Veteran striker Steve Claridge, 36 two days ago, rolled back the years to keep
Millwall on course for the Division One play-offs and end Coventry's faint hopes
of returning to the Premiership at the first time of asking.
The former Leicester hitman scored his second goal in two games midway through
the first half at Highfield Road to take Mark McGhee's men to within a point of
extending their season.
Victory sent Millwall back up to fourth place whereas Coventry, in 10th place,
desperately needed all three points to keep their hopes alive of extending their
season.
It was not to be for the Sky Blues, who had begun brightly with strikeforce
Lee Hughes and Jay Bothroyd proving a handful early on without troubling Lions
keeper Tony Warner.
Hughes' through-ball then opened up the visitors' rearguard only for Warner to
sprint out of his box and prevent Youssef Chippo taking advantage.
Tim Cahill headed high over the bar from Steven Reid's free-kick wide on the
left as Millwall came back into the game.
The Londoners looked to have weathered the early storm and their confidence
grew, with Paul Ifill turning sharply in the box only for Horacio Carbonari to
block his low cross.
City, looking unfamiliar in their new kit with dark blue shorts, took a while
to reply and when they did, Colin Healy could only produce a lazy shot in the
19th minute which went well wide.
Hughes, never lacking for effort, then sprinted fully 50 yards into the box
but was forced wide and could not squeeze a shot on target before being robbed
by a well-timed tackle by Stuart Nethercott.
And Millwall made them pay when Cahill made the most of Paul Trollope's slip
and made quick progress down the right flank before squaring to Claridge, whose
scuffed shot eluded Magnus Hedman and looped into the net.
Dion Dublin, on loan from City's midlands neighbours Aston Villa, carried the
ball into the penalty box as Millwall went in search of a second. But despite
threading the ball through Carbonari's legs, his cross came to nothing.
Cahill's header was safely gathered by Hedman, but Coventry should have been
level when Chippo rode the tackles to find himself in space outside Millwall's
area only to fire his shot straight at Warner.
City looked demoralised and their recent form was summed up when Mo Konjic
rolled the ball into the area but three of his team-mates stood off when one of
them should have tested Warner.
Bothroyd combined well with John Eustace only for the former to fire his
volley wide before Chippo's one-two with Hughes required the Lions keeper to
rush off his line and clear the danger again.
Millwall's noisy following were nearly silenced after Konjic muscled Cahill
off the ball following a fine run down the right. His cross eventually saw
Chippo come rushing in but the Moroccan fired disappointingly wide.
Claridge was replaced by Neil Harris at the interval but it was Chippo who
came closest to scoring in the early stages of the second half, surging forward
and shooting from long-range only for Warner to gather the ball comfortably.
Bothroyd released Hughes but the former West Brom striker found the imposing
figure of Nethercott in his path as he closed in on goal and the former England
Under-21 defender bundled his opponent off the ball.
Another marauding run into the box from Konjic saw him lay the ball off to
Bothroyd but the static striker produced a feeble shot.
Hughes knocked the ball back to Chippo on the edge of the area but the
midfielder's shot was again well wide of the mark.
Millwall were soaking up everything the home side could throw at them but the
imposing Konjic was proving a handful and he forced a corner from Richard Shaw's
throw-in.
The set-piece came to nothing and Millwall broke quickly only for substitute
Harris to receive a yellow card from referee Rob Harris for dissent after he
hauled down Carbonari.
Konjic was causing more problems in the visitors' box moments later with a
snap-shot from Shaw's throw.
And when Chippo tumbled over following a challenge from Dave Livermore,
Carbonari's rasping free-kick was blocked by Matthew Lawrence after it found its
way through the wall.
But Harris almost doubled Millwall's lead when he threatened for the first
time with barely a quarter of an hour remaining on the clock. He broke forward
following a throw-in and smashed the ball against the post with Hedman
flailing.
Coventry brought on Belgian striker Laurent Delorge and youngster Gary
McSheffrey with time running out, and it was the latter whose run and swerving
shot from 25 yards almost produced a late leveller for the Sky Blues.
Ronnie Bull was booked late on for a two-footed challenge on Shaw but Ifill
twice broke down the right and squandered chances as Millwall looked to cap a
fine night's work.
Teams:
Coventry:
Hedman, Quinn, Carbonari, Konjic, Shaw, Chippo, Eustace (Delorge 78), Healy, Trollope, Hughes, Bothroyd (McSheffrey 80).
Subs Not Used: Mills, Hydlgaard, Betts.
Booked: Healy.
Millwall:
Warner, Lawrence, Nethercott, Ward, Bull, Ifill, Cahill, Livermore, Reid, Dublin, Claridge (Harris 45).
Subs Not Used: Ryan, Gueret, Tuttle, Bircham.
Booked: Harris, Lawrence, Bull.
Goals: Claridge 24.
Att: 15,335
Ref: R Harris (Oxford).
E-mail Article 
Print-Friendly
Subscribe to RSS Feed 
Post to del.icio.us
Facebook