Millwall 1-1 Bristol City: Robins miss chance to return to play-off places in Den draw
- Published
Bristol City appealed in vain after a Tomas Kalas own goal brought Millwall level in the second half
Bristol City missed the chance to return to winning ways and the Championship play-off places as Millwall held them to a draw at The Den.
Pedro Pereira had fired the visitors into an early lead as he pounced on a loose ball from a corner but Millwall hit back after the break.
It was given as a Tomas Kalas own goal but Matt Smith was there putting pressure on the Robins centre-back moments before when a Connor Mahoney corner caused problems.
The Lions came close to coming from behind to lead when Smith had a header well saved by Niki Maenpaa low down but the draw sees Bristol City stay seventh, two points outside the play-off spots.
Both sides will argue they had the chances to take all three points, but City will feel the effect of two dropped points more.
Fellow play-off contenders Preston, Brentford, Blackburn and Swansea all failed to register wins meaning they missed the chance to gain valuable ground.
City head coach Lee Johnson shuffled his pack making six changes from the midweek defeat at Huddersfield and one of those gave him the perfect start.
Benfica loanee Pereira marked his first start since 14 December with a goal but the visitors could not capitalise on their opener.
While Millwall created little in the first half, they made the faster start after the interval. They were rewarded with a goal that appeared to come from the head of Smith, but the final touch was by Bristol City defender Kalas.
Maenpaa, another recalled to the visitors' line-up, made a fine save to prevent Smith making it 2-1 soon after while his opposite number Bartosz Bialkowski punched clear a Famara Diedhiou header in the closing stages.
Millwall remain winless in three games but retain their fleeting play-off hopes as they sit five points off sixth place with 10 games to play.
Millwall manager Gary Rowett:
"It's hard for me to look at that positively. The first 20 minutes of the game we didn't do anywhere near enough to grab the opportunity to close the gap.
"You've got to put a big performance in, from the start, but it was a really tepid opening 20 minutes and we gave them opportunities to counter-attack.
"From then on, we dominated the game and we've had 13 shots to their three, so it was clear to see which side had more attacking intent.
"We put them under the cosh, made it uncomfortable for them and a fair result would have been us winning the game."
Bristol City manager Lee Johnson:
"It was much better, that's our baseline performance now, it's got to be. I thought the first 15 minutes we were outstanding and, building on that, the whole first half.
"I want to focus on the positives of the performance and the grit that the boys showed. You're going to have to earn everything you get in a game like this and we had a side that wasn't huge but coped admirably against the physicality of Millwall.
"When you come to Millwall you know it's going to be difficult. For us to come away with a positive point is good.
"We're starting from one of our worst performances since I've been here so to go from that level, to that identity, desire and quality, particularly first half, that's a big jump in three days."