A late goal from Jack Harrison cancelled out Jed Wallace’s strike to earn Leeds a point in a deserved draw for both teams at the Den.
Harrison struck past Ben Amos in the 89th minute to snatch a point for Leeds, who extend their league unbeaten run to seven games. His goal cancelled out a goal from Jed Wallace, whose shot had gone in off the post ten minutes into the second half.
It was an agonisingly painful end for Millwall, after four minutes of intense pressing and numerous chances came to nothing, as they had to settle for a draw. Substitute Tom Elliott came closest during additional time, as his header came off the post.
As the referee blew the full-time whistle, the Millwall players dropped to the ground. It felt like a loss, especially as the home side kept the ball in the final third for almost the entirety of the four additional minutes. Nevertheless, for a team who have only picked up one win this season, a draw against the league leaders is a good achievement, although they will feel that they missed a huge opportunity to pick up all three points.
In the end, Leeds did deserve a goal. They had pushed and pushed all game, squandering many chances in front of goal. However a resilient Millwall defence kept them at bay for 89 minutes, yet they were unable to hold on until the end. Leeds played great football, which was very entertaining to watch. It was evident why they sit top of the table after seven games.
The atmosphere was absolutely fantastic. Millwall fans are great, and it was made even better by the visit of their arch rivals. A 17,000 strong crowd was in fine voice all afternoon, creating an ever-hostile atmosphere for the visitors. The Den was rocking as always, with the atmosphere created by both sets of fans.
Overall, it was a great game. Good quality football mixed with a fantastic atmosphere made it an enjoyable day out, with a draw the fair result in the grand scheme.
Stand out players
There were three players who stood out for me during the game. From Leeds, Samuel Sáiz was instrumental for every attack. He was graceful on the ball, shrugging off tackles left, right and centre and created many chances with his silky dribbling. He was very enjoyable to watch, despite some of his actions off the ball.
Millwall had two players who really impressed me. Goal scorer Jed Wallace ran the show upfront, and got the important goal ten minutes into the second half. He was positive going forward, really energetic and caused a lot of problems for the Leeds defence.
At the other end of the pitch, Jake Cooper was solid at the back. He made so many important tackles, was very active when joining the attack and kept Leeds’ attack quiet for the vast duration of the game. His standout moment was undoubtedly his goal-saving block, where he threw his body in front of a shot from close range to keep Millwall in front.
Special mentions should also go to Millwall’s Lee Gregory and Leeds’ Ezgjan Alioski, who both had very good games.
What next?
Despite a strong performance, Millwall have dropped down three places to 19th, with just one win so far this season. They now face four fixtures in ten days, starting on Wednesday when they travel to Loftus Road for a London derby with Queens Park Rangers. This is followed by a trip to West Brom three days later, before hosting Fulham and Sheffield United at the Den in the Carabao Cup and Championship respectively.
Despite dropping points, Leeds remain top of the Championship table after Middlesbrough dropped points in a loss at Norwich. They are still unbeaten after seven games, and look to continue that into back-to-back home games where they welcome Preston North End and Birmingham City to Elland Road next week. An away trip to Sheffield Wednesday completes Leeds’ September.
The two sides will meet again on 30th March next year. Millwall will be looking to repeat their memorable 4-3 win from their last visit to Elland Road, while by March it will be far clearer whether Leeds are a real contender to be playing Premier League football next season.
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