowda would’ve done something by now; but no, in yet another chance against Millwall he displays his entire mediocre to poor Bristol City career to date. 

Apart from being beyond frustrated with him what really boils my piss is that his inclusion keeps one of our up and coming youngsters out of the team. 

Enough now. 

Edited September 30, 2021 by One Team

[1960maaan]

Just been catching up with things.

I didn't realise Nhaki had pulled out because of his groin, that makes it harder to start with.

Baker playing with injections, seems odd when we had Vyner who did well at CB previously.

JD ankle injury & Williams cramp meant injuries dictated Subs rather than the coach, again making it hard.

While I agree COD didn't do much, he wasn't meant to even be on the bench. He gets stick that isn't always deserved. 

I don't think Bakinson can play against teams who press well and limit space. He gets caught on the ball and cost us last night again. 
Great ball through, but looking at it again Atkinson didn't need to make that challenge. If he just leans on Afobe a little with Bents' coming out ? Who knows.

One thing I'd ask the coach's , why don't we shoot ?
Weimann , although the ball was bouncing, had a chance with a decent angle but waits until the keepers' on top of him.
Martin went round in circles so much it won't be on a highlight reel as he didn't even get the shot away !

With Martin looking knackered, Weimann has been lost. We need a change up top. If Wells is fit , straight swap, if not ? Not many options.
Bakinson & Palmer were poor, so (depending on Williams) King has to be involved. 
I'd rather see a fully fit Vyner come in at RCB than risk Baker breaking down again. Or go to a genuine back 4 with Pring LMF.

The team needs a shake up, last night was very reminiscent of last year, and that's a worry.

Good write up as ever @Olé , I maybe thought you were hard on marks for DaSilva & Tanner , but hard to argue as , as an XI there were all pretty poor.

 

[Super]

In fairness to COD he has played such little football i'm not really sure what people expected last night.

[Jerseybean]

Unlike our inconsistent and sometimes very disappointing performances your excellent reports are consistent and never disappoint, thank you. 

Many of us, including NP I suspect, have been concerned as to where the goals would come from this season, last night very much shone a light on that. One shot on target (which was barely a shot) and an inability to create any decent openings exposed one of our major challenges.

[Rudolf Hucker]

1 hour ago, Olé said:

Martin 4 Please god not a season of this - a few knock downs and otherwise looked like he was queuing for petrol

Brilliant!

[RedRock]

14 minutes ago, Super said:

In fairness to COD he has played such little football i'm not really sure what people expected last night.

As Nige would say ‘an impact’. 
 

Sorry, I still don’t know - 5 odd years into his contract - what his actual purpose is. Of the range of footballing attributes - shooting, dribbling, crossing, tackling, heading - which are his strengths? Once that’s established I’d be clearer in what to expect from him.

CoD - a hugely good human I’ve no doubt - sums up Mark Ashton’s contribution to the Club for me. 

[GrahamC]

22 minutes ago, 1960maaan said:

Just been catching up with things.

I didn't realise Nhaki had pulled out because of his groin, that makes it harder to start with.

Baker playing with injections, seems odd when we had Vyner who did well at CB previously.

JD ankle injury & Williams cramp meant injuries dictated Subs rather than the coach, again making it hard.

While I agree COD didn't do much, he wasn't meant to even be on the bench. He gets stick that isn't always deserved. 

I don't think Bakinson can play against teams who press well and limit space. He gets caught on the ball and cost us last night again. 
Great ball through, but looking at it again Atkinson didn't need to make that challenge. If he just leans on Afobe a little with Bents' coming out ? Who knows.

One thing I'd ask the coach's , why don't we shoot ?
Weimann , although the ball was bouncing, had a chance with a decent angle but waits until the keepers' on top of him.
Martin went round in circles so much it won't be on a highlight reel as he didn't even get the shot away !

With Martin looking knackered, Weimann has been lost. We need a change up top. If Wells is fit , straight swap, if not ? Not many options.
Bakinson & Palmer were poor, so (depending on Williams) King has to be involved. 
I'd rather see a fully fit Vyner come in at RCB than risk Baker breaking down again. Or go to a genuine back 4 with Pring LMF.

