Zian Flemming scored the winner as Milwall produced one of the narrow football scores of the weekend in the Championship. Max O’Leary made a strong stop on Tom Bradshaw’s diving header in the 44th minute, but the striker recovered to score off the rebound. On 71 minutes, Millwall captain Shaun Hutchinson turned a low cross from the left made by replacement Cameron Pring into his own net while stretching to make the interception. However, O’Leary erred by failing to gather the ball as he moved closer to the edge to intercept a high shot, which let Flemming shoot into an open net from 15 yards away.
Benek Afobe, a substitute, was awarded a penalty in stoppage time after Alex Scott had fouled George Saville, but the City goalkeeper saved it—but it didn’t matter. With Antoine Semenyo’s initial shot being blocked and Andreas Weimann’s looping header from Scott’s free kick going wide, City got off to a strong start. Bradshaw threatened on a few occasions as Millwall surged into the game as the home team began to commit too many passing errors.
After receiving medical attention for a head injury, City defender Timm Klose returned to the field bandaged. In minute 32, Mark Sykes cleared a header from Hutchinson that was on the goal line for Millwall. In a mediocre first half, neither team was able to generate much offense, though O’Leary did have to stop Murray Wallace’s long-range shot two minutes prior to Bradshaw’s goal. At the halftime whistle, some home supporters jeered, but the sizable group of Millwall supporters remained upbeat.
The opposition appeared dangerous from set pieces, and Hutchinson’s attempt was deflected for a corner in the 65th minute. As one of Pearson’s substitutions, Pring, made a crucial contribution, the hosts soon tied the score thanks to an error by Millwall’s captain. Prior to O’Leary’s blunder, Millwall responded forcefully with a Bradshaw volley that missed, giving City another uphill task. They were unable to do it and had Afobe not missed a penalty with nearly the final kick, they would have lost more severely.
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