Millwall vs Derby County. Sky Bet Championship.
The DenAttendance10,931.
Tuesday 30 January 2018 23:12, UK
Ikechi Anya had a late goal ruled out as a frustrated Derby were denied a winner in a scrappy 0-0 draw against Millwall at The Den.
Anya thought he sprung the offside trap and slotted in the winner with six minutes left only to see the linesman raise his flag.
Striker Matej Vydra and Millwall winger Jed Wallace also came close to breaking the deadlock but neither were able to convert in a match low on clear-cut chances.
Derby have now won only one of their last four league matches but have not lost since the end of November and are unbeaten in 10 Championship games.
The Rams were quick to pile on the pressure from the get go. David Nugent made an explosive run through the middle and linked up with George Thorne, but his shot was saved comfortably by goalkeeper Jordan Archer.
Millwall responded soon after when Jake Cooper made a long pass from his own half which was met by Tom Elliott on the edge of the box. However, his powerful shot went straight into the hands of keeper Scott Carson.
The Lions had another chance five minutes later when Shane Ferguson whipped in a cross from the left but it missed Elliott, who dived to meet it in the six-yard box, by inches.
Derby launched a series of dangerous attacks midway through the first half. Millwall stopper Jordan Archer managed to palm away a threatening cross from Andreas Weimann but the ball rebounded into the possession of star striker Vydra. However, the Lions defenders were quick to close him down with a terrific goal-saving block.
Moments later, Weimann broke away from the visitors down the middle but a lack of support from his team-mates inside the box forced him to go for goal, and his effort was deflected out of harm's way.
Millwall, spurred on by a vocal home crowd, grew in confidence but lacked the quality to unlock the defence with George Saville smacking a free-kick into the wall.
Both sides struggled to find the target at the beginning of the second half as Derby's Tom Huddlestone and Millwall's Elliot fired over the bar.
Millwall's best chance of the evening came in the 78th minute when an unmarked Wallace opened up his body to shoot into the far corner but Carson reacted quickly to make the save.
Derby thought they won it when Anya was slipped through from Cameron Jerome's clever pass but the linesman denied him, and his team, a crucial winner.
Neil Harris: "I think the referee made a really poor decision in the fact it was a penalty kick. The player had gone for the ball but we talk about dangerous play in the modern game and, if my player getting six stitches at half-time caused by studs to the head isn't dangerous, intentionally or not, then I don't know what is.
"The fourth official said he didn't see him coming and that he was playing for the ball, it's probably true but you're not allowed to have your foot that high on the football pitch anymore. However, I don't want to focus on that I want to focus on a very solid clean sheet for us."
Gary Rowett: "When you see the offside decision, I'm not very pleased at all because it was clearly on side. It was a very poor decision. That's two games in a row where we've had a penalty decision not go our way, against Bristol [City] in the last game and then again today.
"It's tight games like this that sometimes you need those calls to go the right way."