The team needs a shake up, last night was very reminiscent of last year, and that's a worry.

Good write up as ever @Olé , I maybe thought you were hard on marks for DaSilva & Tanner , but hard to argue as , as an XI there were all pretty poor.

 

Good summary.

Think Rob’s marks in an excellent report are very harsh on Pring, by the way.

Was amazed afterwards that Fleming said Baker had an injection (possibly 2?) to play but we still went with no CB on the bench, surely Vyner’s versatility there would have been ideal?

Also Wells’ last minute withdrawal meant with Semenyo also out the bench was a lot of midfielders. 

After seemingly doing well with injuries we have suddenly got a lot, it doesn’t sound like either Dasilva or Baker will be fit for Peterborough, nor HNM & Semenyo’s absence seems to have come out of the blue, who knows about Wells, either?

We do need to give Martin a rest on Saturday though, even if Wells is missing.

[Rudolf Hucker]

16 minutes ago, Super said:

In fairness to COD he has played such little football i'm not really sure what people expected last night.

More than he ever delivers.
 

I’m fed up waiting for him to impress. he so rarely makes an effective impact on a game. According to Google: 142 Championship matches, 7 goals, 10 assists. Hardly surprising, I guess, that he did absolutely nothing of note last night. 
 

He’s a waste of a shirt imo. Stealing a living. 

[1960maaan]

16 minutes ago, GrahamC said:

Good summary.

Think Rob’s marks in an excellent report are very harsh on Pring, by the way.

Was amazed afterwards that Fleming said Baker had an injection (possibly 2?) to play but we still went with no CB on the bench, surely Vyner’s versatility there would have been ideal?

Also Wells’ last minute withdrawal meant with Semenyo also out the bench was a lot of midfielders. 

After seemingly doing well with injuries we have suddenly got a lot, it doesn’t sound like either Dasilva or Baker will be fit for Peterborough, nor HNM & Semenyo’s absence seems to have come out of the blue, who knows about Wells, either?

We do need to give Martin a rest on Saturday though, even if Wells is missing.

I was going to add Pring. 
I think we worry more about injuries because of our recent record, but it doesn't look good.
Hopefully Semenyo and Wells were precautionary , Pring is a straight swap but the worry is strikers. 
Martin has surely got to be rested, and if Wells is a doubt I'd go Weimann CF and work the rest around him. Not many options from the U23's, Conway & Britton not 100% fit , so it limits what we can do.

[Son of Fred]

16 minutes ago, Rudolf Hucker said:

More than he ever delivers.
 

I’m fed up waiting for him to impress. he so rarely makes an effective impact on a game. According to Google: 142 Championship matches, 7 goals, 10 assists. Hardly surprising, I guess, that he did absolutely nothing of note last night. 
 

He’s a waste of a shirt imo. Stealing a living. 

Well Rudolf,,

He's either not up to the job (if you'll pardon the expression) - or his attitude/concentration is wide of the mark.

Possibly a touch of both?...

What's certain is that he won't last here under Nigel's tutelage if that's the case ..

 

 

Edited September 30, 2021 by Son of Fred

[One Team]

12 minutes ago, Rudolf Hucker said:

More than he ever delivers.
 

I’m fed up waiting for him to impress. he so rarely makes an effective impact on a game. According to Google: 142 Championship matches, 7 goals, 10 assists. Hardly surprising, I guess, that he did absolutely nothing of note last night. 
 

He’s a waste of a shirt imo. Stealing a living. 

Couldn’t have said it better myself. He’s been here over 5 years and continued time after time and chance after chance to woefully under deliver. 

The only reason he’s still here is no one wanted to buy him and his contract is still in flight; otherwise I would think he would’ve gone with the rest of the LJ/Ashton deadwood in the summer. 

He’s got one year left of his contract so hopefully he’ll be gone for a small fee in January or his contract won’t be renewed next summer. 

[wendyredredrobin]

1 shot on target in 90 minutes of football tells you all you need to know about this team and our tactics.  I'm struggling to actually remember the shot TBH - can anyone remind me.

