Millwall 1-1 Burnley: Clarets extend lead at top to 12 points despite draw against the Lions
- Published
- comments

Ashley Barnes scored his fifth goal of the season for Burnley
Tom Bradshaw came off the bench to score his fourth goal in four days and earn play-off chasing Millwall a vital point against runaway leaders Burnley.
The striker, who scored a hat-trick against Sheffield United on Saturday, snapped up a rare Lions chance to equalise with five minutes to go.
Ashley Barnes, who scored at Luton at the weekend, seemed to have bagged Burnley's winner for the second game in succession when he fired home after Scott Twine's shot had been charged down by Jamie Shackleton on 51 minutes.
The draw still meant the Clarets have a 12-point lead over second-placed Sheffield United as they seek to bounce back into the Premier League at the first time of asking.
They remain unbeaten in the league since 5 November, a run of 13 games, while Millwall preserved their proud record of only losing twice at The Den all season.
Burnley had control of the game for long periods, but George Long produced a vital save to deny Anass Zaroury, Twine fired a chance wide and a Barnes volley flashed past the post.
The hosts fought back and harried the slick Clarets into occasional mistakes, with Zian Flemming hitting their best chance of the opening 45 minutes straight at Burnley keeper Aro Muric.
After Barnes claimed the opener, Vitinho almost added a second when he scampered down the right and crossed, with Josh Brownhill's volley bouncing off the foot of the post.
Millwall, however, are nothing if not tenacious at home, and a triple substitution on 73 minutes paid off for manager Gary Rowett.
A home corner was half-cleared, but Flemming curved a dangerous ball back into the box which fell to Bradshaw and the in-form striker found the bottom corner for his 11th goal of the season.
Millwall manager Gary Rowett:
"I didn't rest him [Bradshaw]. Even I'm not stupid enough to rest a player that scored three goals in the previous game,"
"He was injured. His ankle was swollen black and blue. He had a tight hamstring, a tight glute.
"He said he thought he'd be about 80 per cent and at that point I said I'm not going to risk you. It's not worth it.
"I didn't really want to use him. But with the state of the game, we wanted to get something out of it. He took the goal really well. The keeper doesn't even have a chance to move."
Burnley boss Vincent Kompany told BBC Radio Lancashire:
"We dug in when we had to and were really good at stopping the opposition from getting any kind of momentum. They're the home team, doing really well in the league and they were going to get something in the game.
"With a lot of players who needed a bit of rest and to get subbed, I can only be pleased with the performance. It makes our squad so much bigger to see these players come to a tough place and perform.
"We came here with a few illnesses, knocks and bruises. This team has shown that it will find a way and we've just got to do that in the next run of games. We're number 21 in English football and we've just got to get better."