Talking points from Millwall’s 2-2 draw against Cardiff – Scanlon and Bangura-Williams the positives on a tough night at The Den

Millwall were hit with late heartbreak on Wednesday evening as Cardiff scored a dramatic late equaliser to earn a 2-2 draw in SE16.

Goals from Calum Scanlon and Casper De Norre looked to have put Millwall on track but a late first-half finish by Chris Willock following a mix-up between Jake Cooper and Ryan Leonard gave the Bluebirds something to fight for in the second period.

In stoppage time they found that killer blow through Yousef Salech.

Here are Alex Grace’s takeaways from the game.

WINLESS RUN EXTENDS

Millwall have not won a league game since before Christmas. Mihailo Ivanovic’s winner against Blackburn on December 21 was the last time they collected maximum points. Since then they have collected just three points in six Championship games.

Successive home defeats against Oxford United and Hull City have seen the Lions drop towards the bottom three – making this game and the next two, against strugglers Luton Town and Portsmouth, very important. It is a run that could define what the second half of the season will look like.

Alex Neil’s men were just 30 seconds away from heading into those two away days with a big confidence boost. Instead they ended it downbeat and wondering how they had not taken all three points from a game in which they were in such a commanding position.

It’s now just one win in 13 games for the South Londoners, a worrying run. On the bright side, however, it’s the first time in the league that Millwall have managed to score two goals at home, since October’s 3-1 win over Preston.

BANGURA-WILLIAMS SHINES

There was an element of shock in the press room when the team news was announced and Ra’ees Bangura-Williams was included in the starting line-up.

The former Tooting and Mitcham player scored on his debut for the club in the 3-0 win over Dagenham and Redbridge in the FA Cup.

Here he provided a sublime assist. Manolis Siopis will have gone to bed and had nightmares after the 20-year-old, on his first league start, turned the Cardiff full-back inside out and back to front before laying the ball off perfectly to De Norre, who made no mistake firing past Jak Alnwick.

Developing youth is a big thing for Millwall, there is a clear pathway at this football club for young players to come through and become mainstays in the first team.

Billy Mitchell, Danny and McNamara and the recently departed Romain Esse are prime examples that it does not matter about age, if you are good enough, then you are old enough to play in the first team.

There’s no doubt Bangura-Williams offers Millwall something different. Expect to see him play a role in the second half of the season.

SCANLON IS WORTH THE WAIT

It’s been a rough ride for Calum Scanlon since his arrival in SE16. Prior to last weekend’s clash with Hull, the on-loan Liverpool man had only played 11 minutes for the club after sustaining a back fracture which saw him miss 20 games.

He was a bright spark during what was a tough watch against Hull City on Saturday and his performance certainly merited a second successive start.

Just 61 seconds in he netted his first goal for the club, and in some style too. A great charging run from Duncan Watmore ended with a good pass to the 19-year-old, who finished with aplomb.

Playing in an unnatural position in left midfield, he took to it well, something that will please Neil as his options in attacking areas are heavily depleted at present.

Scanlon is another weapon that, if deployed right, could be a game changer for Millwall.

LEONARD AND MCNAMARA INJURY CONCERNS

Just at a time when Millwall did not need any more injuries, they went and picked up two in the same position. How is your luck?

Ryan Leonard and Danny McNamara are the two right-back options and the Lions could be without both for a period of time.

As soon as both of them went down you could tell neither were going to be able to continue.

For McNamara, at first glance, it looked like a painful knee injury, possibly an ACL, which would end his season.

You can usually judge how bad an injury is based on the reactions of the people involved. In both of these cases it looked like they were significant. How unlucky that they are both in the same position.

There is no obvious choice as to who will take that right-back berth.

It makes you wonder if Neil will contemplate a change in the system.

We don’t have long to wait and see but it certainly looks like the Lions could be without a recognised right-back for a large chunk of the second half of the campaign.

PICTURES: BRIAN TONKS