Joe Bryan denies Hull as Millwall secure draw

Posted Sunday, October 08, 2023 by PA

Joe Bryan’s first goal for Millwall earned them a 2-2 draw in a frenetic Championship encounter with Hull at The Den.

After Jaden Philogene and Adama Traore had turned the game around for Hull following Duncan Watmore’s early opener, Bryan struck to secure a point.

The Lions’ home form has been patchy, winning just two of their last eight matches, but they took the lead through Watmore in the eighth minute.

Bryan’s free-kick was met with a miscued clearance by a City defender and the Lions attacker was able to squeeze his shot past Ryan Allsop at his near post to open his account for the campaign.

The Lions had started confidently and Luton loanee Allan Campbell drove into the side-netting soon after.

But that assured start only lasted until the 25th minute. Millwall were unpicked by one pinpoint long ball by Hull centre-back Sean McLoughlin, Philogene timed his run perfectly to get in behind the hosts’ centre-back pairing of Jake Cooper and Wes Harding and threaded his finish beyond Bartosz Bialkowski.

The visitors then looked a threat with nearly every attack they mounted. Bialkowski scrambled the ball around the upright when Liam Delap’s cross deflected off Cooper.

Another defensive lapse saw Hull take a 30th-minute lead. Danny McNamara’s misplaced header back to Bialkowski was seized on by Philogene, the young Tigers winger deftly cut back inside the Millwall full-back and cued up Traore to gleefully lash in from close range.

It could have got worse for the Lions before the break. Scott Twine went close with a free-kick and then could not quite make contact with Delap’s delivery.

Lions boss Gary Rowett reacted by switching to a back five and made a double change with Tom Bradshaw and Brooke Norton-Cuffy replacing Watmore and McNamara.

A Casper De Norre strike was tipped over by Allsop but the summer signing from OH Leuven then assisted Bryan for the 54th-minute leveller, with the former Fulham and Bristol City left-back showing great composure to cut inside a marker and send a low drive past Allsop.

The second period belonged to Millwall as they pressed for a winner, Bradshaw saw his header from a Bryan free-kick fly narrowly past the far post.

There was a big chance in stoppage time as two Lions substitutes combined. Romaine Esse put Aidomo Emakhu through but the Republic of Ireland U21 international thrashed his effort over from inside the penalty area.

Hull, who had been unbeaten in eight league games before their midweek loss to Ipswich, looked happy to settle for a point.