Phew, that was a tough watch for a City fan, wasn’t it?
A second 0-0 draw in a row means a second game without a goal but at least I suppose it means we haven’t lost and unlike Saturday against Middlesbrough, I’m clinging to the old adage of “any point away from home is a good point.”
The manner in which the game played out was the most disappointing thing for me though.
After a decent first ten minutes for the visitors, Millwall played their way into the game and both sides had decent chances to score in the first half although it was Tim Krul who had to make the saves, with Bart Bialkowski’s defenders blocking the chances that fell to those in a yellow shirt.
The second half wasn’t a whole lot better with my frustration being with the slow pace of the Canaries’ build-up play. There were really only a couple of times in that half that we moved the ball quick enough to put Millwall on the back foot and then the decision making at the crucial moments wasn’t good enough and those chances were snuffed out.
There were a few players, like on Saturday, who struggled to make an impact with new boy, Dimitris Giannoulis still not showing that suggestion of him being the best left-back in Greece. It’s way too early to criticise him too much though, he’s only been here a week and has most likely only just learned everybody’s name, never mind adjusting to life in a new country in the midst of a global pandemic.
Teemu Pukki looked a little off the pace, slightly too slow to pull the trigger on a couple of occasions and after a promising start to the game, Placheta looked a passenger in the second half until he got the hook. It was a night that didn’t work out for Todd Cantwell either, with him being too easily brushed off the ball time and again and opting to take on a couple of outlandish long shots that whistled over the Millwall bar.
Fair play to Millwall though, they didn’t just sit back and were one of those teams that were prepared to have a go at us, something that only a handful have tried this season, so far. They pressed us and closed us down quickly and they were well organised. As I say, Bialkowski was never seriously tested.
Lots of frustrations then and at the end, when Kieran Dowell gave the ball away in the middle of the pitch with Tim Krul 35 yards out of his goal, I imagine we all had our hearts in our mouths. Luckily Jed Wallace is playing for Millwall rather than a Salah or a Son playing for Liverpool or Spurs and he put his effort wide.
Two draws in a row have given the chasing pack an opportunity to close up, should they win their games in hand, and it’s Brentford and Swansea who worry me the most. Friday night at the Liberty Stadium suddenly looks like a game as big as it gets, reminiscent of our trip to Elland Road in February 2019.
It’s live on Sky Sports so you wont have to endure iFollow without any commentary and just the industrial language although in all honesty, the inane chatter of Don Goodman and whoever is his commentator on the night might make me reach for the mute button.
OTBC