Millwall 1 Aston Villa 0 - Report

Shaun Williams's first-half spot-kick, after Henri Lansbury was adjudged to have fouled Ryan Tunnicliffe, was the only goal of a scrappy encounter at The Den.

Josh Onomah and Conor Hourihane had the best opportunities to level for a much-changed Villa team.

Visiting keeper Mark Bunn then pulled off a brilliant double save to prevent the hosts grabbing a second from the spot late on, after James Chester was penalised for handball.

Analysis

Bunn, making his first Championship start of the season, kept out Lee Gregory's initial penalty with his legs and then kept out Williams's follow-up.

It was a brief moment of cheer on an otherwise forgettable afternoon for Villa, who struggled to find any kind of rhythm.

That should perhaps not be surprising, considering the eight changes made to the starting line-up by boss Steve Bruce from the team which drew 1-1 with Derby.

The boss will be frustrated, however, by the number of fringe players who failed to take a good chance to impress.

It is fair to assume only a few of the players who started this game will be in the line-up when Villa head to Middlesbrough for the first-leg of their play-off semi-final next Saturday.

Bruce was back in the dugout barely 48 hours after the death of his mother, Sheenagh.

Bearing in mind the importance of next Saturday, big changes to Villa’s starting line-up were inevitable.

In addition to Bunn replacing Sam Johnstone in goal, Mile Jedinak was restored to the starting line-up in place of John Terry, with Alan Hutton replacing the injured Neil Taylor at left-back.

James Bree, Lansbury, Josh Onomah and Scott Hogan were all handed rare outings, while Jonathan Kodjia started for just the second time since returning from long-term injury.

Villa's bench looked particularly strong, containing as it did Terry, Glenn Whelan, Grealish, Robert Snodgrass and Lewis Grabban.

Both sets of fans helped to generate a terrific atmosphere as the game got underway but while there was plenty of energy on the pitch, both teams took time to find their rhythm.

O'Brien brought the first save of the game out of Bunn with a mis-hit cross which the keeper was forced to tip over the bar.

Villa's first opening almost brought the first goal and came courtesy of a tidy move which ended with Hourihane playing in Kodjia. The striker shaped to shoot but was denied at the last by a superbly-timed challenge from Shaun Hutchinson.

Adomah picked the up the loose ball yet while his left-footed shot beat Archer, Marshall was there to clear off the line.

It was a fine piece of defending and a world away from that which helped Millwall take the lead on the half-hour mark.

Villa failed to deal with a cross into the box and in the scramble which ensued, Lansbury was guilty of pushing Tunnicliffe as the winger looked to finish past Bunn.

After a brief debate between Wallace and Williams over who would take the spot-kick, the latter stepped up to send Villa's keeper the wrong way and break the deadlock.

Onomah almost generated a swift response from the visitors but, having started a swift counter attack by releasing Adomah down the right, the Tottenham loanee struck weakly at Archer from ten yards out after collecting the return pass.

Millwall twice went close to increasing their advantage early in the second half.

First, Williams headed a Ben Marshall corner just over the bar following an error from the unusually out-of-sorts Chester.

Fred Onyedinma's miss, soon after, was even more glaring. Put through on goal by strike partner Steve Morison, he had only Bunn to beat but blazed horribly over from the left-hand side of the box.

At the other end, Onomah was continuing to look Villa's most dangerous player and he went close again with a snapshot which only just cleared the bar.

Hourihane then forced Archer into his first serious work of the afternoon with a curling effort which the keeper pushed off target.

Bruce then showed his determination to at least take something from the game when he introduced Grealish, Snodgrass and Grabban off the bench.

Grealish almost found the leveller but saw his close range effort blocked by Millwall substitute Shane Ferguson.

The spotlight then fell on Bunn to produce a piece of magic, which while it did not affect the result, at least gave visiting supporters a reason to cheer.

Key Moments

18 OFF THE LINE Albert Adomah comes close to putting Villa ahead but his shot is cleared off the line by Ben Marshall.

30 GOAL Shaun Williams sends Mark Bunn the wrong way from the spot after Henri Lansbury is adjudged to have fouled Aiden O'Brien.

86 SAVE Mark Bunn keeps out Lee Gregory's spot-kick and then saves Williams's follow-up.

Teams

Millwall (3-5-2): Archer, Hutchinson, Cooper, Meredith, Wallace, Tunnicliffe, Williams, Marshall, O'Brien (Gregory 64), Onyedinma, Morison Subs not used: Thompson, Ferguson, Elliott, Shackell, Toffolo, Martin (gk).

Villa (4-4-2): Bunn, Bree, Chester, Jedinak, Hutton, Lansbury, Adomah (Grabban 74), Onomah, Hourihane, Kodjia (Snodgrass 74), Hogan (Grealish 74) Subs: Terry, Elmohamady, Whelan, Sarkic (gk).