Millwall 2 Aston Villa 1 - Report
Managerless Villa fell to defeat in their first game since Steve Bruce's sacking as Tom Elliott's strike earned Millwall victory.
Elliott drilled home from close range early in the second period to cap a comeback from the hosts.
Tammy Abraham had earlier given Villa the perfect start when he opened the scoring with a scissor kick.
But Shane Ferguson levelled for Millwall before the break, before Elliott won it.
Analysis
His goal condemned Villa caretaker boss Kevin MacDonald to defeat in what is likely to be his only game in charge.
It also saw Villa fall to14th in the Championship and extended their current run to just one win in 10 games.
For whoever takes charge, the biggest challenge will be fixing a defence which has now leaked 20 goals in just 12 matches.
Once again it proved Villa's undoing as they collapsed to defeat, after making a bright start.
They deservedly led through Abraham's opener, his third goal for the club, but gradually lost their grip due to a lack of organisation at the back.
In the end, the hosts were comfortable and deserved winners of a game played in driving rain, with no shortage of aggression. Both Elliott and Villa substitute Yannick Bolasie might have seen red for rash challenges.
Villa's makeshift defence, missing both skipper James Chester and Mile Jedinak, ultimately succumbed to the home side's physicality.
MacDonald, in his third spell as caretaker boss, had admitted to picking ten different teams prior to taking training on Friday.
In the end, he made three changes from the team which started Tuesday's 3-3 draw with Preston.
It included a first league start of the season for James Bree, in place of the suspended Chester.
Neil Taylor was recalled to a defence also missing the injured Jedinak, while the final change saw Orjan Nyland recalled in place of Mark Bunn in goal. Jonathan Kodjia dropped to the bench. Alan Hutton, playing at centre-half, captained the team in Chester's absence.
The first action of the game could easily have seen the hosts reduced to ten men, Elliott's late lunging challenge on Taylor leaving referee Tony Harrington with a decision to make in just the third minute.
Despite calls for a red card from the 2,000-strong travelling support, the official ultimately produced just a yellow, though the incident set the tone for a frenetic start.
Villa's goal was the product of another feisty challenge, Lions skipper Shaun Williams conceding a free-kick when he left Grealish on the floor. When Conor Hourihane whipped the ball into the box, at least three Villa players lost their markers, with Abraham the man to send a finish past Amos in spectacular fashion.
The striker could do little wrong in the opening minutes, one outrageous flick in particular keeping an attacking moving, as Villa moved the ball about with confidence.
Gradually, however, the hosts began to find a foothold and the cracks in the makeshift visiting backline started to show.
Nyland had already done well to keep out a deflected Jed Wallace shot before the equaliser arrived in the 26th minute.
Villa, like the hosts, were undone by a set piece. Williams's deep delivery was headed back into the danger zone by Jake Cooper and Ferguson, running in from the edge of the box, gleefully smashed home with the aid of a deflection.
The hosts looked the more likely to score again before the break. Axel Tuanzebe was in the right place at the right time to block from Williams, who also sent a fierce drive inches over the bar.
Elliott eventually did put Millwall three minutes into the second half. Once again, the goal came from a set piece, the striker drilling home from six yards out after Villa had failed to clear a corner.
The visitors responded well. Grealish testing Amos with a dipping effort, before Bree came within inches of an equaliser when he headed Elmohamady's cross just wide of the post.
But Villa then had a huge let-off of their own when Williams sent a header thudding against the underside of the bar from Ferguson's corner.
Gregory then drilled a long-distance effort just wide, before being denied a one-on-one with Nyland when Hutton got the slightest of touches on an Elliott through pass.
MacDonald introduced Kodjia and Yannick Bolasie off the bench and the latter soon had home fans baying for a red card when a strong challenge left Wallace in a heap.
With Bolasie suggesting he had slipped on the slick turf, referee Harrington opted to give him the benefit of the doubt and show just a yellow card.
Key Moments
7 - GOAL Villa lead as Tammy Abraham brilliantly finishes Conor Hourihane's free-kick.
26 - GOAL - Now it is Villa's turn to be undone at a set-piece. Shawn Williams's deep free-kick is headed back across goal by Jake Cooper and Shane Ferguson fires home via a deflection.
48 - GOAL Millwall ahead. Tom Elliott drills home from eight yards out after Villa fail to clear a corner.
Teams
Millwall (4-4-2): Amos, Romeo, Wallace, Cooper, Meredith, Wallace, Williams, Leonard, Ferguson, Elliott (Morison 74), Gregory Subs not used: Bradshaw, Webster, Tunnicliffe, O'Brien, Skalak, Archer (gk).
Villa (4-4-1-1): Nyland, Hutton, Tuanzebe, Bree, Taylor, Elmohamady (Kodjia 65), Bjarnason, McGinn (Bolasie 69), Hourihane (Adomah 87), Grealish, Abraham Subs not used: Whelan, Lansbury, Hogan, Bunn (gk).