We didn't even look like we were trying to score even after we went one down and there was no urgency even in the last 10 minutes. Millwall clearly wanted the 3 points more than we did from the start and a togetherness and commitment we have seen recently had gone.

We have to get a target man in the January window.

Question - How is it that Millwall can afford Afobe and we can't? He did very well for us before his injury and seemed very happy in Bristol.

 

[Laner]

Any Senior Reds on here that were at the lunch when NP came in and spoke?

I'm sure my Dad told me that NP said Martin was the quickest player at the club. Was that right? 

And if so... quickest at what because on the pitch it's not running.

[OneTeamInBristol]

In fairness to Martin, he looked knackered from 5 minutes in.  Not sure a 32 year old can do Sat, Tues 180 mins.

Agree with others strange decision to start Baker who needed injections, seems an unnecessary risk with 2 other defenders on the bench. 

To be fair to O'Dowda we're only 10 games in he doesn't want to have his 1 impactful game a season too early on, long way to go yet.

 

[OneTeamInBristol]

20 minutes ago, wendyredredrobin said:

1 shot on target in 90 minutes of football tells you all you need to know about this team and our tactics.  I'm struggling to actually remember the shot TBH - can anyone remind me.

We didn't even look like we were trying to score even after we went one down and there was no urgency even in the last 10 minutes. Millwall clearly wanted the 3 points more than we did from the start and a togetherness and commitment we have seen recently had gone.

We have to get a target man in the January window.

Question - How is it that Millwall can afford Afobe and we can't? He did very well for us before his injury and seemed very happy in Bristol.

 

We could very easily have afforded Afobe but buying a 28 year old player who has had 2 similar season ending serious injuries would not be a wise move.

Great bloke but glad we didn't take the risk on him.

[Selred]

26 minutes ago, wendyredredrobin said:

1 shot on target in 90 minutes of football tells you all you need to know about this team and our tactics.  I'm struggling to actually remember the shot TBH - can anyone remind me.

 

Think it was Weimann, in the last few mins, when we had a corner or long throw, flick on, and it fell nicely. Think a player blocked it?

[RedRock]

Always rated Ole’s reports but thought Bents was immense ( even coming -successfully - for crosses), and a bit harsh markings-wise on Kalas, Atkinson and Pring.

But - if the reports are true - that a Bristol City fan managed 3 cross bar hits in succession that is deserved of a 10/10 and ‘player of the season’ award. Sign him up!!! Are that any videos of that awesome performance circulating? 

[Super]

21 minutes ago, OneTeamInBristol said:

In fairness to Martin, he looked knackered from 5 minutes in.  Not sure a 32 year old can do Sat, Tues 180 mins.

Agree with others strange decision to start Baker who needed injections, seems an unnecessary risk with 2 other defenders on the bench. 

To be fair to O'Dowda we're only 10 games in he doesn't want to have his 1 impactful game a season too early on, long way to go yet.

 

Then Play Weimann up top and play Palmer off him. Anything would have been better than a knackered martin last night.

[OneTeamInBristol]

2 minutes ago, Super said:

Then Play Weimann up top and play Palmer off him. Anything would have been better than a knackered martin last night.

Agreed he shouldn't have started. Not sure Palmer is the answer though.

Stick Alex Scott up there to be a nuisance, he's got some pace about him.

[RedRock]

2 hours ago, ralphindevon said:

Let’s hope Martin finds some petrol soon and when he does it’s the high octane stuff. 

Ralph - I think he’s found the petrol, it’s just a case it has a high lead content. 

[archie andrews]

1 hour ago, Super said:

In fairness to COD he has played such little football i'm not really sure what people expected last night.

A bit better.... 

[KegCity]

Martin needs a rest. For one it's hindering our performances but also could see him getting injured if he's run into the ground as he was last season.

Bakinson also looks miles off the pace, was disappointed with him against Fulham. Think last night has been a good reminder of just how threadbare our squad is.

[KegCity]

2 hours ago, Super said:

In fairness to COD he has played such little football i'm not really sure what people expected last night.

He's just as useless when he's playing regularly. Still dining out on that goal v Norwich, going to have to step up his game massively if he's going to offer us anything past this season.

