The Blues returned to winning ways with a comfortable 4-0 victory over Millwall at the Den, their biggest win of the season. After the Lions had made a strong start, Nathan Broadhead netted the opener for the Blues with a header on 24, then a Wes Harding own goal made it 2-0 eight minutes later, Kieffer Moore made it 3-0 in first-half injury time and sub Ali Al-Hamadi netted the fourth from the spot, his first goal for the club in the dying moments of the second half.
Town boss Kieran McKenna, who was taking charge of the Blues for the 100th time in the league, made two changes with Cameron Burgess and Omari Hutchinson coming into the team and Conor Chaplin, for the first time in the Championship this season, and George Edmundson dropping out.
Burgess joined Luke Woolfenden at the heart of the defence with Edmundson left out of the 20-man squad and rested having played every game this year so far.
Hutchinson came into the three behind central striker Kieffer Moore along with Wes Burns on the right and Nathan Broadhead on the left.
Millwall handed starts to George Saville, Murray Wallace, Tom Bradshaw and Ryan Leonard with Joe Bryan out serving the first of a three-match ban handed out for violent conduct in Sunday’s 2-1 defeat at Coventry and on-loan Burnley striker Michael Obefemi was ill. Former Town keeper Bartosz Bialkowski was named among their subs.
The Lions struck the first shot of the game in the second minute. Leonard slamming Saville’s corner from the left over the bar after it had been played to him five yards outside the area.
Two minutes later, Hladky was forced to pat away a Saville shot which came through a crowd of players.
On 10, after a Town free-kick, Millwall broke through Bradshaw, but Harry Clarke did well to get back.
Moments later, a free-kick from the right was half-cleared to Leonard on the edge of the box and his powerful low shot was well saved by Hladky.
Millwall continued to look the more dangerous side and on 13 Hladky saved sharply at his right post from a Zian Flemming free-kick just outside the area to the left.
The Lions had started strongly, but the Blues began to take over as the game moved beyond the quarter-hour, shortly after many of the team received instruction from McKenna and his staff while Hutchinson was receiving treatment for a knock.
On 20, Leif Davis played a low free-kick to Broadhead on the penalty spot from the right and the Wales international swept a shot which clipped the bar on the way over, via a Millwall foot, the Town forward claimed, but referee Sam Barrott felt otherwise.
The Blues had begun to look the most likely scorers and in the 24th minute, they went in front. Following a corner needlessly conceded after Matija Sarkic, Wallace and skipper Jake Cooper failed to communicate, Hutchinson clipped the ball back in from the angle of the area on the right and Broadhead allowed the ball flick off the top of his head and into the far corner of the net, the Welshman’s 10th goal of the season.
Eight minutes later, it was 2-0. Broadhead was sent away down the left by Burgess and his cross was diverted into his own goal by Wes Harding, prompting boos from the sparse home support.
On 34, Town, who had been dominant since the first goal, might have made it 3-0 when Moore seized on an error by Harding midway inside the Millwall half but the defender did well to get back to slide in to take it away from the on-loan AFC Bournemouth man as he looked to shoot from the edge of the box.
The Blues continued to dominate and moments after the fourth official indicated four additional minutes, Clarke exchanged a one-two with Hutchinson on the right of the box, took it to the byline and stood up a cross for Moore, who headed his 50th Championship goal and his third for Town into the ground and into the top corner of the net.
The final whistle was greeted by loud boos from the home support, those that hadn’t already made their way to the bars.
Millwall had started strongly, as has often been the case of late, but Town took over around the 15-minute mark and dominated from there, making the most of numerous Lions errors as they grabbed their three well-taken goals.
The Lions, 3-0 down at half-time as they had been at Portman Road in November, made a change ahead of the second period, Casper De Norre replacing Harding.
Millwall were first to threaten after restart, Flemming hitting a low shot across the face and wide having caught Clarke on the way. The resultant corner came to nothing.
Town had been comfortable without threatening to score a fourth, then on 59 Davis was booked for a foul on Romain Esse.
Following the free-kick, Bradshaw flicked a cross from the right at goal, but too close to Hladky, who claimed. Seconds later, Millwall’s Danny McNamara joined Davis in the book for a foul on Broadhead.
Town continued to dominate, passing the ball around confidently with Millwall chasing shadows.
On 67, Hutchinson, who had had an impressive game in the central role, and Broadhead, having scored his second goal in two games following his eight-game drought, were replaced by Chaplin and Jeremy Sarmiento.
Four minutes later, Millwall swapped Bradshaw, Esse and George Honeyman for Billy Mitchell, Duncan Watmore and Adam Mayor.
Town made two more changes in the 75th minute, Ali Al-Hamadi and Lewis Travis replacing Moore and Luongo.
The Blues forced Sarkic into the first save of the half in the 79th minute. A Burns cross from the right was poorly defended straight to Chaplin, who cut onto his left foot before hitting a shot which took a deflection and was forced away by the keeper.
Town should have made it 4-0 in the 81st minute when Al-Hamadi crossed low from the right and Sarmiento slammed wide at the near post with other players behind him in a better position.
Millwall ought to have pulled a goal back two minutes later when a corner from the right fell to Watmore beyond the far post but the former Sunderland blazed over. On 84, Saville was booked for a foul on Sarmiento as Town broke. Ahead of the free-kick, the Blues swapped Burns for Kayden Jackson.
Watmore was booked for a foul on Sarmiento in the 88th minute, then in the third of four added minutes, the Blues were awarded a penalty.
Al-Hamadi cut inside Wallace as he broke into the area and was upended. Referee Barrott pointed straight to the spot.
The Iraqi international took the kick himself and sent it low to Sarkic’s left as the keeper moved in the other direction to claim his first goal in a Town shirt.
The whistle went soon after, to further boos from the home fans who were left in the Stadium.
Town saw out the second half as professionally as they could have done, the match having been won before half-time, with few dramas at either end of the pitch.
Millwall never showed any sign of getting themselves back in it, while the Blues only really looked liked adding to their goals on a couple of occasions prior to Al-Hamadi’s late penalty.
Aside from the first 15 minutes, as comfortable a win as you get at Championship level with the Blues never really having to overextend themselves with Millwall doing much to bring about their own downfall.
An important win for Town, however, in the context of the run since before Christmas, with the victory the Blues’ second in 10 in the Championship, at the start of a run of - on paper - less tough matches, one which will have given the squad a boost of confidence after one or two difficult afternoons and results.
The Blues, who are now only a point behind third-placed Southampton, are in action away again on Saturday, at Swansea City, with the Swans 17th following their 4-0 home defeat by Leeds last night.
Millwall: Sarkic, McNamara, Wallace, Cooper (c), Bradshaw (Watmore 71), Flemming, Leonard, Saville, Esse (Mayor 71), Honeyman (Mitchell 71), Harding (De Norre 46). Unused: Bialkowski, Tanganga, Campbell, Boateng, Walker.
Town: Hladky, Clarke, Woolfenden, Burgess, Davis, Morsy (c), Luongo (Travis 75), Burns (Jackson 86), Broadhead (Sarimiento 46), Hutchinson (Chaplin 46), Moore (Al-Hamadi 75). Unused: Walton, Tuanzebe, Humphreys, Harness. Referee: Sam Barrott (West Riding). Att: 15,890 (Millwall: 2,962).