Millwall manager Gary Rowett says they did their homework on Bristol City's defending from set-pieces but admits their success ultimately came down to desire.
One week after the debacle at Birmingham when City conceded from three set-pieces, Millwall's threat in the box proved damaging as they maintained their impressive record scoring from dead-ball situations. Rowett's side have scored 10 goals from set-pieces this season, more than any other side in the Championship.
City on the other hand have now conceded nine, the worst record in the league with free-falling Hull second on seven according to Whoscored. It was their Achilles Heel in the second half of last season with 15 conceded with only four sides suffering more.
Millwall's first goal came from a free-kick on the left side of the box which they ultimately recycled after City failed to clear their lines. A resulting delivery was then met by Tom Bradshaw who made no mistake after Max O'Leary's great save to keep out his initial effort.
The second goal was completely avoidable when a free-kick from deep was harmlessly lumped into the area. Tomas Kalas and Max O'Leary went for the same ball and Zian Flemming was on hand to mop up the error and stick the ball into an empty net.
The warning signs were evident in the opening 45 minutes when Mark Sykes was forced to clear off the line following a corner. Rowett said after the game: "I think statistically Bristol City have conceded a few goals from set-pieces against, but they've also scored quite a lot.
"Statistically, we're the strongest team scoring from set-pieces so I don't think necessarily we had done any more work, our lads would look at whether a team marks, whether they're zonal, and where the areas are for space.
"But I think ultimately it comes down to desire to defend it or desire to attack it. We've been very, very good this year at attacking things and our delivery has been good. It's not just Bristol but a lot of teams have struggled with our set-pieces."
City ended the game with just one shot on target when Antoine Semenyo's effort in the second half was saved by the keeper's legs. Their goal came from Cam Pring's cross from the left which was turned into his own net by Sam Hutchinson.
Rowett admitted his side looked relatively comfortable throughout after arriving at Ashton Gate with a clear game plan. He added: "To come here and I think it was quite clear what we needed to do.
"I know Bristol are a side that won midweek so their tails were up, they were going to be confident after the way they won and I think other than the first seven or eight minutes of each half I thought we managed to the game really well," he added.
"The first half we didn't really come under any huge pressure, created some very good moments and had two or three set-pieces we probably should have scored from.
"I think statistically to end up with 16 shots and seven on target and only have one on target against us. I'm sure Nigel will say that maybe their accuracy in those shooting positions wasn't what they wanted it to be.
"We've made a couple of very good blocks but nevertheless it shows we had very, very good moments in the game."
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