[Davefevs]

I’m not gonna blame Callum last night, first game back, wasn’t even named on the bench initially.

I’m not gonna blame him for a overhit cross on the run.  I thought he drifted in off the left ok, laid the ball off on the dribble, but essentially going slightly backwards, but kept the ball moving.  I do fear his marker nicking the ball off him when he does that, he allows his opponent to get a sniff of the ball as he doesn’t use his body, nor does he shift ball onto his right side to make a tackle on him impossible without a foul.

In the same respect as above about body position on dribbles, he does the same when he closes down / tackles. He gives away little unnecessary fouls on the touchline when his opponent is going nowhere or about to turn over possession.  It’s frustrating.  That happened a couple of times last night.  When your desperate to not let the opposition suck the life out of the game, giving away cheap fouls and throw-ins when an aimless punt forward from an under pressure wingback gets us the ball back does my head in.

He has to overcome this….we see it whether it’s a 36 minute sub appearance or a start.  He has ability, but this type of stuff overshadows it.

[Bris Red]

2 hours ago, Super said:

In fairness to COD he has played such little football i'm not really sure what people expected last night.

9 times out of 10 he is poor for us though, if last night was an isolated incident then it would be fair enough and we would all be happy to give him a free pass but it isn’t. It’s been going on for years ever since he has joined us, consistently ineffective.  As i said on here last night he isn’t good enough for where we want to be as club and needs shipping out at the earliest opportunity.

Edited September 30, 2021 by bris red

[Super]

1 minute ago, bris red said:

9 times out of 10 he is poor for us though, if last night was an isolated incident then it would be fair enough and we would all be happy to give him a free pass but it isn’t. It’s been going on for years ever since he has joined us, consistently ineffective.  As i said on here last night he is not good enough for this level and needs shipping out at the earliest opportunity.

I agree he has underperformed but to slate him for last night when he has barely played is harsh IMO

[BTRFTG]

Great report again Ole.

The old joke runs 'we were lucky to get nil...' but last night, as a statement of fact, I and those around me weren't laughing.

Two current and two ex City 'strikers' on the pitch and only the one with multiple ACL failures looked anywhere near deserving of such title. When 'The Wardrobe' covers marginally more turf and is a tad more threatening than Martin you know you've serious problems. The latter being devoid of pace, touch and an ability to hold the ball up, he also contrived to squander his only chance by again showing a reluctance to shoot, then easily losing the ball when struggling to tell left foot from right. Flappy again flapped, pointed, moaned and Martinesque wasted a decent chance by refusing to strike the ball early. His late blocked shot the only thing of note he delivered all night. Folks should also not downplay the impact of his petulant, misguided and constant griping to the officials (in short cheating.) No complaints about their penalty but we should have been awarded one late on for the blatant shirt pull on Atkinson. But why would officials listen to his late protestations when, like Corbyn's demented brother or Johnson and Starmer at conference, he's been making false and imbicilic claims all evening? For all his pointing, flapping and moaning he'd have been more effective glueing his arse to the centre spot whilst pointing at an old Poplar Insulation logo.

Albeit the strikers are useless they didn't get support from the supposed 'creative' side of midfield.

James was excellent doing what he does best in breaking up play and in equal measure poor by giving the ball away such he could once again compete to retrieve it. Williams, by far out best outfield player, struggled without support to influence the game our way, but without an ability to hold it upfront that's a Sisyphean task.

Like crane flies Bakinson comes into his own this time of year. All legs, uncoordinated, slow to react and easily squished. He was so far off the pace last night as to be untrue. Ball watching, adopting the Bryan school of standing-off (i.e. might as well not compete,) giving the ball away at will. Forget his error for their pen, his lack of competition first half leading to Afobe's gilt edged chance shows why he will never be one around which to build a team. Ditto KP. Interesting that which the generations have in common but with different interpretation. A younger friend, en route back to the Dark Continent such he won't be around for a few seasons, produced a theory that will live long in the memory. He opined that KP shows altruistic and generous leadership in abundance. 'I'll needlessly give the ball away such you don't have to;' not even such generosity saved Bakinson last night.

