resilient Lions seal statement win against blades Third time lucky for Millwall as they finally down promotion favourites

Long made amends for his earlier mistake with an impressive save, denying the young striker.

With Iliman Ndiaye warming up for the visitors, Millwall fans were fearing the worst, with the forward having tormented them in both of the previous two meetings between the sides. However, the Lions retook the lead before he could even step foot onto the pitch.

By Alex Jones at The Den alexj@southwarknews.co.uk

MillwAll FiNAlly got the better of Sheffield United in their third meeting of the season as Tom Bradshaw’s hattrick secured a 3-2 win at The den.

The Lions were looking to bounce back from their midweek defeat to Coventry City, a result which temporarily knocked them out of the top six, while the Blades were aiming to recover from their 3-1 home defeat to Middlesbrough that blew the automatic promotion chase wide open.

The visitors came in as the favourites, having won 2-0 in the reverse fixture at Bramall Lane before eliminating Gary Rowett’s side from the FA Cup by the same scoreline in SE16 at the start of 2023.

As a result, Millwall were in no mood to mess about, going straight for the throat in the opening stages of the match.

Bradshaw showed his intentions inside the opening minute when he challenged Wes Foderingham for a loose ball, clattering the goalkeeper in the process.

Bradshaw wasn’t done there, and as he has so often done in front of the Sky Sports cameras, he took centre stage against a top-six rival. In the fourth minute, he was played clean through on goal by Zian Flemming, but his low effort was saved by Foderingham at close range to keep the scores level.

Denying Bradshaw once is possible, but teams often pay the price when giving him a second chance. Just two minutes later, the 30-year-old was played into the box yet again, this time by Oliver Burke, allowing him to unleash a powerful effort from a tight angle that gave the Lions an early lead. Most expected the Blades to come roaring back, but they failed to do so. Instead, Millwall took even more control, dominating possession while regularly venturing forward into the box. Their best chance for a second goal came in the fourteenth minute when Flemming brought the ball forward from midfield. The Dutchman held onto the ball for too long, hesitating before setting up Burke to his right. The winger powered a fierce shot into the palms of Foderingham, who was able to comfortably catch the resulting corner.

The Lions continued to threaten, with Burke combining with Danny McNamara and Jamie Shackleton to exploit a gaping hole left down the right by left wing-back Max Lowe, although the trio failed to create any clear-cut chances for Bradshaw and Flemming in the middle.

They were made to pay the price six minutes before the half-time break when Sheffield United scored their equaliser from almost nothing. Jake Cooper gave away a free-kick around 25-yards out. Midfielder Tommy Doyle was the only man standing over it, allowing him to curl the ball over the wall before it dipped in front of George Long. The Millwall goalkeeper got a hand on it, but couldn’t prevent it from bouncing off his gloves and into the bottom corner of the net.

Sheffield United started the second half better and could have taken the lead five minutes after the restart. Daniel Jebbison was played clean through the middle of Cooper and Charlie Cresswell, allowing him to take aim inside the box. However,

Andreas Voglsammer brought the ball down the left flank, with Flemming running alongside him in the box. The Dutchman was brought down, but the referee waved on, allowing Voglsammer to dink a perfect cross onto the head of Bradshaw, with the striker flicking the ball past Foderingham for his ninth goal of the campaign.

Sheffield United weren’t exactly banging the door down in search of an equaliser, but their pressure became too much for Millwall, who cracked in the 82nd minute. They failed to deliver an accurate corner and the resulting goalmouth scramble, with substitute James McAtee picking up the ball, switching it onto his right foot and rifling it into the roof of the net.

When it looked like the Lions had let another lead slip, Bradshaw popped up with his hat-trick goal in the 87th minute. Voglsammer’s run down the right flank allowed him to fire a powerful, low cross into the box for the striker, who turned it into the back of the net from close range to seal an astonishing win in South Bermondsey.

Millwall: 4-2-3-1: Long; McNamara, Cresswell, Cooper, Wallace; Shackleton (Leonard 72’), Saville; Voglsammer (Malone 89’), Flemming (Evans 90’), Burke (Honeyman 72’); Bradshaw (Watmore 89’)

Sheffield United: 3-5-2: Foderingham; Basham (McAtee 77’), Egan, Robinson; Bogle, Berge, Norwood, Doyle (Osborn 55’), Lowe; Jebbison (Ndiaye 64’), McBurnie