Three poor goals cost Ipswich Town dear once again as they were beaten 3-0 at Millwall this afternoon in front of the watching Paul Lambert this afternoon.
The newly-appointed Ipswich Town manager will know exactly how big a job he has on his hands after this, as he watched from the stands on an afternoon where the Blues shot themselves in the foot.
Lee Gregory put the hosts 2-0 up as two set-play goals cost Ipswich, as they have all season, with the visitors not dealing with balls into the box and allowing the Millwall frontman space to finish.
The third came as goalkeeper Bartosz Bialkowski’s poor punch under little pressure ended at the feet of Ryan Leonard, who lifted the ball into the back of the net.
Lambert does not begin work until Monday morning, but will be all too aware of how big a job he has on his hands.
The defeat, coupled with results elsewhere, leaves Ipswich rock bottom of the Championship, five points from safety, heading into Lambert’s first game in charge against Preston next weekend.
Caretaker boss Bryan Klug opted to go with wing-backs at The Den, with Trevoh Chalobah moving into central defence and Andre Dozzell lining up in a three-man midfield alongside Cole Skuse and Flynn Downes.
There was energy and urgency from kick-off as, backed by a vocal 2,000-strong away support, the Blues came out of the blocks well and moved the ball around nicely.
It didn’t lead to chances, though, as the strikeforce of Freddie Sears and Kayden Jackson struggled to get into the game despite some good movement.
Shaun Hutchinson headed the first real chance of the game over the top for Millwall, before Ryan Leonard took aim from outside the box but struck his volley wide after a headed clearance from Matthew Pennington.
The hosts were soon ahead as a deep corner allowed Jake Cooper to climb above Chalobah and knock the ball down for Lee Gregory, who was able to turn the ball home as Town’s Achilles heel was exposed once again.
It was a poor goal to concede and the response from the Blues offered little before the end of the half as the hosts continued to have the better of things.
Tom Elliott headed straight at Bialkowski with the final chance of the half, before Klug was able to talk to his players at the break, but things were about to get a lot worse.
A long throw into the box, just five minutes into the second period, wasn’t dealt with and Gregory was on hand to turn home once again.
The response was to bring on Jack Lankester for the ineffective Jackson, but the hosts were soon out of sight as Leonard guided the ball home after a poor decision and punch from Bialkowski.
Chalobah rattled the outside of a Millwall post in response, but that was as good as it got as Ipswich fell to defeat.
Over to you, Mr Lambert.
Millwall: Amos; Romeo, Hutchinson, Cooper, Wallace; Skalak (O’Brien 63), Leonard, Williams, Ferguson; Elliott (Morison 58), Gregory (Bradshaw 75)
Subs: Archer, McLaughlin, Meredith, Tunnicliffe
Ipswich Town: Bialkowski; Ward, Chalobah, Pennington, Chambers, Knudsen; Downes, Skuse (Spence, 46), Dozzell (Edwards 81); Sears, Jackson (Lankester 57)
Subs: Gerken, Nsiala, Nolan, Rowe
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