West Ham boss Sam Allardyce insisted that his side should have beaten Millwall in their early kick-off.
Hammers chief wanted derby win
West Ham boss Sam Allardyce insisted that his side should have beaten Millwall in their early kick-off.
The Hammers travelled to South London for a win which would have taken them top of the table.
But instead Allardyce and his side had to make do with a goalless draw.
"Henri Lansbury had the best chance in the first half, Kevin Nolan had a chance we'd expect him to score, if he'd chested it down and slotted it in instead, and David Bentley had an unbelievable chance but he put it wide," said Allardyce.
"In the end we are disappointed we didn't win it but we are happy and respect
the point that we've got."
There was almost a goal in the opening seconds as Millwall keeper David Forde was still behind his goal, adjusting his net when West Ham kicked off.
Henri Lansbury noticed Forde was not paying attention and sent a 40-yard shot bouncing narrowly wide as the keeper sheepishly jogged back into position having avoided an embarrassing gaffe.
"
It was a bizarre incident," admitted Lions manager Kenny Jackett.
"He wasn't happy with the referee and I'm looking forward to seeing it again.
"It looked exactly like he hadn't seen the game had kicked off, but I haven't spoken to him yet."
Vision
Allardyce added: "I thought it was a fantastic piece of vision by Lansbury - I
hadn't got a clue and was thinking 'why the hell are you shooting there?'
"But he'd obviously seen the keeper and the position he was in, and if the
ball had been on target it would have gone in the back of the net.
"It would be nice to be talking about it for a long time if it had gone in,
but unfortunately it didn't."
Millwall chief Jackett was not too disappointed with the draw, adding: "I'm not disappointed with a draw.
"West Ham are very strong, they have a very good side so I'm pleased.
"We defended well and we are competitive but now we have to find our way going forward and get some goals."