The Mock Mick's introduction served only to remind he still exists and once thought himself good enough for Leeds. I rather wish it hadn't.

Defence did OK against the tide of relentless ball coming their way. Bentley ever excellent at keeping us in it, his late save, deep down left the pick, but it's not difficult to keep giving performances of that quality when it's one way traffic. BOHICA.

Baker, ever the enigma. Does what he does well whilst delicate as a Bee's wing. I've never seen a player who, with such regularity, mid match sits down, reviews his socks, requires assistance and then goes off, never hobbling, never limping, never clutching his hamstring, never on a stretcher, but who's unable to continue yet who in all probability will be fit for the next game.

Nobody watching will fail to know what needs to happen to make this side competitive. We didn't so much lose, we handed it to them on a plate.

 

[ralphindevon]

Those old enough may remember Mark Gavin really struggled when he first came to us, he got loads of stick until one day, away to Birmingham, he was like a born again footballer, tearing the Birmingham defence to shreds. 
 

All of a sudden the crowd got behind him and he was a different player. This is what I always hope will happen to CoD, I keep giving him extra chances because of injuries but one day maybe we’ll see that Norwich away goal form on a regular basis. Maybe.

 

[Super]

1 hour ago, Selred said:

Think it was Weimann, in the last few mins, when we had a corner or long throw, flick on, and it fell nicely. Think a player blocked it?

Thought it was first half?

[firstdivision]

4 hours ago, Olé said:

For most of his 20 months at Bristol City, Nahki Wells has been a bit part figure, not even making the starting line ups for the early part of this season. But after running the channels like a man possessed in the win at QPR away and then in a draw with division favourites Fulham on Saturday, his last minute withdrawal at Millwall seemed to badly disrupt City’s forward play, exposing a depressing lack of cutting edge for all their possession at the Den.

City were expected to build on a five match unbeaten run, and yet despite weathering a purposeful Lions opening, and then controlling the game led by Joe Williams in midfield, including an utterly dominant 15 minutes after half time, the visitors offered little actual attacking threat - and then threw away everything in a single moment as a sloppy Tyreeq Bakinson was caught out in midfield, and Benik Afobe raced clear to win the decisive penalty.

Despite reinforcements from the bench, City faded badly and never looked like levelling - a depressing reminder that for all the talk of transformation since last season, lacking both Wells and Semenyo’s pace, Massengo’s bite, and then suffering Baker’s exit in just the first half - once again the side is a hostage to player fitness, exposing a painful lack of pace and quality in attack, even after O’Dowda’s typically forgettable second half wing return.

With Nigel Pearson isolating and led by Curtis Fleming on the touchline, City switched to three at the back after the pre-game loss of Wells - and the disruption was obvious as Millwall dominated the opening exchanges at a sparsely filled and unseasonally cold New Den, Scott Malone, Matt Smith and George Evans efforts all forcing the visitors to defend in numbers, before City finally settled  and wrested control of the game after 10 minutes.

First Jay DaSilva capitalised on a poor throw in and swept the ball upfield for Bakinson to get clear down the left, cutting inside and racing into the box, but robbed of possession, the half clearance reached Matty James outside the area who unleashed a rising shot just over the angle of post and bar. On the quarter hour Bakinson’s looped ball forward and a defensive slip let Andi Weimann turn and race clear, but the keeper closed him down quickly.

By now City were starting to craft well worked football in the middle third, and good interplay led to James lifting another through ball which Bakinson stole onto inside the box only to miscontrol and be flagged for offside. Then at the midway point of the half Bakinson threaded DaSilva down the left and clear to the byline, his cross eluding several City options and finding fellow wingback George Tanner beyond the far post to nod down tamely wide.

Just before the half hour the visitors were rocked by the sadly familiar sight of Baker going down off the ball and requiring attention before being withdrawn, Cam Pring on in his place. Unsurprisingly Millwall capitalised with the first big chance of the game as Evans headed down behind City’s backline and Afobe skipped clear inside the box with just the keeper to beat, Bentley doing brilliantly to beat away the shot at close range in front of away fans.

