Five takeaways from Millwall 1 Derby 1 – Mitchell is justifying run in side as winning run against 10 men ends

Scott Malone scored against his old club Derby County as Millwall drew 1-1 at The Den.

The Lions had a man advantage for the final 26 minutes after Nathan Byrne was sent off for two bookable offences, both fouls on former Rams attacker Mason Bennett.

Festy Ebosele put Derby into a 44th minute lead after Jake Cooper was dispossessed on the edge of his own penalty area by Sam Baldock.

But Malone produced a superb low strike from Jed Wallace’s pass to level things up moments before the interval.

Here are Richard Cawley’s takeaways from the match.

AN END TO WINS AGAINST TEN MEN

It’s often said that Millwall struggle to beat sides that get a player sent off, but in recent times that hasn’t been the case. The 1-1 draw with Derby ended a six-game winning run when they have played against 10 men – Sheffield United, Blackpool, Portsmouth, Rotherham, Bristol City and Leeds were all defeated. It told the story that the Lions had 14 goal attempts but only three on target. Derby played with plenty of spirit after Byrne’s dismissal – typifying the resilience they have shown after going into administration – but had to withstand heavy late pressure.

THE DRAW IS BACK

Millwall had been on an eight-match run since they last drew – winning five of them. But we should have guessed that Saturday’s match would end all square. This was their seventh draw of the season and the only Championship side to have more? Derby. The result in SE16 means they have shared the points on nine occasions. Lions boss Gary Rowett brought on all his attacking options in Tom Bradshaw, Matt Smith and Sheyi Ojo – the latter their fourth change due to Daniel Ballard going off with concussion – but their best chances to get in front came earlier in the second half. Mason Bennett’s hooked ball sent Jed Wallace streaking through but he could only fire at the legs of Kelle Roos. And Bennett produced another perceptive pass to find Wallace again, his pullback looked made to measure for George Saville but the midfielder whipped his shot wide of the right upright.

MALONE OFF THE MARK

Scott Malone has scored some excellent goals in a Millwall shirt and he produced another yesterday. It probably gave him extra satisfaction that it came against his former club. Malone celebrated with a cupped ear to the travelling Derby County fans who had booed both him and Bennett with Jed Wallace, who claimed his fifth assist of the campaign, putting a finger to his lips. Malone was more advanced as manager Gary Rowett started with a 4-2-3-1 formation. He took a touch before an arrowed left-footed drive snuck under Roos. After a below-par first-half from the Lions the equaliser took the edge off what would have been a rough reaction from the home support as the two teams headed down the tunnel.
That was Malone’s first goal of the season and his 13th in 130 games for the South Londoners.
He produced an audacious late long-distance strike which zipped narrowly over the bar. If that had gone in then the club’s Goal of the Season competition would have been over.

MITCHELL IMPRESSING

The Millwall academy graduate completed 90 minutes for the third match in a row. Prior to his current run he had never played more than two full games in succession for the Lions. The 20-year-old is keeping the far more experienced Maikel Kieftenbeld out of the starting line-up on merit. A serious hamstring injury at the start of the last campaign impacted on his development but he now seems to be fully back up to speed. Mitchell was the only one to be praised by Rowett for his first-half display.
“I had a go at them at half-time and I said that Billy Mitchell epitomised the bravery we needed – he was going and getting on the ball,” said the Millwall boss. “He’s a young player and he was making things happen. I felt there were more players around him that needed to have the same bottle and quality to help him.”

DERBY’S GOAL WAS A GIFT

Every goal is avoidable when you break it down, but sometimes you get the really easy ones to avoid. Millwall never look overly comfortable when they play out from the back and Cooper’s poor touch was an invitation for Sam Baldock to win the ball on the edge of the penalty area. The Derby striker’s backheel was followed by a classy turn by Tom Lawrence to coax Mitchell into going to ground before he cued up Ebosele. Clinical finishing, but Millwall should never have been in that position in the first place.