Planet Swans ArchivesREPORT – guardian.co.uk
Swansea missed out on the chance to leapfrog their Welsh rivals Cardiff into second place in the Championship after being held at home by Millwall.
Brendan Rodgers was looking to guide his side into the top two of England’s second tier for the first time since the club’s glory days of the early 1980s and all was going to plan when the full-back Angel Rangel rose unmarked to head home Andrea Orlandi’s corner in the 18th minute.
The Spaniard had failed to find the net in over 18 months but now has two goals in four games, yet it was not enough to take all the points as Tamika Mkandawire soon drilled home an equaliser after the ball broke his way on the edge of the area following a goalmouth scramble.
It was a fair result on the overall balance of play after an entertaining first hour but rather low-key final 30 minutes, with the Wales international Steve Morison wasting two gilt-edged chances to win it for the visitors late on.
The Millwall manager, Kenny Jackett, expressed his disappointment at the result. “It was a frustrating night for us,” he said. “I would have certainly taken a point before the game because of the way Swansea have been playing and their position in the league. But as the game wore on, we were the side who had all the opportunities.
“The players are disappointed because we felt we should have won the game but the finishing has denied them that.
“Finishing is a big part of the game and you have to take your chances when you are on top. We didn’t capitalise in the second half and that has been the story of our season. We can’t say we are unlucky.”
The influential captain Garry Monk returned to the heart of Swansea’s back-line having missed the last three games with a calf injury. Jackett, who guided the Swans to promotion during a successful spell in charge of the club between 2004 and 2007, also made the one switch, the striker Josh McQuoid coming in for his full debut after his arrival from Bournemouth.
It was the visitors who threatened with less than 60 seconds on the clock, forcing Dorus de Vries to get down smartly to save. It signalled a busy opening 15 minutes in which Scott Barron fired over and Scott Sinclair twice went close for Swansea while the Millwall captain, Paul Robinson, limped off.
The deadlock was broken when Rangel capitalised on slack defending to head home unmarked from Orlandi’s outswinging corner.
If Jackett was fuming with his side’s defensive lapse, then it was Rodgers’ turn to feel aggrieved eight minutes later when Swansea’s rearguard repeatedly failed to clear their lines after a jinking run from Jason Puncheon and eventually allowed Mkandawire to convert.
Chances continued to open up, Nathan Dyer taking Mark Gower’s superb pass in his stride before being denied by David Forde. Swansea started to dominate proceedings as the half wore on and Dyer wasted a great chance to give them the lead in injury time when he blazed over from close range.
Much like the first half, Millwall started the second on the front foot with McQuoid failing to hit the target with a headed opportunity. De Vries was then called upon to produce a great save to tip away McQuoid’s header from James Henry’s free-kick.
Openings came at each end and Rodgers introduced Jermaine Easter for his debut in the 56th minute in the hope of taking advantage. But the game lost its way over the final half-hour, with little to stir the 13,853 present.
In the final four minutes Morison had two chances to win the match for Millwall but first he fired horribly wide and then was denied by De Vries with the goal at his mercy.
“It’s a point gained in relation to how we played,” Rodgers said. “We were really poor in all fairness and nowhere near our usual level across the board. Defensively as a team and collectively was a total contrast to how we have been.
“We were thankful for our goalkeeper, Dorus de Vries, who made two great saves.We didn’t control the game and in honesty we didn’t deserve much more than a point. It wasn’t a good game for us.”
