Millwall 0-0 Bristol City: Goalless at The Den

Bristol City battled to a hard-fought 0-0 draw at Millwall to ease the pressure on under-fire boss Nigel Pearson.

Andreas Voglsammer struck the crossbar for the hosts and, while the resilient Robins pushed for a winner, the play-off-chasing Lions held on to extend the visitors' barren run to one win in nine Championship matches.

Neither side registered a shot on target in the opening period as Voglsammer came closest to breaking the deadlock.

Robins captain Andreas Weimann should have snatched victory at the death, but Pearson's visitors had to settle for a point and still lie just three points above the drop zone.

Millwall manager Gary Rowett stuck with the same side that won 2-0 at Watford on Boxing Day, while Pearson made three changes as Ghana international Antoine Semenyo started up front.

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And it was the high-flying hosts who started the brighter as Voglsammer, who netted the opener at Vicarage Road, looked lively and Zian Flemming fired over from a free-kick.

But the Robins gradually grew into the contest and could have taken the lead when Tommy Conway shot wide and Semenyo was unable to divert his header on target.

Millwall's Murray Wallace curled over following a mazy run down the left before Tom Bradshaw could not control a header from an inviting Tyler Burey cross.

Bristol City continued to cause Rowett's side problems on the break, however, with Semenyo going close as the home crowd grew increasingly frustrated towards the end of the first half.

But it was Millwall who came closest to opening the scoring on the stroke of half-time when Voglsammer's powerful goal-bound effort cannoned off the crossbar via a brilliant Rob Atkinson block.

Burey embarked on an energetic run down the left but failed to find the killer pass as Millwall looked to inject more tempo into their display in the second period.

But Bristol City continued to pose a threat and enjoy promising passages of possession as Semenyo fired over from outside the box.

And the Robins striker was in the thick of the action again as he was unable to fully latch on to a menacing Conway cut-back on the hour mark.

Millwall were struggling to get in-form Flemming into the game but increasingly asserted their influence as Max O'Leary pushed Wallace's glancing header wide and Jake Cooper nodded over from the resulting corner.

But the visitors continued to search for a vital winner as Semenyo shot over once again before Weimann missed a golden opportunity to snatch all three points.

The Robins skipper had just goalkeeper George Long to beat but failed to direct his close-range volley on target as the Lions received a major let-off.

Wallace fired over in stoppage-time for Millwall, but Bristol City clung on to grab what could prove a crucial point for Pearson.

What the managers said...

Millwall's Gary Rowett: "I thought they made it very difficult to play through them at times. When you're a team that need a result, you play with a bit more energy. The only disappointing thing for us is after the Watford game you hope you can play with a bit more confidence. I just felt at times, and given we're not the sort of team that can easily play through teams, we just huffed and puffed a little bit and found it very difficult to just make that last quality pass.

"Every time we got into the final third, it just seemed that there were too many bodies in the box defensively and we didn't quite get enough numbers in there. Our last little action was not consistent enough and didn't have enough quality. I think we created a couple of chances and they had a couple of chances. And Andy Weimann, an old player of mine, doesn't normally miss from there, so we got away with that a little bit."

Bristol City's Nigel Pearson: "(Boxing Day) was one game, this was one game - it's more now the players recognise that that's the level of application they need. I don't know about deserve (to win it), but I think it was a very hard-fought game. Both sides had opportunities and we showed the right characteristics, which was good. We needed a response after Boxing Day and the players did well today.

"I think we defended very well as a team, I think we showed promise going forwards in a tough game. We defended set plays very well and, on another day, we could come away with three points. Both sides would point out promising moments. They've got some decent footballers and their identity suits the players they have, they've got physicality and play with a good tempo, so I have a lot of respect for that. The fans were very good, came down in good numbers, got behind the team and were really good. Hopefully they've seen some encouraging signs from them."

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