Jake Cooper’s towering header secured a third straight win for Millwall as Burnley missed the chance to climb up to second in the Championship.
The Lions captain struck early in the second half to secure a 1-0 victory and end Burnley’s nine-match unbeaten run.
Just 11 days ago, Millwall had kicked off at home to Plymouth lying in 20th place. Now, after three 1-0 wins, they are up to seventh.
A lack of goals is costing Burnley this season and when winger Luca Koleosho crashed an angled drive against the near post after only five minutes, it was the closest Scott Parker’s side came to scoring all match.
Andreas Hountondji did have a sighter from 20 yards, which floated wide, before coming closer moments later with a turn and shot which fizzed narrowly past the post.
For Millwall, Cooper could not direct his header from Femi Azeez’s cross inside the far post and Macaulay Langstaff volleyed over.
Cooper went down in the Burnley area between two defenders as he yelled for a penalty, only to get a yellow card for his troubles.
Then there was a seven-minute delay when assistant referee Matthew Smith, who had already infuriated Millwall’s fans with a couple of his decisions, pulled up after rolling his ankle in front of a less-than-sympathetic Dockers Stand.
Despite receiving treatment Smith was unable to continue, and after he was wished well on his way off the field, fourth official James Linnington took over with the flag.
The incident, while amusing the supporters – “we want our linesman back” was the chant when Linnington first raised his flag – seemed to take the sting out of the rest of the first half.
That was until deep into seven minutes of stoppage time when Millwall carved their best chance of the half. A cross from Casper De Norre was headed goalwards by Longstaff and tipped over by Clarets goalkeeper James Trafford.
From the corner, Azeez blazed a decent chance over the crossbar.
But Millwall carried that momentum into the second half and got their reward in the 52nd minute.
Azeez teased Josh Brownhill down the right before lifting in an inviting cross which Cooper headed back across goal, beyond Trafford and into the far top corner.
Burnley pushed for an equaliser but their lack of punch in attack cost them with Brownhill’s header over the top being the closest they came to rescuing a point.
The managers
Millwall’s Neil Harris:
“We’re disappointed we’re not higher up the league. We should have a lot more points than we have.
“We won’t bemoan that because we feel we are a team going in the right direction, but we haven’t come across a team better than us yet. The players are flying at the moment.”
Burnley’s Scott Parker:
“The long pause in the game may have been a factor. We are a young team, the players have maybe not seen that before. After that point, Millwall seemed to get some momentum. Then in the second half we never really got going.
“Our mentality and our intensity in front of goal is a bit lacking. But we’ll draw a line under this and look to improve.”