Much of City’s best football was coming through DaSilva down the left and before the break two crosses in quick succession threatened an opening - first on the break his ball into the middle was bundled clear of the ineffectual Chris Martin, and then from the resulting corner, recycling the ball at the second attempt, the wing back centred and found Weimann whose flashing header went just wide of the far post as the visitors again failed to capitalise.

On the stroke of half time it should have been the hosts who went in front, rallying with a series of chances before the break, they worked the same proven combination as Evans again found Afobe behind City’s defence, the one time Ashton Gate striker heading down into the bottom corner at close range, Bentley tipping past the post. It was a stark reminder of the value of pace and purpose up front, compared to City’s largely anonymous front two.

As it happens Curtis Fleming’s men took the game to Millwall from the restart, attacking towards their travelling fans. Williams and James were dominating midfield, with time to pick their passes and find dangerous channel balls. But lacking both pace and cutting edge - Martin in particular turning in the box to find an angle only to lose out -  it didn’t take long for O’Dowda to be thrown on at the expense of DaSilva, as City tried to turn the screw.

It was one-sided football against a poor looking Millwall side and despite a succession of corners and getting both O’Dowda and Tanner racing clear down both flanks, City were utterly bereft of quality in the final third. Both wide men were guilty of squandering crosses - cut out or, in the case of O’Dowda, overhit with Weimann well placed to finish -  but in truth the failures owed much also to the absence of Wells and with it any real threat in the middle.

So the sucker punch came as no surprise after the hour mark. Bakinson, an increasingly uncertain figure alongside impressive central midfield colleagues, hesitated on the ball in the centre circle and was robbed of possession, a quick through ball highlighting the advantage of pace in attack as Afobe raced clear on goal and drew a foul from Rob Atkinson, substitute Jed Wallace smashing the resultant penalty into the top corner with unerring confidence.

And that was it. City had shown little quality in attack despite controlling the game from the tenth to the sixtieth minute, and by now their tiring midfielders had run out of options and let the game slip away from them, although there was briefly time for Bakinson to slash wide after Martin and Weimann combined in space on City’s right. Withdrawing the tiring Williams for the wrong sort of Kasey Palmer cameo compounded the complete surrender.

City, far from finishing the game strongly in search of an equaliser, were aiming quick balls forward at O’Dowda and Palmer, which sounds exactly as horrific as it actually was, the total lack of composure or fluidity that marked our earlier purpose, saving us only from the predictable sight of Chris Martin lumbering about in attack being outrun by anything that moved. This was a throwback to last season. An awful performance against a poor side.

 

Bentley 7 Two important saves from Afobe with the best chances of the game

Baker 5 Another early exit for his record of early exits - was it the knock from Saturday?

Kalas 7 Plays like he takes it all personally and worked hard throughout

Atkinson 6 Unfortunate with the penalty but some good marauding runs forward

Tanner 5 Tireless performance but can see the step up in quality needed going forward

DaSilva 6 One of our more effective performers, we were much worse after he went off

Williams 7 Our most purposeful of midfielders and drove the team forward until he ran out of steam

James 6 There is a good partnership with Williams to be had but they need players to aim for

Bakinson 4 Influential early on but became increasingly ponderous and careless - lacking confidence

Weimann 5 Given no service and played so far off Martin maybe maybe he thought Wells was playing

Martin 4 Please god not a season of this - a few knock downs and otherwise looked like he was queuing for petrol

 

Pring 5 Had one header over and at fault at least once when Millwall got in behind us

O’Dowda 4 Ran down the wing a few times, overhit a cross, fell over, then disappeared, standard stuff

Palmer 4 Tried one cute through ball straight to an opponent, rarely controlled any passes to him

‘An awful performance against a poor side.’ Spot on. Some of our supporters are kidding themselves a bit at the supposed scale of the NP revival. We’ve been very lucky in recent weeks. And boring as hell to watch.

The last 20 minutes were truly embarrassing; the first 70 an exercise in tedium. 
And good use of the word ‘lumber’. 

[Scare_Man]

Not sure anyone has mentioned it before but the penalty decision looked very soft watching on TV.  Atkinson met Afobe with a bump of shoulders but got Benik in full stride so went flying so looked to a ref from way back to be more than that?

