West Brom 0-0 Millwall: FLW report as Lions frustrated by resilient Baggies in goalless clash | OneFootball

FLW report from The Hawthorns for this Championship fixture

Millwall returned to the Championship's automatic promotion places for the time being, at least, even if they were ultimately frustrated by West Bromwich Albion in a goalless draw at The Hawthorns.

It was very much a game where, despite the occasional strong chance coming for both the Baggies and the Lions, defences were on top, with the result bound to please those associated with the home side in their quest to stave off the relegation zone in the final weeks of the campaign.

West Bromwich Albion 0-0 Millwall

A loose pass from Isaac Price allowed the visitors to create the first clear opening of the encounter as Mihailo Ivanovic drove forward before picking out Thierno Ballo, who was promptly closed down by the Baggies rearguard as his toe-poke fell wide.

A lapse in communication between Jake Cooper and Anthony Patterson then almost allowed Daryl Dike to strike into an open net at the other end, but the American let himself down with a heavy touch.

Somehow the visitors weren't a goal to the good after 16 minutes as Josh Coburn failed to turn home an inviting cross from Ballo which evaded three Albion defenders and Max O'Leary in the process.

After a quiet 20-minute period in terms of goalmouth action, Ivanovic sparked the contest back into life seven minutes before the break as he struck the crossbar with a stunning strike that had O'Leary beaten.

The Lions came close to a breakthrough moments later in rather comical fashion as Femi Azeez's cross bounced off both George Campbell and Nat Phillips, eventually going narrowly wide, before the Albion keeper pulled off a smart save to tip Camiel Neghli's half-volley past the post.

A neat passage of play three minutes into the second period saw Ivanovic sting the palms of O'Leary from 20 yards out, before a late intervention from ex-Baggies defender, Caleb Taylor, stopped a Dike flick-on from causing Patterson any issues in the Millwall net.

After the hosts failed to clear their lines, the advancing Zak Sturge was presented with a shooting opportunity from 18 yards out, but the full-back could only fire his effort off-target.

Both Dike and Jayson Molumby were unable to break the deadlock for West Brom midway through the second half, with the striker glancing a tame header over Patterson's crossbar from Mowatt's inviting cross whilst the former dragged a low effort wide of the mark from 20 yards after a counter-attack.

Two minutes after being introduced from the bench, Tommy Watson saw his name up in lights for the Lions as fellow substitute, Macaulay Langstaff, whipped across an inch-perfect delivery which was diverted behind for a corner by Danny Imray in the nick of time.

Another key defensive contribution, this time from Millwall captain, Cooper, stopped Dike from netting his first Championship goal in 11 months from close-range, before more heroics from Patterson denied Molumby from poking the ball home from the resulting corner with nine minutes to go.

After eight minutes of second-half stoppage-time were allocated, the best chance fell the way of the outstretched Ivanovic, who, again, failed to notch a 10th goal of the season on the turn.

As previously mentioned, Alex Neil's team have returned to the top two for at least 14 hours, as they await the results of Ipswich Town and Middlesbrough on Saturday afternoon, whilst James Morrison's side are now seven unbeaten and currently five points clear of Leicester City with four matches remaining.

Player Ratings

West Bromwich Albion

Max O'Leary - 7

Danny Imray - 7.5

Nat Phillips - 7

George Campbell - 7.5

Callum Styles - 7.5

Jayson Molumby - 7.5

Alex Mowatt - 7.5

Ousmane Diakite - 7

Isaac Price - 7.5

Daryl Dike - 6.5 (Sule 84" - 6)

Aune Heggebo - 6 (Maja 68" - 6)

Unused Subs: J.Griffiths, A.Gilchrist, C.Taylor, H.Whitwell, O.Bostock, H.Mustapha, J.Jimoh-Aloba

Millwall

Anthony Patterson - 6.5

Tristan Crama - 7.5

Caleb Taylor - 7.5

Jake Cooper - 7.5

Zak Sturge - 6.5 (Bryan 73" - 6), (McNamara 87" - 6)

Femi Azeez - 6.5 (Bannan 95" - N/A)

Casper De Norre - 6.5 (Mazou-Sacko 65" - 6.5)

Thierno Ballo - 6.5 (Watson 73" - 6)

Camiel Neghli - 7

Josh Coburn - 6 (Langstaff 65" - 6)

Mihailo Ivanovic - 6.5

Unused Subs: M.Crocombe, R.Leonard, L.Cundle

James Morrison reacts as West Brom earn strong point v Millwall

Reacting to another respectable result for his side, Morrison said: "First half, they probably edged it.

"We were too open on the counter-attack when we were attacking, so we made a small tweak at half-time and I thought the lads pushed on.

"We had them away from our goal for the majority of the second half and had some big chances at the end which could have been (goals).

"I thought the lads gave everything, considering it's the third game in a week after an international break," he added.

"A lot of lads have played a lot of minutes and a few got some knocks and battled on to the end."

When asked about how he felt on the sideline during the game, the Baggies interim boss continued: "You do (feel it). It's the occasion and the position we're in.

"The scenes, if we did score at the end, would have been beautiful.

"It wasn't to be. It's another game ticked off and a nice break now. But, I'm really pleased we've got a full week's training before Preston."

Alex Neil's verdict as Millwall held by West Brom

Reacting to the goalless draw at The Hawthorns, Neil's initial thoughts were: "I thought our best chances came in the first half.

"I think Josh Coburn's chance is probably the best chance of the game. In general terms, recently, he's stuck every one of those in the net.

"It's hard to, then, be critical of Josh's contribution in terms of what we've done to this point. You're going to miss chances and unfortunately that happened tonight," the Lions boss explained.

"Mihailo (Ivanovic) has an individual one where he turns, swivels and crashes it off the bar. Great, but opportunistic, and then Camiel's (Neghli) shot where the keeper plucks it out the top corner.

"We certainly had enough in the first half. I thought we looked threatening and carried a threat in the game.

"Second half, I thought we started quite brightly. But, the only chance I can really remember is Tommy's (Watson) header at the back post. If he's in a little earlier, he probably scores," Neil claimed.

"Their two chances came in the last minutes. The scramble from the set-play and another where one of their lads gets up and heads it past the post.

"Beyond that, I don't think they had much more in the game and I thought we defended brilliantly.

"But we made six changes tonight, and I think you could see in the legs that they're absolutely knackered and dead on their feet," he continued.

"We didn't muster enough in the second half to go and win the game, and if you can't win it, don't lose it.

"I think the first goal would definitely have changed the game either way, and I thought we had the best opportunities. Certainly, they had nothing in the first half in terms of clear chances.

"We just didn't take them (our chances)."

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