Josh Coburn will rue a glaring first-half opportunity as Millwall were held to a goalless draw at a spirited West Brom side, who moved closer to Championship safety.
Coburn, who had been named Championship Player of the Month for March after scoring three in three, failed to convert from virtually point-blank range when he steered a Thierno Ballo pass narrowly wide. Millwall also struck the woodwork when Mihailo Ivanovic tried to curl in from distance, leaving both teams with chances but no breakthrough.
The single point lifts promotion-chasing Millwall into the automatic places, but they were unable to make other weekend results count: Ipswich and Middlesbrough trail by a point heading into Saturday’s fixtures, while Ipswich still have three games in hand. The draw leaves a scenario in which Coventry could secure promotion on Saturday lunchtime if they beat Sheffield Wednesday and Middlesbrough fail to win. All eyes will also be on Ipswich’s trip to Norwich and Middlesbrough’s match against Portsmouth.
For West Brom the result extended their unbeaten run to seven as they press to avoid relegation, giving them a five-point buffer over the drop. Although Millwall fashioned the clearer openings overall, Albion will feel they might have won after some late chances.
The second half increasingly belonged to West Brom. Their best moments came late on: in the 82nd minute Nathan Patterson produced a smart save to deny Jayson Molumby from close range, and goalkeeper Daniel Imray made an important back-post stop to thwart Tom Watson and preserve the clean sheet.
Managers’ reflections
West Brom’s James Morrison praised his players’ resilience after a busy week of fixtures following the international break, saying the team kept pushing despite tired legs and he was pleased to see more quality in the final third. He admitted there were nerves about the closing run-in but was broadly happy with the performance and the point.
Millwall boss Alex Neil called the draw a decent return, noting Coburn’s missed chance and insisting his side had enough opportunities to win. He highlighted the team’s rotation and the physical toll—cramps and tiredness late on—but stressed the aim remains to pick up as many points as possible in the remaining four games, taking it one match at a time.