Substitute Paul Ifill pounced late on to equalise at Walsall as Millwall
extended their unbeaten run to six games.
The midfielder came off the bench to fire the ball home with time running out
and cancel out Keith Andrews' 78th-minute opener.
His strike ensured a draw which was probably fair on both sides following a
game that for so long had failed to excite the fans at the Bescot Stadium.
Walsall handed a debut to striker Lee Bradbury, who joined the Saddlers on
transfer deadline day from Portsmouth on a non-contract basis, while fellow new
signing Jermaine McSporran started on the bench.
Vinny Samways remained unavailable due to an apparent bout of flu that is
preventing his return from his home in Spain and fellow midfielder Darren Wrack
was sidelined by an Achilles problem.
David Livermore missed out for Millwall after suffering a shin injury in the
midweek win over Wimbledon and was replaced in the line-up by fit-again
player-boss Dennis Wise.
There was little to choose between the two sides in the opening minutes, with
a looping Neil Emblen header for Walsall the only early chance of note.
And from there on it got little better as both sides struggled to take hold of
the game.
For much of the first half it was a story of two veteran campaigners with Paul
Merson at the hub of what little Walsall created while Wise attempted to marshal
his Lions from midfield.
But even the influence of those two former England internationals could not
spark the action into life as the game degenerated rapidly into a stalemate.
It took 33 minutes for Millwall to carve out their first chance when
Australian Tim Cahill blasted an 18-yard effort wide.
That, however, was as good as it got as Walsall's only response was a long
range Craig Burley effort that drifted harmlessly over the crossbar.
In a desperate attempt to inject some creativity into the game both sides
opted to make changes at half-time with the hosts sending on McSporran in place
of Matt Fryatt while for Millwall, Ifill replaced Neil Harris.
But that did little to change things with McSporran's first action coming with
a clumsy challenge on Wise that earned him a yellow card.
Both sides looked woefully short of ideas with Kevin Muscat curling a rare
shot at goal for Millwall that was well claimed by goalkeeper James Walker.
However, with 78 minutes gone Walsall finally seized control as Andrews, on
loan from Wolves, struck.
When the ball broke in midfield the Saddlers piled forward with Bradbury
leading the charge and when he squared back across the box the Irish midfielder
arrived unmarked to drill low into the net.
That seemed to spark the hosts into life and soon after they could have
extended their lead when Burley went close.
But Millwall mounted a late surge on the home goal and with two minutes left
they snatched a point they probably just about deserved as Ifill volleyed home.
Teams:
Walsall: Walker, Aranalde, Roper, Emblen, Bazeley, Burley,
Andrews, Osborn, Merson, Bradbury, Fryatt (McSporran 45).
Subs Not Used: Petterson, Carbon, Wright, Kris Taylor.
Booked: McSporran.
Goals: Andrews 78.
Millwall: Marshall, Ryan, Ward, Lawrence, Muscat,
Chadwick (Sweeney 77), Wise, Cahill, Elliott (Roberts 60),
Dichio, Harris (Ifill 45).
Subs Not Used: Gueret, Dunne.
Booked: Lawrence, Cahill, Dichio.
Goals: Ifill 88.
Att: 6,486
Ref: S Tomlin (E Sussex).
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