QPR boss Marti Cifuentes bemoaned his team’s “unacceptable” defending from set-pieces after their 2-1 defeat at home to Cardiff.
Struggling Rangers have consistently conceded from set-pieces this season and did so twice more against the Bluebirds.
Paul Smyth equalised for the hosts to cancel out Dimitrios Goutas’ opener, but Rangers’ defensive shortcomings were badly exposed again as Perry Ng scored the winner.
Cifuentes, who took over at the end of October, said: “We knew that they were a good team from set-pieces and then they score from that situation.
“We got good momentum in the second half and scored a goal. Then we lost this momentum. We conceded another goal from a set-piece, which is unacceptable.
“I’ve been in charge for 12 games and we’ve conceded 11 goals, which is quite a decent defensive performance. But seven of them have been from set-pieces, which is unacceptable.
“That area of the game should be an asset, not a liability, and we are getting extremely punished.
“If we concede two goals from set-pieces then we cannot expect to win matches.”
Rangers are third from bottom, have gone five matches without a win and badly needed three points from the first of four crucial home league matches this month.
They picked up a useful point in a 0-0 draw at Ipswich on Friday, but playmakers Ilias Chair and Chris Willock both went off injured in that game and were badly missed against the Bluebirds.
“It was definitely very far from the result and performance we wanted,” Cifuentes admitted.
“It was an opportunity to kick off the year with a positive result for our fans, to change the energy a little bit and to keep building after a good point against Ipswich.
“Unfortunately, we were not good enough. The first half is really disappointing – really poor. It’s not that Cardiff created chances.”
Cardiff boss Erol Bulut praised his players and is hoping to add to his squad during this month’s transfer window.
He said: “From tomorrow, we’re going to start to have some meetings so we can make some quick movements with the transfers.
“So let’s see. I hope that in the weeks of January we will finalise what we need.
“We’ll discuss what we can do – what is the best way for Cardiff City and the team.”
Bulut’s side defended well at Loftus Road and took their chances when they came.
“It was perfect to have a win for the new year. It was not the greatest game, but the way we won it was great,” said the Turkish manager.
“We have injuries and illness so I have limited possibilities, so I can say it was a great game for us.
“The team showed fighting spirit – winning spirit. Some games are like that and today it was like that.
“Of course, for the offensive part, we want to create more and finalise more, but we have to compliment our defenders. Sometimes you have to count on your defenders and they are doing well.”
Luke Littler says it is going to take something special to stop him becoming the world champion after his amazing Alexandra Palace journey continued.
The 16-year-old has taken the World Championship by storm and became the youngest semi-finalist ever after he beat Brendan Dolan 5-1 in the quarter-final.
It was a new year but the same old brilliance from the precocious Littler, who is on the cusp of producing one of the greatest sporting stories of all time.
A semi-final against 2018 winner Rob Cross is next up before a likely meeting with Michael van Gerwen in the final, but he is a genuine contender to lift the Sid Waddell Trophy on Wednesday.
He has already proven he is ready to compete on the biggest stage after taking out UK Open winner Andrew Gilding and his hero Raymond van Barneveld on his way to the last eight and he maintained that form against Dolan.
And the teenager believes it is going to “take a lot” to stop his juggernaut.
“It feels unbelievable. I would never have thought I would have got to the semis on my debut year,” he said.
“Brendan was just another opponent in my way and I have brushed him aside and now I am into the semi-final.
“It’s going to take a lot to stop me, based on my performances so far. But it is about whatever Luke Littler turns up.
“I have got the ability to go all the way, if it’s not to be tomorrow night, it’s not to be.
“I know I have got a good chance and I have got a good feeling I could go all the way tomorrow.”
View this post on InstagramDolan had beaten former world champions Gerwyn Price and Gary Anderson but could not compete with Littler, who finished with an average of 101.93 to thrill his adoring fans inside Ally Pally.
This performance will only heighten Littler’s celebrity status and his exploits have already transcended the world of darts.
The Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) will be coming under increasing pressure to hand him a place in the forthcoming Premier League.
But Littler is not expecting a call-up to the weekly event that runs from February to May.
“I have seen what the Premier League does, like Monday, Tuesday I’d be playing Pro Tours, Wednesday a Euro Tour qualifier, Premier League on a Thursday, then a Euro event at the weekend,” he said.
“I think the PDC will keep me out of it, it will be brutal like everybody said.
