West Ham find a way back after Millwall's sound and fury threatens to blow them away in Docklands derby bear-pit
Championship
Millwall (2) 2 Taylor 16, Neghli 45+3
West Ham United (0) 2 Kante 74, Mavraponos 80 Kante s/o 89
Every tackle cheered to the rafters. Every contact a prompt for howls of protest. Every mistake from the opposition greeted with cheers of derision. Welcome to the Den on derby day against the team Lions fans hate more than any other foe.
The Hammers were caught in a first-half storm that all-but crushed them and they trailed 2-0 - the Lions deservedly making the most of the raucous energy behind their every move. They were outstanding.
The Irons looked all at sea - hoping that the storm would abate, and it finally did. They were the ones who grew stronger as the game wore on and they ended up grabbing a point with a show of spirit which seemed to have been eluding them.
It was a hell of an occasion that got the twists and turns the sheer rawness and intensity from the stands somehow made even more frenzied. There were frequent clashes between players and the pace of the game never wavered.
The mutual animosity and sense of rivalry has been more theoretical than actual between these two clubs, if truth be told. The two had only met 26 times before - hardly the stuff of epic on-field struggles -and this was a first clash between the pair for 14 and a half years.
The Lions lost 2-1 on that occasion at Upton Park, with the teams drawing 0-0 in the previous Den meeting in September 2011 - a small matter of 15 years ago.
You have to go back 22 years for the last Millwall win - a 1-0 victory in Bermondsey which was settled by a 78th minute Danny Dichio goal and featured a sending off of Marlin Harewood for the Hammers just past the hour.
December 1988 was the last time West Ham won at the Den and they had failed to take all three points on their past five visits to their bitter London rivals - one of only two wins ever recorded in away games with the Lions. They were once again denied a win but will be more than happy with how this one ended.
The Lions fans demanded total commitment from the off and they got it in spades. The Hammers could barely get out of their own half in the opening 45 minutes and the outcome was a goal for Caleb Taylor.
The defender snaffled a second rebound after first Mark Sykes then Tairyk Arconte forced superlative saves from Mads Hermansen, the Hammers keeper. A long throw-in from Lyndon Dykes had caused the initial chaos.
Cue an extra dollop of pandemonium in the Den, which was already super-charged.
The Lions were so dominant in the first half, hitting 15 shots to West Ham's one - one of those being a great hit from Mark Sykes that thudded back off the crossbar - a slip from Dinos Mavropanos paving the way.
It was a lucky escape for the Irons but moments later and another long throw-in from Dykes on the right proved too difficult to deal with and there was Camiel Neghli to bundle in goal number two from close range.
West Ham surely had to be better after such a dreadful opening half. Pablo and Mo Kante replaced a quiet Joel Piroe and Kyle Walker-Peters. Finally Jarrod Bowen forced a save from Filip Marschall - making his league debut for Millwall. The keeper then did well to throw up a hand to keep out a close range header from Pablo, who Bowen had picked out with a fine cross.
There were signs of improvement. Would it be enough?
Kante believed the game was still alive. He drilled in low from outside the area with 15 minutes to go and it was suddenly game on again.
The Hammers could sense a turning tide. They started to probe and up their game. Bowen was seeing more and more of the ball - on a mission to drown out the personal catcalls coming his way from Lions fans determined to put him off his game.
Then came the moment Hammers fans could hardly have seen coming. Manor Solomon hoisted a ball into danger and there was Mavropanos to power in a header, as he so often does. His increasing cult status is growing.
West Ham looked favourites to go on and win it now, but they ended the game with 10 men when Kante gave the ball away to Kyrell Lisbie in the centre circle and his pursuit was doomed to fail until he grabbed the sub illegally to deny him a clear chance. Ref Paul Tierney waved a red card, inevitably.
It proved to be the last moment of note, the free-kick coming to nothing.
Lions: (4-2-3-1) Marschall - Osei-Tutu, Taylor, Cooper, Sturge - Metcalfe (Servais 81), Mazou-Sacko (Cundle 91) - Sykes (Baggott 70), Dykes, Neghli - Arconte (Lisbie 81)
Hammers: (4-4-2) Hermansen - Walker-Peters (Kante h/t), Mavropanos, Kilman, Morato - Bowen, Mukasa (Austbo 68), Engels, Solomon - Piroe (Pablo h/t), Castellanos (Orford 91)
Attendance: 19,639
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