Millwall 1-1 West Brom: FLW report as points shared in topsy-turvy contest | OneFootball

FLW report live from The Den

Millwall and West Bromwich Albion shared the points in a topsy-turvy 1-1 draw between two Championship play-off hopefuls at The Den on Saturday.

Jake Cooper headed the Lions into a deserved lead inside 20 minutes and though Joe Bryan's own goal came against the run of play, West Brom used the equaliser as a foothold to wrestle back some momentum. Despite chances at both ends, neither side was able to find a winner in the hectic 65 minutes that followed.

Albion remain in the top six but their recent form under Tony Mowbray, one win in their last four, is a concern while Millwall, seven points back in 14th, stay just about in the chasing pack.

Millwall 1-1 West Brom

The two play-off hopefuls were clearly raring to go after kick-off was delayed for a quarter of an hour as both went close in the opening exchanges.

Allowing Southampton loanee Adam Armstrong space to shoot is a dangerous game – as his 78 Championship goals show – and Millwall were given an early warning as the Baggies' January recruit latched onto a ball forward and, with defenders backing off, forced a save out of Lukas Jensen with barely 60 seconds gone.

There are few scarier second-tier sights than Cooper rising for a header in the opposition's penalty area and the centre-back will feel he should've done better from close range after Bryan floated in a free-kick in the third minute.

As Albion soon found out, however, it's one thing identifying the towering defender's threat and another thing dealing with it. Cooper headed his next chance over the top but the third time was the charm as he overpowered Ousmane Diakhite to nod Femi Azeez's cross past Joe Wildsmith and give the hosts a 19th-minute lead.

The Lions' joy was shortlived as seven minutes later Albion levelled through a Bryan own-goal – his second of the week and a rare mistake in what was otherwise a stellar performance. Darnell Furlong's low cross from the right deflected into the left-back and rolled agonisingly into the corner.

Mowbray's side nearly turned the game on its head with two chances either side of the half-hour as Grady Diangana saw an effort cleared onto the bottom of the crossbar and then Diakhite headed right at Jensen from 10 yards out.

Millwall wrestled back the momentum after the break and began to turn the screw. Albion had Wildsmith, who has stepped up as first-choice goalkeeper after Alex Palmer joined Ipswich Town in January, to thank for reaching the hour with the scores level. The shot-stopper tipped Azeez's goalbound cross over the bar, kept out Cooper's header from the resulting corner, and then got down low to deny Japhet Tanganga moments later.

Both managers made attacking changes in a bid to find that moment of magic. Karlan Grant replaced Tottenham loanee Will Lankshear while Camiel Neghli came on to make his home Millwall debut in place of Aaron Connolly.

Neghli will have dreamed of opening his account for his new club to win a game at The Den and had early opportunities to do just that. He skewed a header wide from Azeez's cross within minutes of his arrival and then couldn't get the power on a glancing effort from Tristan Crama's ball in from the right.

Amid a host of second-half subs, Mowbray had a potential trump card of his own in the form of Daryl Dike. The American international was serenaded onto the pitch for his first appearance in more than a year after injury as Albion hunted a first away win under their new boss.

If there was to be a winner, it looked likely to come for the home side, however. Cooper continued to prove a nightmare at set pieces while more smart work from Wildsmith was required to deny Neghli from a tight angle. The Albion keeper nearly threw his impressive display away when he fumbled the substitute's next effort with five minutes to play but he reacted brilliantly to deny Luke Cundle on the follow-up.

Dike's introduction was as a goalscorer rather than a creator but he showed his quality in the latter departure as time ran down, pinching the ball and sliding through Jayson Molumby, whose shot was blocked.

Four minutes of added time kept both sides believing and, in a fitting end to the game, there were chances to win it at either end. John Swift slashed an edge-of-the-box strike wide while Crama couldn't control a backpost cross.

Millwall player ratings

Lukas Jensen - 6

Tristan Crama - 6

Jake Cooper - 8

Japhet Tanganga - 7

Joe Bryan - 7

Casper De Norre - 7 (George Honeyman (76) - 6)

Billy Mitchell - 6 (George Saville (76) - 6)

Femi Azeez - 7

Luke Cundle - 6

Aaron Connolly - 6 (Camiel Neghli (65) - 7)

Mihailo Ivanovic - 6

Unused subs: Liam Roberts, Murray Wallace, Duncan Watmore, Aidomo Emahki, Ra'ees Bangura-Williams, Wes Harding

West Brom player ratings

Joe Wildsmith - 8

Darnell Furlong - 7

Semi Ajayi - 6

Torbjørn Heggem - 6

Callum Styles - 7 (Mason Holgate (70) - 6)

Jayson Molumby - 6

Ousmane Diakité - 7

Jed Wallace - 6 (Tom Fellows (69) - 6)

Grady Diangana - 6 (Daryl Dike (77) - 6)

Adam Armstrong - 6 (John Swift (77) - 6)

Will Lankshear - 6 (Karlan Grant (57) - 6)

Unused subs: Josh Griffiths, Alex Mowatt, Isaac Price, Max Johnston

Attendance

The attendance for Millwall v West Brom at The Den was 15,842.

That includes 2,002 travelling Baggies fans.

Alex Neil post-match reaction

Neil told the press after the game that he felt his side deserved all three points.

"I thought we started the game really well," said the Lions boss. "I thought we deserved our goal. It was just a five-minute spell. Starts from a free kick, we put it straight in the keeper's hands. They break down the right. We don't cover the space, which we should do, and we end up bundling the ball on our own net. I'm thinking, really. It was based on nothing."

He added: "I thought the crowd got behind us and out of the four maybe five opportunities, you hope me take at least one of them. We would have deserved that and we would have been talking about a really good performance, a really good win. Don't get me wrong, we're still talking about a really good performance but unfortunately, we just didn't get across the line."

Neil emphasised the importance of strong response to their 5-1 defeat to Plymouth Argyle in midweek.

He said: "I think it's important that we played well. I think it's important that after a bad defeat in the manner which it was, that it didn't become any more than that."

Tony Mowbray post-match reaction

Mowbray was satisfied with a point away at The Den but made no bones about the fact that his side need to improve.

He said: "Somewhere down the line, somewhere in the distance, we have to come here and not be satisfied with a fighting point where you have to dominate better.

"We have to control games better. We have to be better playing through the opposition but at the moment, you know, the test today was against the Millwall team who lost five goals midweek and were up for it in a crowd that was up for it.

"We had to show a different sort of quality but I would like the team moving forward to have more control whatever the opposition do. But let's put the point in the bag. Let's make sure we get three points next Saturday against Oxford United."

Mowbray added: "We should be having more control and not having to keep making last-ditch blocks and good saves. We should be pushing them back and having control of the ball but it's okay. I think that's somewhere down the line as we work together and talking to the players there, I think they agree. They want to be the team that expects to come away from home and win football matches."