Millwall 1-1 Gillingham

A SECOND half equaliser from Paul Robinson earned Millwall a crucial point against relegation rivals Gilingham at The Den.

The Lions bossed the opening stages and were unfortunate not to get their noses in front.

Danny Cullip almost headed into his own net on nine minutes when under pressure, but the Gillingham defender was relieved to see the ball go behind for a corner.

Ahmet Brkovic struck a long range effort from 25 yards one minute later only to see his shot sail off target.

And two minutes later, the midfielder's delightful volley from outside the box was pushed behind by Gills keeper Derek Stillie for a corner.

Gillingham took the lead against the run of play in the 26th minute when they were awarded a free-kick 20 yards out.

Nicky Southall stepped up to take the set piece and fired a well-struck shot beyond Rhys Evans and into the corner of the net.

The goal knocked the stuffing out of the Lions, although they almost drew level in first half injury time when Danny Senda had Stillie at full stretch with a low shot which the Gills' keeper did well to fingertip away.

However, their best chance to get back on terms came within five minutes of the second half.

Senda delivered a perfect cross from the right and the unmarked Brkovic looked nailed-on to score, but somehow contrived to head wide with the goal at his mercy.

Millwall did draw level 15 minutes from time.

Senda's cross from the right found Robinson on the edge of the area and the Lions captain drilled home a low shot beyond Stillie to send The Den into raptures.

Stillie was a lucky man seven minutes later when he failed to hold on to a cross and his bundled clearance landed straight on the head of Marc Laird.

In fairness the Millwall man did not know too much about it and his effort went wide, much to the relief of the visiting keeper.

The draw sees Millwall maintain their two point advantage over Gillingham with only four games remaining, but manager Kenny Jackett will see this as a missed opportunity to put clear daylight between his side and the dreaded drop zone.