It was a Mathias Jorgensen brace that saw Blackburn Rovers defeat Millwall, denting their push for second place with the Dane overturning Luke Cundle’s overhead finish for the Lions in strong fashion.
The Lancashire side have now completed the league double over the London outfit this season. This is after the reverse fixture at Ewood Park ending 2-0 in Rovers’ favour.
For many Millwall fans though, the overwhelming feeling after this game is deja-vu.
Since promotion to the Championship in 2018, they have been victorious twice in sixteen league meetings between the two clubs.
To add insult to injury, multiple of these have heavily damaged Millwall’s promotion hopes
The game that is generally understood by Millwall fans as one of the most depressing in their recent history. On the final day of 22/23 season, it looked bright for Millwall.
The club were placed in sixth, knowing victory versus Blackburn guaranteed play-offs.
At half time the Lions were fulfilling the requirements.
Millwall’s Duncan Watmore was the first to score, although Rovers’ Adam Wharton equalised not long after.
But before long it was the London side in cruise control.
Watmore bagged his second before Oliver Burke managed to make it three. It looked comfortable for the South London outfit at this point.
However, the second half wasn’t to be the same. Joe Rankin-Costello got one back for Blackburn early in the second half.
Not long after Ben Brereton-Diaz made it 3-3 and by this point the games momentum had shifted entirely. The Lions went from composed to panicked, forcing them to attack again.
Both sides would have their chances, but a Blackburn counter attack late on would deal the hammer blow to Gary Rowett’s side.
Brereton-Diaz would get on the end of a ball in from Sammie Szmodics to send Millwall plummeting into eighth place. The club were left questioning how they were able to let it slip.
The game seemed to severely affect the mood round the club. The Lions made a slow start to the following season.
Many pointed to their final day woes as the key cause. The club’s confidence was shot, and it wasn’t long before Rowett departed the club. The form would continue under new Manager Joe Edwards, before salvaging 13th under returning Neil Harris.
Going into this game, Millwall had won five of their last seven league games.
This run included victories away at high-flying Sheffield United and a home win against play-off rivals Middlesbrough. Many saw Alex Neil’s Millwall side as an outside contender to challenge for the final two play-off places.
On the day of the game though, fans were dealt with the news of the unavailability of both their first and second choice goalkeepers.
Lukas Jensen and Liam Roberts were announced to have picked up injuries in training, meaning 19-year-old George Evans was set to make his Championship debut. The young goalkeeper was thrust in the deep end, but unfortunately for him it would end up being a debut to forget.
Millwall had picked up a rare victory against Blackburn in the reverse fixture at The Den after a late winner from Mihailo Ivanovic.
But, at Ewood Park, the team unfortunately crumbled.
The Lions went into the break 2-1 down and Ivanovic struck once again for Alex Neil’s side to cancel out Dominic Hyam’s opener two minutes prior.
The Lions couldn’t keep it level for long though, with Sondre Tronstad putting the home side ahead in the first minute of first half stoppage time.
The second half piled it on further for the London outfit. Callum Brittain made it three before Tronstad dealt his second of the game to make it four.
With three more games left of the season after this, the result made it very difficult for Millwall.
The club needed to win all three remaining games to have any chance of promotion.
They were able to put both Norwich City and Swansea City to the sword in the following two home games. However, a trip to Turf Moor on the final day would prove too much for the Lions with Burnley winning 3-1 to leave Millwall sat in eighth place.
The extent to which this game affects Millwall’s promotion push this season so far remains to be seen.
Despite this, though, there is a strong feeling among fans that this was an opportunity squandered.
With Middlesbrough dropping points in the early kick-off against Bristol City, a victory against Blackburn would have seen the Lions take the second automatic spot behind Coventry City.
The teams would go into half-time with the deadlock still tied. Blackburn were on top, but the Lions were defending very well.
Millwall took the lead in the 54th minute through an overhead strike from Luke Cundle, and it seemed like the Lions might be pushing towards a fifth consecutive league victory.
The game was changed only five minutes later though. A soft red card being given to Lions defender Zak Sturge for a foul on Yuki Ohashi altered everything.
From that point, it was more a matter of how long could Millwall keep Rovers at bay.
Mathias Jorgensen would be the difference, firing in the 80th and 85th minute as the Lions fell to defeat.
This was Millwall’s first defeat from a winning position since the aforementioned loss at Burnley on the final day of last season.
The Lions are still within breathing distance of the automatic spots, and look certain to make play-offs.
But what this result means is that it forces the Lions to really fight if they want to make a serious push.
The next two games away at both Ipswich Town and Middlesbrough will prove to be must win games for the London side to cement themselves in second place.
If, come the end of the season, the Lions see themselves out of the automatics by only a point or two, it is a game like this which many will look at with a feeling of what could have been.
