Josh Coburn will regret missing a gilt-edged first-half chance as Millwall were held to a 0-0 draw at an impressive West Brom, who took a significant step towards Championship safety.
Coburn, named Championship Player of the Month for March after three goals in three matches, steered a Thierno Ballo pass wide from point-blank range. Millwall also rattled the bar when Mihailo Ivanovic tried to curl in from distance.
The point moves promotion-chasing Millwall into the top two, but they failed to capitalise on other results this weekend; Ipswich and Middlesbrough sit a point behind ahead of Saturday’s fixtures, and Ipswich have three games in hand.
A draw means Coventry could clinch promotion if they beat Sheffield Wednesday on Saturday lunchtime and Middlesbrough fail to win. Attention will also be on Ipswich’s trip to Norwich and Middlesbrough’s game against Portsmouth.
West Brom extended their unbeaten run to seven as they fight to avoid the drop and now have a five-point cushion above the relegation zone. While Millwall created the clearer openings, Albion will feel they might have taken all three points after late chances.
The second half belonged more to West Brom. Their best opportunities came late: Nathan Patterson saved Jayson Molumby’s close-range effort in the 82nd minute, and Daniel Imray made a crucial back-post intervention to deny Tom Watson and preserve the clean sheet.
The managers
West Brom’s James Morrison:
“I’m really happy. Three games in a week, after an international break, we kept pushing to the end, we had some tired legs out there but we just needed a ball to fall to us. In the first half, they looked dangerous; they counter-attacked us too many times, but we sorted that out. I stand here pretty happy because we are fighting and pushing, there was a bit more quality in the final third too which I was pleased about. I’ll watch [Saturday’s action] with a bit of nerves. It’s the moment we’re in.”
Millwall’s Alex Neil:
“A point is good, you always want to pick up points. We had the best chance through Josh Coburn, we had enough chances to win the game. I think they had one opportunity in the first half. You could see at the end… we started to tire in the second half. Players were starting to cramp and tighten up. We made six changes, with the concussion sub, to try to freshen things up. We’re not relying on anybody. Our aim is always to get as many points as possible. I don’t focus on what other teams are going to do, I only focus on us. It’s another point on the board. We are focused on getting as many points on the board as we can, a game at a time. I always tell the players if you can’t win the game, don’t lose the game. We take the point, four games to go, we’ll try to win them all.”