When Jed Wallace did similar late in the game out wide it appeared to be with much more force and sent our man (COD?) flying but no foul.  Frustrating decisions, the penalty came at just the wrong time for us as we were well on top at that time after a turgid first half.

[Super]

2 minutes ago, Scare_Man said:

Not sure anyone has mentioned it before but the penalty decision looked very soft watching on TV.  Atkinson met Afobe with a bump of shoulders but got Benik in full stride so went flying so looked to a ref from way back to be more than that?

When Jed Wallace did similar late in the game out wide it appeared to be with much more force and sent our man (COD?) flying but no foul.  Frustrating decisions, the penalty came at just the wrong time for us as we were well on top at that time after a turgid first half.

It was a def pen the fact Atkinson didn't complain said it all.

[One Team]

25 minutes ago, ralphindevon said:

Those old enough may remember Mark Gavin really struggled when he first came to us, he got loads of stick until one day, away to Birmingham, he was like a born again footballer, tearing the Birmingham defence to shreds. 
 

All of a sudden the crowd got behind him and he was a different player. This is what I always hope will happen to CoD, I keep giving him extra chances because of injuries but one day maybe we’ll see that Norwich away goal form on a regular basis. Maybe.

 

That game you mention was 14 months after Gavin signed for us. O’Dowda has been here over 5 years.
 

How many more chances does this guy get? 

[And Its Smith]

1 hour ago, bris red said:

9 times out of 10 he is poor for us though, if last night was an isolated incident then it would be fair enough and we would all be happy to give him a free pass but it isn’t. It’s been going on for years ever since he has joined us, consistently ineffective.  As i said on here last night he isn’t good enough for where we want to be as club and needs shipping out at the earliest opportunity.

And yet keeps getting picked by every manager. Maybe you are wrong and they all aren’t 

Edited September 30, 2021 by And Its Smith

[Selred]

17 minutes ago, And Its Smith said:

And yet keeps getting picked by every manager. Maybe you are wrong and they all aren’t 

Or maybe because he's on a very healthy contract and we haven't got any other wingers in the squad to compete with him? 

[The Gasbuster]

2 hours ago, Davefevs said:

I’m not gonna blame Callum last night, first game back, wasn’t even named on the bench initially.

 

You are absolutely right, of course.

However, COD should have been champing at the bit with this unexpected opportunity. I saw nothing of the sort.

[RedRock]

3 minutes ago, Selred said:

Or maybe because he's on a very healthy contract and we haven't got any other wingers in the squad to compete with him? 

I suspect his contract renewal was more to do with Ashton’s self-driven business strategy ie he did want to lose SL a few £million early on in his relationship, than any real desire to retain an appreciating asset. Personally, I could see no benefit in the renewal, apart from maybe a quick sale in the first transfer window which would have clawed back some money. 

We have to assume the managers/CEO’s of the other 91 league clubs didn’t value CoD as much as Ashton did. Nice to see though that we kept CoD but gave a far superior Taylor away to Oxford. Must have been a way of Ashton thanking Oxford for CoD being such good business. 

I think Nige must be somewhat bewildered that he has a player on his books that is a past international and, no doubt, in the top 10 highest paid players in the Club. Logic would be that he must be worthy of a place in the first team or, at the very least, around the squad.

Like Ralph, I’ve always hoped for a re-set. The thought, ‘that’ Norwich wonder goal is the real CoD and we’ve just got a stand-in for 99% of the time. It ain’t happening though. Even if it does, belatedly in his contract,  one suspects he’ll do a Fam and shaft us. No, fed up now and his presence on the pitch just serves to remind me of the very dark days of the Ashton/Johnson era. 

[And Its Smith]

29 minutes ago, Selred said:

Or maybe because he's on a very healthy contract and we haven't got any other wingers in the squad to compete with him? 

He’s been picked centrally quite a lot 

[OneTeamInBristol]

6 minutes ago, And Its Smith said:

He’s been picked centrally quite a lot 

Well we haven't got a great deal to compete with him there either! 

