Play-off chase can go right to the wire….as Millwall’s Shaun Hutchinson can attest after iconic goal at Bristol Rovers

The play-off chase isn’t over until it mathematically makes it impossible. Shaun Hutchinson can attest to that.

Even if Millwall cannot produce a grandstand finish to this campaign and finish in the top six, they will have a fifth straight campaign in the Championship.

And without the heroics of Hutchinson at the Memorial Stadium in April 2017, the Lions would not be able to say that.

Millwall were set to miss out on the League One play-offs until the former Fulham and Motherwell centre-back headed in an 85th-minute winner at Bristol Rovers.

That result saw the South Londoners win 4-3 and pip Southend United for sixth place.

It gave Millwall a shot at glory which Neil Harris’ team duly took advantage of as they beat Scunthorpe United over two legs and then Bradford City in the final at Wembley.

Luckily we can only speculate about what would have happened if the Lions had stayed in English football’s third tier.

Scunthorpe have just been relegated to the National League, a level that Southend have already had one campaign at. Bradford made the drop to League Two in April 2019.

Millwall, by contrast, have prospered. The Premier League dream is still alive as they gear up for their final home game of the regulation season against Peterborough tomorrow.

Hutchinson would love to once again produce a telling moment to take the South Londoners into that ultra-dramatic knockout once again with a money-spinning prize at stake.

“It was a strange feeling,” said the Geordie, 31, when asked if there were celebrations – and a few beers knocked back – after Millwall’s final-day victory over the Gas.

“We knew we had got in there but with the way that events unfolded on the day, everyone was angry with each other.

“I can remember Steve Morison was not particularly happy and nor was David Livermore, the assistant manager. They weren’t pleased, at all, because we could’ve won that game comfortably.

“But it is always the team that gets in and hits form at the right time that goes up. If we do manage to scrape in there then our form will look quite strong.

“They do say those matches are a one-off game but I feel you have got more of a chance if you’ve been on more of a winning run.

Then the team is confident and in a habit of winning. It plays a big factor

“It [his goal at Bristol Rovers] was an experience I’ll never forget and I wouldn’t mind another one.”

Millwall are three points behind sixth-placed Sheffield United and have an inferior goal difference by six goals.

That situation will change this evening as the Blades head to Queens Park Rangers.

“We all know that we need Sheffield United to draw or lose – if they win then it is looking very unlikely for us to make the play-offs,” said Hutchinson.

“Hopefully the results go our way and then we need to do our job on the Saturday, get three points and take it down to the last one.

“At the start of the season if you had asked all the players if they would take that scenario then I think we all would have taken it.

“We have to win both matches to have a chance. As players that is our mindset now.”

Will it be third time lucky for Millwall? They finished three points behind sixth place in the 2017-18 campaign. The gap was only two points in 2019-20, Gary Rowett’s first full season in charge.

“It would mean the world [to reach the play-offs],” said Hutchinson, who has played 210 matches for the Lions since signing on a free transfer following his release by Fulham.

“It was the focus before the start of the season and we have fallen short a couple of times. If that happens again then it is going to be a bit frustrating.”

Millwall have been impacted by injuries with Scott Malone and Dan Ballard both ruled out of facing the Posh. Jed Wallace remains a doubt.

Hutchinson, the Lions’ 2017-18 Player of the Year, has also had time on the sidelines.

“It’s been a bit of a roller coaster season,” he said. “I felt really good and strong in pre-season. I felt I had a good game on the opening day against QPR and then I got injured.

“I got back in the team and then Covid kept coming and going and then I got injured again towards the end of the season. So it’s been a bit stop-start and it has probably hampered my form a little bit at times.

“Overall it has been a positive season but one I’d have preferred to have been injury-free.

“It’s something I’ve got to look at for next season. I’m not getting any younger, so I’ll need to maybe put more effort into my recovery, the fitness and all those kind of things to make sure it isn’t so up and down with injuries.

“I don’t feel old at all. I feel I’ve got many years left. I feel I’ve got loads to give for the team.

“If we don’t quite reach it [the play-offs] then I’ll be as hungry as ever to go one better.”

Only Fulham (39), Bournemouth (39) and Forest (37) have conceded fewer goals than Millwall (44) and that is despite Rowett having to cope with injuries to the backline.

“We had quite a full physio room for a while, then everyone got fit and we had a full selection and then the next game the boys started dropping again,” said Hutchinson. “We’ve never really been able to keep everyone fit.

“One of the things the manager did in the summer is he recruited a lot of players for a lot of the positions and we’ve been able to grind out results. At times we’ve rode our luck with the injuries, there were times we had 12 or 13 out, but have found a way to get a result in another tough Championship season. That is testament to the manager.”