Millwall Vs Birmingham: Azeez volley and set-piece magic steer Lions to 3-0 win

In a dominant display at The Den, millwall vs birmingham ended 3-0 as Femi Azeez scored a spectacular volley and set up both other goals, lifting Millwall back up the table and leaving Birmingham reduced to 10 men late in the first half. The result carries immediate significance for both clubs’ runs of form and for the visitors’ manager.

Femi Azeez’s decisive night — volley, two assists and an eighth of the season

Femi Azeez opened the scoring with a stunning volley — a strike identified as his eighth goal of the season — after chesting down Tristan Crama’s cushioned header and rifling the finish past Birmingham goalkeeper James Beadle into the far corner. Azeez then saw a 30-yard free kick pushed onto the post by Beadle; the rebound came back at speed for Crama to convert and double the lead before half-time. Early in the second half another Azeez free kick caused chaos in the area when it struck the back of Jhon Solis as he tried to duck, allowing Crama to reach the ball and set up the cut-back that Jake Cooper turned in for the third goal.

Millwall Vs Birmingham: Crama and Cooper complete the three-goal sequence

Tristan Crama was directly involved in both the second and third goals, first snaffling the rebound from Azeez’s 30-yard free kick and then keeping the ball alive on the byline after another Azeez delivery before cutting it back for centre-back and captain Jake Cooper to sweep home. The three-goal sequence — Azeez, Crama, Cooper — left the hosts comfortable and ended any realistic hope of a Blues revival.

Red card and refereeing moments that shaped the match

Birmingham midfielder Jhon Solis was dismissed for a second yellow card, shown after a late challenge on Casper De Norre; that was Solis’s second bookable offence of the evening. Earlier in the game Macaulay Langstaff appeared to be hauled down by Tomoki Iwata as he chased a long throw into the Birmingham area, with referee Dean Whitestone unmoved as Millwall players appealed for what looked like a penalty.

Missed chances, key saves and Millwall response to a recent home defeat

The visitors had a rare bright moment when Jay Stansfield curled a shot that required a full-length save from Millwall goalkeeper Anthony Patterson, who turned the attempt round the post. Millwall had several opportunities before the opener: Josh Coburn, back in the side after missing the Portsmouth game through illness, headed Camiel Neghli’s cross over from six yards and both Coburn and Neghli came close to finishing off Azeez delivery at different points. After the interval Neghli and Langstaff went close to further increasing the score.

The victory represented a response from Millwall after a shock home defeat by Portsmouth at the weekend; the win also sent the Lions back up into third in the table.

Form lines, crowd moments and managerial context

Birmingham arrived at The Den in confident form with recent away victories behind them, but the defeat ended their unbeaten run in the league — one account described that run as eight matches and another described them as undefeated in nine, unclear in the provided context. The result leaves Birmingham manager Chris Davies with a setback after Solis’s sending-off and the reversal at The Den. In the stands Teddy Sheringham watched the game; he was noted as being present and was mentioned in relation to the club where he began his career and the last time Millwall were in the top flight, a period described as two years before the Premier League was formed, unclear in the provided context.

Unclear in the provided context who made a post-match comment that began: “I felt after the last game at home that we were looking a bit too far ahead of ourselves, not just internally but externally as well. I understand it from the fans' perspective, because that's what you want, to get excited for your team but we need to keep our feet on the ground and keep focussed. On our day we are a match for anyone at this level. There is certainly no ceiling on expectations for us, we're capable of anything if we continue to win games but what I will say is that we have one of the hardest run-ins with Ipswich away, Middlesbrough away, Hull away, Preston away, some really tough games coming up. Femi's goal was brilliant right enough, but we had terrific performances all over the pitch. The midfield two were excellent, [Jake] Cooper was bri”