[BTRFTG]

1 hour ago, Super said:

It was a def pen the fact Atkinson didn't complain said it all.

He was lucky to just get a yellow...

[BTRFTG]

1 hour ago, Scare_Man said:

the penalty came at just the wrong time for us as we were well on top at that time after a turgid first half.

Interesting to know when would be a good time to concede a penalty? 

Also, at no point last night were we 'well on top'. There only ever looked like one team scoring and it wasn't us.

[Super]

4 minutes ago, BTRFTG said:

He was lucky to just get a yellow...

Isn't the rule now if he is making an attempt to get the ball it's a yellow? 

[BTRFTG]

4 minutes ago, Super said:

Isn't the rule now if he is making an attempt to get the ball it's a yellow? 

As he was 'behind' I didn't think he had any chance of playing the ball and thought the ref would go red. I think as the pen was quite 'soft' and Atkinson didn't contest the call the ref took the easy option.

[ralphindevon]

2 hours ago, One Team said:

That game you mention was 14 months after Gavin signed for us. O’Dowda has been here over 5 years.
 

How many more chances does this guy get? 

Another 5 years without improvement and I’ll start to think it’s time to move him on.

[Selred]

31 minutes ago, BTRFTG said:

Also, at no point last night were we 'well on top'. There only ever looked like one team scoring and it wasn't us.

Disagree. We were on top until the pen. Absolutely.

[Bazooka Joe]

Disappointing performance and result.

Never understand why there is a seeming lack of urgency (or any creativity/cutting edge) when we are a goal behind and time is running out.

Atkinson, Tanner, Kalas, James, Pring and Williams put in some decent effort (and had to carry those that went missing), and we had an error-free performance from Bentley.  This at least gives me hope for better days ahead.

 

[Mr Popodopolous]

9 hours ago, wendyredredrobin said:

Question - How is it that Millwall can afford Afobe and we can't? He did very well for us before his injury and seemed very happy in Bristol.

 

He used to play there, that helps- same with Saville, went back to former club. If returning to a club they used to play for then they might be keen to accept lower wages etc.

Our issue isn't so much this season, more that if we gambled and didn't go up then we'd be stuffed.

Lower running costs probably contribute to more FFP headroom. Lower income too but more headroom meant that clubs such as them, Luton to an extent, Barnsley had they chosen to do so, Coventry had they chosen to do so- well they did to an extent- and Preston, could take a bit of a chance this season.

Edited September 30, 2021 by Mr Popodopolous

[Davefevs]

57 minutes ago, Mr Popodopolous said:

He used to play there, that helps- same with Saville, went back to former club. If returning to a club they used to play for then they might be keen to accept lower wages etc.

Our issue isn't so much this season, more that if we gambled and didn't go up then we'd be stuffed.

Lower running costs probably contribute to more FFP headroom. Lower income too but more headroom meant that clubs such as them, Luton to an extent, Barnsley had they chosen to do so, Coventry had they chosen to do so- well they did to an extent- and Preston, could take a bit of a chance this season.

Benik is on loan

[Scare_Man]

22 hours ago, Selred said:

Disagree. We were on top until the pen. Absolutely.

Yes, this. We came out second half massively improved for 10-15 mins, Millwall couldn’t get out of their half and then the penalty killed our momentum.

Of course there is never a good time to concede a penalty or a goal - although you could argue that if you are 5-0 up in the 90th minute you wouldn’t really be too bothered!

[Mr Popodopolous]

18 hours ago, Davefevs said:

Benik is on loan

This is true, but still the headroom thing, lower cost base...still I wonder if we could've signed a loanee or two- real shame how it panned out for Benik here, started so well...gave us a whole new dimension and the team still with room to grow with DaSilva to return, but then in a 3-4 week period him, Nagy and Kalas got injured and combined with the DaSilva thing we were suddenly missing around 1/3 of a team, all of them starters or 3 at bare minimum with 1 as 1st reserve.

Possible too of course that with Stoke needing to downsize and Afobe learning that his ex club were in for them that they got him a bit cheaper as most of what you want can be better than nothing- he's from London too isn't he, Afobe.