Mihailo Ivanovic’s first goal for Millwall rescued a 1-1 Championship draw against Derby in what turned out to be a slow-burner at The Den.
Ivanovic, the 19-year-old Serbian striker signed from Vojvodina on transfer deadline day, took his late equaliser superbly after Jerry Yates’ untidy 78th-minute opener had threatened to steal the points for the Rams.
The visitors eventually had to settle for their first point away from home this season, in truth a fair result after a contest that took a long time to get going.
Derby striker Corey Blackett-Taylor had the game’s first opening in the second minute when he cut inside, after being found in space by Marcus Harness, before bending his shot from a narrow angle over.
Rams goalkeeper Jacob Widell Zetterstrom was the first of the shot-stoppers to be called into action in the 15th minute when he needed to beat away George Honeyman’s effort.
Millwall were starting to take control, and they came within a whisker of going ahead when Duncan Watmore’s through-ball played in Macaulay Langstaff, whose dinked finish over Zetterstrom hit the post.
Romain Esse then miscued a shot wide from the edge of the area following a poor clearance as the Lions continued to press for an opener.
Yates curling an effort high and wide five minutes before the break rather summed up the limited threat the visitors posed in the first half, which finished goalless with the game needing a spark.
George Saville will have been relieved to see the offside flag go up after he looked to have clipped Blackett-Taylor in the area within a minute of the restart.
Langstaff then had another good chance to put Millwall ahead in the 51st minute when he got in behind Eiran Cashin, only for Zetterstrom to stand strong and save with his foot.
This was not the precursor to more goalmouth action, however, with a free-kick and a long-range strike from Joe Bryan threatening fans in the second tier of the Cold Blow Lane End more than the Derby net.
Esse’s shot in the 74th minute at least went nearer to it, but it was a tame effort on the stretch that Zetterstrom could gather with ease.
Derby then snatched the lead with 12 minutes remaining when Nathaniel Mendez-Laing’s corner flicked off Millwall substitute Femi Azeez before a scramble at the back post led to Yates bundling in.
But substitute Ivanovic made himself a hero to the Lions’ supporters by coming to the rescue with five minutes left as he ran onto the ball rebounding off Esse before calmly rounding Zetterstrom and finishing.
