The lowdown on Millwall 1 Derby County 1 – Ivan is great when big chance presents…will that lead to start against Plymouth?

Millwall made it successive Championship draws as their Den contest with Derby County ended 1-1 on Saturday afternoon.

Here is the lowdown on the match.

THE LINE-UPS

Millwall: Jensen, Leonard, Tanganga, Cooper, Bryan, De Norre (Kelly 84), Saville (Wintle 84), Honeyman, Esse, Watmore (Azeez 65), Langstaff (Ivanovic 73). Subs not used: Roberts, McNamara, Wallace, Massey, Harding.
Derby: Zetterstrom, Forsyth, Cashin, Yates, Goudmijn (Osborn 62), Harness (Collins 77), Jackson (Phillips 78), Nyambe (Wilson 33), Blackett-Taylor (Mendez-Laing 61). Subs not used: Vickers, Wilson, Bradley, Elder, Brown.

SNAPSHOT OF THE GAME
Not a classic by any stretch of the imagination with plenty of physicality on show – Derby County also boasted plenty of physical specimens which made the duels bruising at times. Macaulay Langstaff had two chances on the right-hand side of the penalty area – one in each half – but hit the right upright before being denied by the right leg of Jacob Zetterstrom. When Jerry Yates  scrambled home from a Nathaniel Mendez-Laing corner – unwittingly flicked towards his own goal by Femi Azeez – it looked like Derby were going to win on the road for the first time this season. But Millwall substitute Mihailo Ivanovic’s first goal for the SE16 outfit – taken with aplomb and composure – ensured the spoils were shared.

TACTICAL APPROACH
Millwall head coach Neil Harris made two changes with Joe Bryan and Duncan Watmore returning to the starting line-up in place of Danny McNamara and Azeez. Watmore and George Honeyman have been two of the strongest performers for the South Londoners but there were reports before the match that the former had been struggling with illness while the latter struggled to impact in the final third. Azeez and Ivanovic were the only attacking options available as bench options and both came on. Harris opted for a like-for-like switch, taking off Langstaff and replacing him with Ivanovic rather than pairing them together in the closing stages. The young Serbian quickly made an impact.

STAR MAN
Japhet Tanganga. I’ll level with you – it’s not like this was an easy one to choose. Sometimes that is to do with a number of standout performers making it a proper dilemma. But, on this occasion, that wasn’t the case. It certainly was not a peak performance by Millwall but the former Tottenham centre-back was his normal unruffled self. In saying that, Derby were poor offensively – summed up by a terrible strike by former Charlton winger Corey Blackett-Taylor in the second half.

BEST MOMENT
Well, this is a whole lot easier than the previous section. Ivanovic’s goal. The 19-year-old never seemed in any doubt that he would finish off his chance.

MOAN OF THE MATCH
Millwall’s offensive set-pieces. Harris readily conceded after the match that they were not up to scratch. The Lions had two within shooting range but Honeyman flighted the first harmlessly into the arms of Zetterstrom and then Joe Bryan leathered the other high into the Cold Blow Lane end.

A TALKING POINT DOWN THE PUB
Does Ivanovic start against Plymouth on Wednesday night? My initial reaction is probably not, as the 19-year-old continues to bed into a new club and country. But I imagine some Lions punters will have been debating whether the former Vojvodina frontman gets the chance to inflict damage on Wayne Rooney’s Pilgrims, who were smashed 5-0 at Cardiff today.

WHAT THE BOSS HAD TO SAY

“Again we were not ruthless enough in one penalty area and we got punished in the other. Fortunately the big Serbian geezer comes on and rescues a point for us. We deserved a point but I’m fed up of sitting here, especially at The Den, and finding ways to give the ball away. It’s got to stop.”

PICTURES: KEITH GILLARD AND BRIAN TONKS