Afolayan Shines as Blackburn Defeats Millwall 3-1
Dapo Afolayan marked his birthday with a ruthless brace as Blackburn cut through the gloom at a mutinous Ewood Park, beating Millwall 3-1 to snap a four-game winless run.
The protests started long before the football did. Chants of “Venky’s out” rolled down from the stands as the players warmed up, the mood sour and brittle. By half-time, those same supporters were on their feet for a very different reason.
Afolayan lights up a hostile night
Blackburn had barely laid a glove on Millwall in the early stages. The visitors looked calmer, more assured, and carved out the first clear opening on 11 minutes when Camiel Neghli’s low volley forced Balazs Toth into action.
Rovers stirred. Todd Cantwell snapped a shot at Max Crocombe, who reacted sharply, but the game still felt tight, anxious, waiting for a spark.
Afolayan provided it.
On 41 minutes, Sam Morsy was allowed too much room just inside the box. His shot lacked conviction, drifting towards nowhere in particular, until Afolayan improvised. With his back to goal, the forward flicked the ball with a deft touch, steering it past Crocombe from close range for his first league goal for the club. A clever finish. A huge release.
The mood flipped. The noise changed. For the first time in weeks, Ewood Park sounded like it believed in something.
Millwall hit back, then blink
Whatever Tony Mowbray said at the break, it was undone within seconds of the restart.
Substitute Gady Beyuku’s first involvement was a nightmare. Tairyk Arconte slipped in behind on the left and Beyuku, caught on the wrong side, brought him down in the area. No debate. Penalty.
Lyndon Dykes grabbed the ball, stared down Toth and hammered his third of the season straight down the middle. Six minutes into the half, Blackburn’s lead was gone, and the tension was back.
But Rovers refused to sink into their recent pattern of doubt.
On 58 minutes, Afolayan took control again. Given space to surge from the centre circle, he drove at Millwall’s retreating back line, skipped one challenge and, from 18 yards, drilled a left-footed shot into the bottom corner. A clean, ruthless strike. Ewood roared, and this time Blackburn held their nerve.
Millwall thought they had responded almost immediately. A long throw caused chaos, Arconte forced the ball into the net, but the referee spotted a foul in the melee and chalked it off. Alex Neil later said he was told it was for Jake Cooper holding, and he did not hide his disbelief.
Those fine margins bit hard.
Missed chances and a ruthless finish
Millwall did not fold. Their full-backs pushed on, and chances came.
Zak Sturge burst down the left and whipped in a low cross that found Arconte on the stretch, but he could only stab wide. Then Mark Sykes delivered a superb ball from the right, begging to be buried. Dykes met it, unmarked and close in, but planted his header wide. A huge moment wasted.
Arconte kept asking questions. In the 73rd minute he twisted Tom Atcheson inside out, cut into the area and let fly, only for Hayden Carter to throw himself in the way and deflect the shot over. Blackburn were creaking, but not breaking.
The game was still alive deep into stoppage time when Rovers finally killed it.
Substitute Andri Gudjohnsen started a counter-attack by shielding the ball and sliding a pass into Jayden Fevrier’s path. Fevrier drove forward and returned the favour, squaring for Gudjohnsen, who arrived in stride and tucked his third of the season into the bottom corner. One move, perfectly executed. Game over.
Managers’ verdicts
Tony Mowbray was quick to highlight Afolayan’s edge and intelligence, traits he believes he can harness.
“I remember Afolayan playing for Bolton and he was really direct, positive and aggressive. He's a really bright and intelligent kid who loves football,” Mowbray said.
“He has an opinion on everything. Overly intelligent sometimes because overly intelligent people have an opinion on everything don't they? You might not always agree with them but that's what Dapo is and I like him because of that.
“When I say to him 'you're not working hard enough, when you lose it you've got to react', he has an answer and knows what I'm talking about. So I feel as though I can connect with him to make him the best version of himself because he understands.
“I like Dapo and that position (on the left), something we were potentially looking at, I'm more than happy with Dapo. He has got aspects he needs to learn and work on but he's a very intelligent kid and there's scope to get better out of him.”
Alex Neil, meanwhile, was left frustrated by the disallowed goal and his side’s wastefulness.
“The fourth official told me it (disallowed goal) was for Cooper holding which is incredible really because both of them are standing waiting for the ball to come in,” he said.
“Naturally you don't stand with your arms behind your side. I thought it was really soft.
“I thought it was for something in the box beyond the flick so for it to be for Coops holding which is what he said. But you know what it's like. Moments decide matches and I thought today summed that up.
“I didn't think there was a dominant team in the game. I didn't think we were great, I didn't think they were great, I just thought they were more clinical in moments than what we were during the match and sometimes at this level, that's the difference.
“Over the last 19-20 months since I've been here, we've been brilliant in both boxes. Unfortunately today, we weren't.”
Blackburn walked off to applause rather than anger this time. The protests haven’t gone away, not by a long shot. But with Afolayan hitting stride and Mowbray backing his intelligence and bite, maybe the conversation around Ewood Park starts to tilt back towards what happens on the pitch.
