By Will Scott at The Den
ALEX Neil was”really pleased” with his side’s efforts after they battled to a 0-0 draw against third-placed Ipswich Town.
The Lions headed into the Boxing Day encounter at The Den off the back of two consecutive away losses, but looked bright from the off and created several chances within the opening ten minutes.
Ipswich wrested back control of the game and had long spells of possession without creating much, with Millwall’s back four remaining solid throughout the 90 minutes.
Millwall had the ball in the back of the net late in the second half when Camiel Neghli was put in one-on-one in transition, but the assistant referee’s flag went up immediately and it was ruled out for offside.
Both sides pushed for the opener, but neither could crack the other’s defence, and the match ended in a draw, an outcome Neil thought was a fair one.
“I was quite pleased,” Neil said. “We knew Ipswich were going to be a strong side.
“First half, when it came to the final third areas, I thought we had better moments in the first half than they did. We had two or three moments – Caleb [Taylor] has a good header, the keeper palms it onto the bar. Camiel Neghli gets down the side, needs to find a better cutback. The one where we land on a flick from Mika, he needs to pick out Aidomo [Emakhu], and then Miha (Ivanovic] gets down the side as well. I thought we had two or three really good crosses into the box from Tristan [Crama].
“We had one second half where Aidomo puts it over the bar, and then we have the goal in the second half that gets disallowed. He was probably half a step offside when it happens.
“The only one I can really remember of note where Max [Crocombe] makes a save is the one where Philogene cuts in on the right side in the second half and saves with his feet.
“All in all, for all the quality that Ipswich have got and for how stretched I think we are at the moment, having to take Billy [Mitchell] off again after 70 minutes to protect him, I thought the lads did extremely well. I was really pleased with the effort they put into the game.
“I didn’t think we deserved to lose the game by any stretch. I thought if anything, if we were going to nick it, it would’ve been us nicking it rather than them. Albeit they did control more of the ball in the second half.”
Neil was asked if he was pleased that his side held on for the draw.
“I think when you say ‘held on’, I think that’s a little bit of a disservice, albeit we did sort of concede the ball,” Neil said. “But I don’t think we were getting peppered by any means. I didn’t think it was chance after chance. The only one I can remember, we actually clear it when it comes across the face of the goal, and Joe [Bryn] hooks it out for a corner.
“I thought we were good value. Keeping a clean sheet was important. The last couple of results away from home haven’t been great, and we needed to make sure we didn’t lose today. I think that’s important for the confidence of the team and the confidence of the fans, certainly at home. We’re playing against what I think we all know is one of the best teams in the league. For us to do what we did today with how many players we’ve got missing, I thought it was a good yardstick for us.”
