Millwall vs Rotherham United. Sky Bet Championship.
The Den.
Report and highlights from the Sky Bet Championship clash between Millwall and Rotherham at The Den as Jed Wallace scored to earn victory for the Lions; Michael Smith sees late penalty saved by Bartosz Bialkowski
Friday 2 April 2021 22:34, UK
Goalkeeper Bartosz Bialkowski saved a late penalty from Michael Smith to preserve a 1-0 victory for Millwall against Championship strugglers Rotherham United.
A thunderbolt from Jed Wallace ultimately settled the contest at The Den, where the Millers had their captain Richard Wood sent off in the early stages of the second half.
Despite being down to 10 men, Rotherham pushed hard for an equaliser, but without success and they remain four points adrift of safety in the relegation zone, albeit with several games in hand on the teams directly above them.
Both teams were slightly late in taking to the field and that apparent lack of urgency gave way to a lethargic start where the ball was routinely, and carelessly, given away.
The first chance for either side came off a Scott Malone mistake after 12 minutes, as his miscue gave the ball to Freddie Ladapo, who struck a low, bending effort just wide from the edge of the area.
Mason Bennett then wasted a good counter-attacking opportunity for Millwall by passing behind the breaking Wallace before having a shot blocked from point-blank range.
The Lions then lost Shaun Hutchinson to injury just before the half-hour, although in truth the stoppage in play did not represent a great reduction in tempo.
Rotherham almost went ahead five minutes before the break when Michael Ihiekwe got his head to Daniel Barlaser's free-kick, only for Bialkowski to come up with a superb save.
Bennett then volleyed Wallace's corner wide at the near post as a mediocre first half finished goalless.
The first half-chance after the restart came for Malone, who looped a half-volley wide after another Wallace corner had been pushed into his path by Rotherham goalkeeper Viktor Johansson.
Rotherham were then reduced to 10 men in the 56th minute, as Wood was sent off for hauling down Wallace as he was running through on goal.
The Lions almost took advantage straight away as, after Wallace's free-kick struck the wall, Danny McNamara's rasping follow-up was well tipped over by Johansson.
But there was nothing the Swedish stopper could do about Millwall's opener after 64 minutes, as Wallace slammed a fantastic strike into the top corner when Malone's over-hit set-piece fell his way.
Lewis Wing sent a speculative long-range effort wide as the depleted Millers looked to hit back before Smith's dangerous low ball just evaded Ihiekwe in the centre.
The visitors were given a fantastic opportunity to equalise with five minutes left when Jake Cooper conceded a penalty by bringing down Smith, who was denied from the spot by a brilliant stop by Bialkowski.
Millwall's Gary Rowett: "We were fortunate, or indebted to our goalkeeper for making a great save. I felt the game should have been out the way, in some ways, by that point - we've had a couple of good opportunities, their keeper's made some great saves. Jed's finish to put us 1-0 up was a lovely goal and a goal well worthy of winning any game, but Rotherham don't give up.
"They refuse to be ruled out and they keep trying to do the right thing and, with 10 men, I just felt we could have made the game a lot easier for ourselves. They forced a penalty - at first, I wasn't quite sure what on earth he had given it for, but it was a great save from Bart that gets us the points."
Rotherham's Paul Warne: "I think it was a good save, I don't think it was a horrendous penalty, but unfortunately it didn't go in the corner enough, like Jed's shot did. There's no complaint from me - you've got to have some bravery to take a penalty and it would have been fitting for the lad's work ethic today.
"To come away with a point here would have been a great point. It was a competitive game, where both teams cancelled themselves out for large periods. I thought Millwall started better than us and then we came into it - I thought we nicked it a bit, first half, and I thought we should have had a penalty, but then I would."
