The Will Scott column: Tired Millwall hit buffers at Hawthorns &#8211; but this is no collapse

ALL those gut-busting runs and heroic second-half turnarounds finally caught up with Millwall at The Hawthorns.

Alex Neil's side continued to apply their usual effort, but they were running on empty. Overcoming a well-organised, rejuvenated Baggies side was simply a bridge too far.

On another day, we would be talking about another scrappy, defiant Lions win despite a so-so performance, courtesy of yet another decisive strike from Josh Coburn.

Unfortunately, the ball flew past the post, and Millwall's moment passed them by.

There were a few other opportunities. Mihailo Ivanovic hit the bar, and Camiel Neghli forced out a fantastic save from Max O'Leary, but that was the one really.

The Lions did not lack for effort after the restart, but gruelling scraps with Middlesbrough and Norwich City in the past eight days had taken the legs out of them. Josh Coburn and Zak Sturge both went off with cramp, while Femi Azeez looked exhausted as he trudged off in added-time.

Injuries had not helped either. Casper De Norre had to play all three games despite just coming back and looked shattered, while the Lions missed Billy Mitchell's work rate and tidiness in the middle of the pitch.

Of course, having a weapon like Alfie Doughty's left foot would have been helpful as well.

They still created enough to win it. It just would not fall for them.

That they held on for a point at the end shows how reliable their back five has been since October - Caleb Taylor and Jake Cooper have been consistently excellent for a long time now, while Anthony Patterson made another fantastic save. That was their sixteenth clean sheet of the season, joint-top with league leaders Coventry City.

"Second half, I thought our two centre-backs were brilliant," Neil said. "They defended the box really well. [Daryl] Dike is a handful."

The problem was up the other end of the pitch. Even with two strikers and reinforcements in Macaulay Langstaff and Tommy Watson, the cutting edge was not there.

There were flashes. Sturge hit the post and dragged another wide, but after the 55-minute mark, they faded. Passes were misplaced, touches loose, decisions poor - nothing clicked or flowed.

Frustration crept in and rash challenges followed (Azeez's yellow the prime example).

Final tally of fouls conceded: West Bromwich Albion six, Millwall 22.

"There were a couple just throughout the game," Neil said. "I don't generally go into that type of thing. There was one I think where he doesn't give the foul. They then make a bad pass, turn the ball over, and then he stops it and takes it back. And then we had one in the, I think, the start of the second half, and it wasn't reciprocated. But it is what it is.

"I didn't think that we were overly aggressive in our approach to the game, if you're asking that question."

West Brom, spurred on by their fans, who have been fully brought back onside by interim boss James Morrison, were all over Millwall in the final ten minutes and had a few chances to snatch a late goal, but a winner would have been harsh. A draw was a fair result.

Somehow, despite both sides setting up in a 4-4-2 and looking to play on the front foot, the match ended goalless.

"Both teams had a real appetite to try and score goals," Neil said. "They had [Aune] Heggebo up front and Dike. We had our two lads up front.

"Coming into the game, I was thinking, 'It's certainly not going to be a 0-0. Lo and behold, unfortunately, it ended up a 0-0. We tried to put more attacking players on the pitch to try and get goals.

"That's a frustration because we want to see goals. We've been really good in terms of scoring goals, particularly away from home as well. Unfortunately, we just couldn't convert tonight."

In fairness, if there was ever a fixture you would bet on ending 0-0, it would be West Brom against Millwall at The Hawthorns. They have now played out four consecutive 0-0 draws in the Midlands. 2019 was the last time there was a decisive result.

"I heard that before the game," Neil said. "That's why I was delighted we went with two strikers. Not only that, first half, they have a chance each. Mika's less of an opportunity, it's more he's done that himself. But certainly, Josh's was a good chance for him, and he'll know that."

Given the records Millwall have broken this season, you would have certainly backed them to do it, and on another day, they would have. It just did not quite go their way.

To a certain extent, I do understand the consternation about recent results.

Millwall have not quite reached the heights of February/March in recent games. That result means it is now one win in five. To the untrained eye, it looks like the Lions are committing the cardinal sin of 'choking' right when the opportunity to take the lead in the top-two race presents itself.

There are, of course, a few caveats. Millwall have played three of the best teams in the league (I do include Norwich City, by virtue of their points-per-game under Phillipe Clement), and the one-in-five is the most unfavourable framing possible.

Millwall should have beaten Blackburn Rovers; they were just stymied by a poor refereeing decision. Taking a point at Ipswich Town is a fantastic achievement given the quality of their squad and their form. The turnaround at the Riverside Stadium was the result of the season.

Three games in quick succession, injuries, and players short of full fitness took their toll, which is exactly why it all faded into disappointment in the final 20 minutes of the match.

More importantly, only the very best parachute-payment teams can be expected to win every week. Margins are too fine at this level, and performances are too sensitive to all sorts of factors, including variance, injury luck, and momentum.

Millwall's form was always going to level off at some point, and an eight-day break is absolutely what the doctor ordered.

Is it disappointing that the top-two ambitions look to be over after the emotional high at Boro? Yes, but as I have said before, that was well beyond anyone's imagination at the start of the season.

They have all but sewn up a play-off spot and are in the driver's seat for third after Boro dropped more points (talk about bottling it, they have not won in six and have to go to Ipswich Town next weekend!).