Millwall vs Watford. Sky Bet Championship.
The Den.
Report and highlights from the Sky Bet Championship clash between Millwall and Watford at The Den as the two sides played out a goalless draw that did neither any favours in their respective goals on Tuesday night
Tuesday 26 January 2021 22:22, UK
Watford moved up to second in the Sky Bet Championship following a goalless draw against Millwall at The Den.
The Hornets were looking to make it four straight wins after a great run of form under new boss Xisco Munoz but met a resolute Lions side who dug their heels in for their first point at home since late December.
The visitors had the first real goalscoring opportunity of the evening when Andre Gray beat the offside trap but his pass was just behind strike partner Troy Deeney.
Eager to make an impression on his debut, midfielder Maikel Kieftenbeld left a late tackle on Nathaniel Chalobah to register his first booking in Millwall colours.
The Hornets came closer still after 35 minutes when Tom Cleverley sent a teasing cross into the box which Shaun Hutchinson inadvertently turned onto a post before eventually coming back into the danger area and falling to Gray, who fired high and wide.
The prospect of half-time then brought a flurry of chances as Deeney slipped in Ismaila Sarr, who was forced into a tight angle before firing straight at goalkeeper Bartosz Białkowski.
At the other end, Jake Cooper lost his marker and turned a Danny McNamara cross onto a post and away from goal. And moments later Cooper did have the ball in the back of the net but was adjudged to have been offside.
Clear-cut chances proved just as hard to come by in the second half as both defences stood up to the tests of the attackers.
With just under half-an-hour to go, Scott Malone crafted a chance for himself with an outside-of-the-boot shot but his effort was wide of the target.
Białkowski remained untested for a further 10 minutes until Chalobah unleashed a fierce long-range effort which was parried into a dangerous area for Deeney to attempt a spectacular overhead-kick and force a double save from the Lions stopper.
Sarr was next to test his luck after the ball fell kindly to him following a corner but the Senegal international was unable to control the ball well enough to get decent contact on the strike.
Millwall boss Gary Rowett used all of his available substitutes to try and push for all three points but neither side was able to steal the points at the end.
The Hornets are now six points behind leaders Norwich, who have a game in hand, while Rowett and the Lions are 15th.
Millwall's Gary Rowett: "I think if you look at them they're a side that has got Premier League quality and a player in (Ismaila) Sarr who Liverpool supposedly bid £40million for and it wasn't enough. With Watford they don't just pass the ball well but they can out-muscle you and we had to stand up to that.
"Our home form hasn't been good so I spoke to the players before the game and told them to treat it like an away game. The challenge wasn't to go and get on the front foot, I just felt we had to keep our shape.
"First half I think we did that well and we had a goal disallowed for offside that I think was probably level. Second half we had to hang on a little bit because we weren't passing the ball well, but a clean sheet and a point at home is more where we feel we need to be."
Watford's Xisco Munoz: "I think it was a very good performance in which we controlled the ball very well in both halves and created chances to score. This is good momentum for us and I don't want to make excuses but today was also difficult for our guys. They gave everything, though, so to them I say congratulations - they are winners to me.
"Millwall didn't give us much space behind the line of defence but we continued to try and play in front of them until something happened. We had the chance but when it comes and you can't score, that's a problem. I am happy with my forwards because we play with counter-press and they worked very hard. It's important that we continue to improve now. We have four wins and one draw in our last few games and if we continue to play like this, the results will continue."
