Millwall come from two goals down to see off Coventry

Posted Sunday, August 14, 2022 by PA

George Saville completed a stunning comeback as Millwall came from two goals down to beat 10-man Coventry 3-2 at The Den in the Sky Bet Championship.

After Kyle McFadzean and Matt Godden had given the visitors a healthy lead inside half an hour, a fifth consecutive competitive home win looked unlikely.

But a mistake from Simon Moore allowed Jake Cooper to head home before George Honeyman reacted quickest to bring the scores level.

And, after Gustavo Hamer was shown a second yellow, substitute Saville snatched the three points with five minutes remaining.

Coventry took the lead inside two minutes, Viktor Gyokeres doing well to win a corner which was whipped in by Hamer.

Godden flicked on at the near post and skipper McFadzean was on hand to bundle the ball home.

The opener did not seem to wake the home side, who saw Bartosz Bialkowski’s goal breached again within minutes.

Jake Bidwell found Godden unmarked in the penalty area and the striker calmly finished, only to see the assistant’s flag raised.

Midway through the first half, the away side doubled their advantage as Godden stretched to meet a superb Bidwell cross and guided a volley into the far corner.

It was an abject opening half an hour from the hosts, but a thoughtless error from Moore offered them a lifeline.

As the keeper came to claim Scott Malone’s floated free-kick, captain Cooper rose highest and headed into an empty net from the edge of the box.

And it should have been 2-2 a couple of minutes later when Honeyman’s strike was parried to Murray Wallace, only for his follow-up to be blocked on the line by Dominic Hyam.

Millwall ended the half the stronger and completed the turnaround shortly after the break.

Tyler Burey’s exquisite curling strike rattled Moore’s upright and it fell kindly for Honeyman, who made no mistake to volley Gary Rowett’s side level.

Coventry were inches from regaining the lead on the hour mark, with McFadzean’s long-range effort forcing a fine save from Bialkowski and Jonathan Panzo heading the resulting corner against the face of the bar.

But momentum swung in Millwall’s favour when Hamer cynically brought down Burey to earn himself a second yellow, having been cautioned late in the first half.

And the remarkable turnaround was complete with five minutes remaining, Saville curling the ball beyond the reach of Moore to send the home support into raptures.