“If I do get picked I do, if I don’t, then I am not expecting it. I didn’t expect to get to the semi-finals, look at other some of the other pros, this is my first major, they deserve it more than me.”
He will meet Cross in the final after the 2018 champion produced one of the most memorable Alexandra Palace comebacks.
Cross looked dead and buried when he was 4-0 down after barely 45 minutes as Chris Dobey played one of the matches of his life.
However, the off-stage break worked wonders for Cross as the former electrician sparked into life.
He reeled off four sets of his own and then took out 130 to seal a famous win but Cross knows he will have to improve if he is to stop the Littler train.
“Everyone loves an underdog story,” he said. “As the public and people looking at the game, everyone loves an underdog story.
“I am not being rude, I am on his side, I love an underdog story.
“It took a bit of pressure off me winning it first time as well.
“He’s fantastic and he deserves all the luck in the world, he is a nice young boy. Tomorrow we play darts, though, and I have to go down to business.”
Mason Rudolph has helped the Pittsburgh Steelers stay in the play-off picture.
He'll get another chance to help them secure a post-season berth in Week 18.
Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said during his Monday press conference that Rudolph will start Saturday's season finale against the Baltimore Ravens.
Rudolph has led Pittsburgh to a 2-0 record since taking over for an ineffective Mitch Trubisky following Kenny Pickett's ankle injury.
Tomlin told reporters that Pickett's health is not a question, but Rudolph will remain the starter.
"I think Kenny's availability is less in question this week. I anticipate him being available to practice. That being said, we're going to leave the ball in Mason Rudolph's hands," Tomlin said. "He's done a good job and we've done a good job in the most recent two weeks. We've taken care of the ball, he's taken care of the ball. We've scored points at a rate in which we hadn't done to this point this year. And with the urgency of the moment and because of those reasons, we're going to leave the ball in his hands."
In his two starts, Rudolph has completed 35-of-51 passes for 564 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions for a 118.4 passer rating. The Steelers scored 30 and 34 points in those two victories after not scoring more than 26 points in any of their first 14 games.
Pickett had just six TD passes in 12 games this season, and the team could be deciding to move on from him this offseason.
With Sunday's 30-23 road win over the Seattle Seahawks, Pittsburgh improved to 9-7, but it's still on the outside looking in on the play-offs.
To clinch a berth, the Steelers must win in Baltimore and have the Miami Dolphins beat the Buffalo Bills on Sunday night. They could also make the post-season by beating the Ravens, coupled with a Tennessee Titans win over the Jacksonville Jaguars.
One advantage the Steelers have going for them is the Ravens have already secured the AFC's top seed, so MVP frontrunner Lamar Jackson and other Baltimore starters could be rested as they prepare for the play-offs.
Ten-man Wycombe ended a run of 12 games without a win in League One as they defeated Bristol Rovers 3-2 in a thriller at Adams Park.
Chairboys fans would have been forgiven for fearing the worst when Josh Scowen was sent off with just over an hour played, but their side started the year with three much-needed points.
Wycombe began well and deservedly took the lead after 29 minutes when Ryan Tafazolli planted home a header from Luke Leahy’s cross.
Aaron Collins struck a post for Rovers before half-time and their hopes were raised by a straight red for Scowen in the 61st minute for a reckless tackle on Sam Finley.
Despite being a man down, the Chairboys extended their lead as Sam Vokes bundled in Tafazolli’s knock-down from Leahy’s corner before Leahy himself calmly rounded Matt Cox to add a third.
They were still made to sweat in stoppage time, however, as Chris Martin pulled two goals back for the Pirates from Harvey Vale crosses, but time for an unlikely equaliser ran out.
Southampton extended their unbeaten run to 18 matches as they drew 1-1 with Norwich in the Championship at Carrow Road.
The Saints dominated the game for long periods and looked to be heading for all three points when Adam Armstrong converted from close range midway through the second half.
But Norwich kept battling away and earned themselves a share of the spoils in the 78th minute as fit-again substitute Josh Sargent finished off a slick move to register his first goal for the Canaries since picking up a serious injury in August.
The pattern of the game was established in the opening period, with Southampton dominating possession and Norwich keeping them largely at arm’s length, whilst relying on the occasional breakaway to pose a threat.
The end result was a half of few clear-cut chances at either end, with both keepers largely untroubled.
The Saints came closest to breaking the deadlock two minutes before the break when Jack Stephens hit the woodwork after being set up by a delightful touch inside the box from Armstrong.
