Dapo Afolayan Shines with Brace as Blackburn Defeats Millwall 3-1

Dapo Afolayan marked his 29th birthday with a ruthless brace as Blackburn cut through the gloom at a restless Ewood Park, beating Millwall 3-1 to snap a four-game winless run.

The mood was sour long before kick-off. The first cries of "Venky's out" rolled down from the stands during the warm-up, a reminder of the simmering discontent around the club. By half-time, those same fans were on their feet for a very different reason.

Afolayan ignites a restless Ewood

Millwall settled quicker. The Lions were tidier, calmer, and almost ahead on 11 minutes when Camiel Neghli met a low cross with a sharp volley, only for Balazs Toth to get down well and push it away.

Blackburn were flat until Todd Cantwell sparked them into life, his snapshot forcing Max Crocombe into a sharp save. It was a warning. The next attack cut Millwall open.

Sam Morsy drifted into space just inside the box, unchecked and unhurried. His shot was scruffy, lacking power and direction, but Afolayan reacted quicker than anyone. With his back to goal, he improvised, flicking the ball with a clever touch that diverted it past Crocombe and into the net on 41 minutes. First league goal for the club. First real roar of the afternoon.

The atmosphere flipped in an instant. The anger stayed, but it now had something to wrestle with: hope.

Dykes strikes back, then Afolayan answers

Any sense of control vanished seconds after the restart. Substitute Gady Beyuku had barely stepped onto the pitch when he mistimed his first real involvement, clipping Tairyk Arconte in the box after the winger had darted in behind down the left.

The penalty was clear. Lydon Dykes grabbed the ball, stared down Toth and hammered his spot-kick straight down the middle for his third of the season. Six minutes into the second half, 1-1, and Blackburn were right back under pressure.

The response was emphatic.

On 58 minutes, Afolayan picked up the ball near the centre circle and drove. No one closed him quickly enough. He skipped past one challenge, carried the ball to the edge of the area and unleashed a vicious left-foot strike that ripped into the bottom corner from 18 yards. Crocombe didn’t move. Ewood did.

Two goals, two very different finishes, same outcome: a forward dragging his team back into belief.

Millwall’s missed chances prove costly

Millwall refused to fold. They thought they had levelled again when Arconte bundled the ball in after a long throw caused chaos in the box, only for the referee to blow for a foul in the scramble. Alex Neil was furious. The fourth official later told him it was for Jake Cooper holding, a decision the Millwall manager branded "incredible" and "really soft".

The visitors kept coming. Their full-backs became the launchpads.

Zak Sturge burst down the left and drilled a low cross into the six-yard box, where Arconte stretched but could only steer his effort wide. Moments later, Mark Sykes delivered a superb cross from the right, curling it perfectly onto Dykes’ head. From close range, with Toth stranded, the striker planted his header wide. It was the chance Millwall will replay in their minds all weekend.

Arconte remained the sharpest threat. In the 73rd minute he twisted Tom Atcheson inside out, surged into the area and pulled the trigger, only for Hayden Carter to throw himself in front of the shot and deflect it over. A small moment, but a decisive one.

Neil’s verdict summed it up: no dominant team, no control either way, just one side more clinical when it mattered.

Gudjohnsen finishes the job

As Millwall pushed higher, space opened up. Tony Mowbray’s side, criticised recently for their game management, got this one right.

Deep into stoppage time, Andri Gudjohnsen turned the final attack into a full stop. He dropped deep to collect the ball, shielded it, and released Jayden Fevrier into the open grass ahead. Fevrier carried it forward and slid the return pass into the box, where Gudjohnsen had continued his run. One touch, low into the bottom corner for his third of the season. A classic counter, executed with calm at the end of a fraught afternoon.

The whistle went soon after. The protests will not vanish. The tension around ownership will not fade overnight. But on the pitch, with Afolayan cutting in from the left and finishing like this, Mowbray has a match-winner to build around.

Blackburn needed a performance to break the spiral. They got one – and a forward who looks ready to demand centre stage in the weeks ahead.