West Ham came from two goals down to draw 2-2 with Millwall at The Den.
Nuno Espírito Santo’s side experienced a disastrous first half in the Dockers Derby. The Hammers looked on the back foot from the off as the hosts pinned them back with ease.
And Millwall’s pressure paid off after 16 minutes, when Caleb Taylor found the net for Alex Neil’s side. After the Irons failed to deal with a long throw-in, Mads Hermansen was forced into two superb saves.
But there was nothing he could do about Taylor’s close-range finish, which sent shivers down the spines of the travelling West Ham support.
The Irons looked desperate in the opening forty-five. They were sloppy in possession and shaky whenever the Lions charged forward. Paul Tierney’s awful refereeing didn’t help matters, but nevertheless, Nuno’s side were completely undone by the hosts.
Things then got worse for the Hammers on the stroke of half-time, as they were subject to another dangerous long throw-in. The ball flew over three West Ham players before dropping to Camiel Neghli, who struck, like Taylor, from close range.
The hosts were 2-0 up at the break, with things looking bleak for Nuno’s men. But the Hammers’ boss made a couple of changes after the interval that helped to get his side back into the game.
Following the introductions of Pablo and Mohamadou Kanté for Kyle Walker-Peters and Joël Piroe, West Ham looked more threatening. But still, despite their efforts, they couldn’t find a way back into the game.
That was until the 74th minute, when the two subs combined excellently. Pablo skipped past a couple of Millwall defenders on the edge of the box before laying the ball off to Kanté. The Frenchman hit a venomous strike into the bottom corner to halve the deficit.
Then, six minutes later, the visitors were level. Manor Solomon worked the ball well into a crossing position on the right. He swung the ball into the Millwall box, where Konstantinos Mavropanos connected with a bullet header to level the tie.
The momentum was with the Hammers following that 80th-minute equaliser, but Millwall still caused problems in the closing stages of the tie.
After a poor West Ham corner, Neil’s side kept up their high pressure from earlier in the game. Kyrell Lisbie closed down Kanté in the centre circle, winning the ball back and imposing himself on the West Ham goal.
With every other Hammers player ahead of the ball, Kanté had no choice but to foul Lisbie. The Irons’ midfielder was dismissed for the professional foul, but fortunately for Nuno’s side, their opponents didn’t capitalise from the resulting free-kick.
The five minutes of additional time were nervy for the Hammers, but they eventually got over the line, earning an important point.
A poor outing from West Ham, but they managed to rescue a point in what will probably prove to be one of their most difficult games of the season.
After a disastrous first half, the Irons showed their resilience to grab a point at the Den and finish September unbeaten in the league.
Now, an international break awaits. Today was West Ham’s reminder that they won’t have everything their own way in the second tier, but they proved that they have enough quality to get something out of any game in this division if they apply themselves correctly.
