Millwall&#8217;s Ivanovic finds goal spark &#8211; what was behind his slow start to the season?

IT was the 93rd minute and a depleted Millwall were protecting a 1-0 lead at Ashton Gate.

“Some of them look shattered,” Millwall TV commentator Karl Bates said as the visitors wearily got back to defend a Bristol City free-kick. Moments later, Mihailo Ivanovic was in the left-back position defending in a one-on-one situation against Robins forward Yu Hirakawa.

Not exactly ideal.

But using what must have been his last resources of energy, Ivanovic bundled over the Japanese international before emerging up the field with possession.

As three City players closed in on him, Ivanovic swung a tired leg at the ball to send it over the sideline in the City half. Job done, defence relieved.

One-hundred-and-twenty seconds later, Ivanovic was making a run down the left on to Zak Sturge’s pass before cutting in and forcing Radek Vitek into a save.

It was the last act of the game and after referee Edward Duckworth blew the final whistle, confirming the Lions’ third consecutive win, Ivanovic slumped to the turf in exhaustion in front of the away end.

It was at that end where Ivanovic had done the damage, slamming past Vitek from Ra’ees Bangura-Williams’ pass in the 59th minute.

It was his fourth league goal of the season and fourth in his last ten games.

It is much more like the Ivanovic we got to know last season and it’s a sign of his strong character that not scoring in his first nine games this season doesn’t appear to have affected his confidence.

Josh Coburn and Mihailo Ivanovic celebrate after Millwall's 1-0 win against Stoke City on March 15, 2025. Image: Millwall FC

Ivanovic, who only turned 21 on November 29, had an outstanding first campaign at The Den after leaving Serbia and his family and friends at the age of nineteen. He scored thirteen goals, twelve in the league, and his run of seven goals in nine games helped propel Millwall into a play-off race where they were only 90 minutes away from finishing in the top six.

Ivanovic scored all seven of those goals after starting in a front two with Josh Coburn. We wrote about how well they worked together and combined for goals .

This season, Coburn has only played eight league games. The former Middlesbrough striker, the Lions’ record signing, has been out injured since early October. It has left the responsibility on Ivanovic to lead the line, with a rotating cast of players behind him given Millwall’s list of injuries.

Ivanovic has managed to lead from the front and has now added the goals we know he is capable of scoring.

Ivanovic’s goals in the last ten games have helped Millwall gain seven points. After his winner at Ashton Gate, Neil was asked if his mini-drought at the start of the season had weighed on him.

Mihailo Ivanovic celebrates after scoring a 96th winner against Blackburn Rovers on December 21, 2024. Image: Millwall FC

“Not really, because we don’t really discuss that with him,” Neil told NewsAtDen .

Neil then expanded on some of the reasons behind Ivanovic’s lack of goals in the early part of the campaign.

He said: “What’s a bit different is last year a lot of the times when Miha was getting goals he was playing up front as a two with Josh Coburn. Josh is still missing and is going to be missing for another I don’t know how many weeks, so we’ve basically had Miha leading the line himself for the majority of the season, which is not easy.

“We obviously moved Femi [Azeez] from the left to the right but when Femi was on the left [Ivanovic] was getting supplied with crosses. And we had Tristan [Crama] bombing up from right-back supplying him with crosses.

“So the reason he wasn’t scoring as many goals is quite obvious to me.

“I set the team up and he’s asked to do a lot of thankless work at times. But he knows he’s got to play for the team and when an opportunity like today does come along he can put it in the net.”

Ivanovic’s underlying numbers had been good even when he wasn’t scoring. He was making runs, getting chances, the ball just wasn’t hitting the back of the net for him. We also wrote recently how the signs were good that Ivanovic could kick on with more goals .

Millwall need him to. Outside of Azeez, there aren’t bundles of goals coming from elsewhere. Ivanovic has shown that he can handle that pressure. And he has shown he has the battling qualities to dig in at the other end when his side need him.