ZAK STURGE found himself in an unfamiliar position.
A quick exchange of passes with Thierno Ballo freed him down the left, and he bore down on West Bromwich Albion’s goal in front of Cold Blow Lane.
“The first thing that was going through my mind was: I always do this, which is I look across to see if there’s anyone to pass to”, Sturge told this paper. “I can just square it to someone in a better position than me. But then no one’s there.”
None of Millwall’s forwards could keep pace with the rapid left-back, who instead went alone.
“I just thought, you know what, let me just put my foot through it and hope for the best, really,” Sturge added.
Sturge’s first-time strike rocketed past Josh Griffiths and into the roof of the Baggies’ net. 3-0 Millwall, three points secured.
The 21-year-old wheeled away to celebrate the first goal of his professional career, which was particularly special due to who was in the crowd.
“It was an amazing feeling,” Sturge said. “My first professional goal, my first goal that I’ve scored in probably a very long time as well.
“My family were there as well, watching. I know my parents and family were going crazy up in the stands, which is a nice feeling.”
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That strike against West Brom has been one of the highlights of Sturge’s nascent Millwall career, which has far exceeded expectations.
Sturge first signed for the Lions on loan in January from Chelsea’s academy, but was unable to dislodge the impressive Joe Bryan at left-back for most of his stint.
He got his chance when Bryan went down with a groin injury, making three impressive starts in the final three games of the season.
Those 269 minutes of football convinced Millwall to sign Sturge permanently over the summer, who again had to wait to stamp his claim on the starting left-back spot.
Fellow summer signing Alfie Doughty started the first two games of the season, but pulled up 64 minutes into the second.
With Bryan still recovering from another knock, Sturge stepped into the breach and performed well in the next two games.
Bryan returned and started the following four league matches before getting rotated out for Sturge in the Baggies’ win before the October international break.
Since then, Sturge has started five of the next six matches, none of which Millwall lost, while consistently impressing down the left.
Sturge’s playing time has surprised even him.
“To be fair, I didn’t think I’d be gaining as many minutes as I have so far, but this is football; you have to be prepared for the unexpected,” he said.
Sturge looks comfortable at the level despite making thirteen professional appearances before the season.
What does he attribute his leap to?
“I’d say probably the environment and changing room,” he said. “I go on about it a lot, and it’s a really good environment.
“Everyone kind of feels comfortable, and the boys will trust each other – they back each other. We know that on the pitch, we’re going to do what we need to do. The environment really helps that.”
It is one thing to succeed at the under-21s level. To do so in the highly competitive Championship shows how much of a leap he has taken, although Sturge thinks first-team football suits him better.
“The under-21s is a lot more focused on development and growing as a player – learning and things like that,” he said. “The first team environment, there’s a lot more emphasis on you need to be winning your games, and there’s a lot more hunger, which I like because we want to win, we want to do the best we can. There’s a big difference.”
He still had to adjust to the speed of matches.
“The tempo in the Championship is very upbeat,” he said. “There’s a lot going on. You could be winning – then all of a sudden there’s a goal and it changes.”
Sturge has not had to navigate the step up on his own. He previously spoke about working closely with Bryan, who has made well over 200 appearances in the second tier, and he credits the experienced defender for helping him to improve.
“I speak to Joe Bryan a lot, and he gives me a lot of tips,” Sturge said. “Things like opening up, looking down the channel, being defensive-minded first because I like to go forward a lot.
“Having that defensive mindset of no one gets past me and then I can go forward after that – that’s helped a lot as well.”
Sturge has also struck up a good relationship with Ballo, who signed for the club on loan in the dying days of the window.
Sturge constantly bombs forward and surges past Ballo, whose ability to pick a pass resulted in that goal against West Brom.
The Austrian winger also spent time at Chelsea’s academy, and Sturge thinks that has helped develop their chemistry on the pitch.
“I’d probably say so, because we both got the same education and playstyle,” he said. “We’ve got that connection on the pitch, we kind of know what each is going to do.”
“In the build-up to a match day, we’ll be doing our preparation, and we’ll discuss different options of things that we can do on the pitch, which may help us score goals.”
Sturge now feels comfortable at the Championship level, part of which is down to his pre-game ritual.
“I like to have porridge usually,” Sturge said. “If it’s a home game, I’ll probably have some porridge. I feel like that always fills me up nicely.
“I think a key thing for me is probably just my music. I’m really into my music. It just keeps me calm, settles in my nerves. Gets me just going with the game. I’m ready.
What soundtracks Sturge’s routine?
“It ranges, to be fair,” he said. “Recently, I’ve been listening to a bit of garage music, oddly, but it seems to be getting me going.
“It seems to be working, so I’m going to stick with it.”