Taylor Harwood-Bellis had sent a free header straight at Angus Gunn for the visitors, who were hampered by the loss of Samuel Edozie midway through the half following a poor challenge from Jack Stacey.
Norwich looked a threat on the rare occasions they had the ball in the Southampton half and thought they had scored on 20 minutes when Sam McCallum volleyed home a Stacey cross, but the flag had already gone up for a tight offside decision.
Half-time substitute Che Adams was only narrowly off target with an audacious 45-yard lob as the Saints continued where they left off after the break, with Joe Aribo then sending a back-post header flashing past the upright.
Creating clear-cut chances was once again an issue for the dominant Saints however, and it must have come as relief as much as anything else when they finally got the goal they deserved on 70 minutes.
The dangerous Kyle Walker-Peters did the damage as he burst into the box from the left and got to the byline before sending in a low cross that flicked off Grant Hanley for Armstrong to volley home from close range.
Norwich looked down and out at that stage but they finally put together a decent move of their own with 12 minutes remaining to get back on level terms.
Gabriel Sara and Jon Rowe were both involved as the Canaries worked the ball neatly through the middle to give substitute Sargent the chance to roll the ball past the advancing Gavin Bazunu from just inside the box.
Adams headed a Ryan Fraser cross over in injury-time and Armstrong was denied by a good stop by Gunn as Southampton sought to restore their lead but Russell Martin’s side had to settle for a point.
Rotherham twice came from behind to secure a 2-2 draw at out-of-form Blackburn.
Leam Richardson’s men were second best for much of this encounter but showed the kind of resilience needed if the league’s bottom club are to have any chance of survival.
Rovers went ahead through Arnor Sigurdsson’s well-taken eighth-minute finish and it looked to be the perfect platform for a routine afternoon.
But, given the two sides have the league’s worst defensive records, it was no surprise Rotherham exposed Blackburn’s frailties. After a trio of superb Viktor Johansson stops, they equalised through Sean Morrison’s header.
Sammie Szmodics’ composed finish restored Blackburn’s lead straight after the restart but Rotherham hung in and Tom Eaves’ powerful header eight minutes from time gave them an improbable draw.
They are seven points from safety but it’s three unbeaten for Richardson while Blackburn’s wretched run continues with just one win in eight.
Rovers were ahead early after Szmodics’ shot was blocked across the box and Sigurdsson controlled well before stabbing home his sixth of the campaign from 12 yards.
Johansson produced a flying save moments later to tip Harry Pickering’s rasping drive over and they almost equalised in the 18th minute when a corner found Christ Tiehi but Rovers scrambled his close-range shot behind.
Rovers continued to threaten and Callum Brittain’s cross found Sigurdsson but his first-time shot was blocked by Morrison, who flung himself at Semir Telalovic’s shot to prevent a certain second.
Brittain was then denied by Johansson at full stretch before Szmodics sliced wide with the goal gaping.
They paid for their profligacy as Rotherham’s testing corners yielded a 31st-minute equaliser when Sam Clucas found Morrison six yards out and he nodded home with ease.
Johansson was at it again in the 34th minute when he produced a stunning reaction stop to repel Szmodics’ powerful low effort from the right of the area.
Rotherham’s Ollie Rathbone almost grabbed a second in first-half stoppage time but curled against the crossbar and Rovers responded straight after the restart when Szmodics ran onto a James Hill pass and rounded Johansson to notch his 16th of the season.
The second half wasn’t as frenetic but the Millers missed a glorious 63rd-minute opportunity to level when Sam Nombe crossed into the path of Eaves six yards out but the striker contrived to direct the ball over.
Rovers dominated proceedings without forcing Johansson into heroics like those in the first half and they were sucker-punched again with eight minutes remaining.
Sebastian Revan whipped a dangerous cross from the right onto the head of Eaves, who stooped to convert into the bottom-right corner to secure only Rotherham’s third away point this season.
Ryan Andrews’ second-half equaliser secured Watford a 3-3 Championship draw from a topsy-turvy New Year’s Day thriller at Plymouth.
Visiting goalkeeper Ben Hamer made a brilliant stoppage-time save to deny Plymouth’s 13-goal top scorer Morgan Whittaker and central defender Lewis Gibson nearly sealed it with a thumping 18-yard shot, which flew just over in the final minute.
Despite torrential rain throughout, Argyle and Watford served up a thrilling, five-goal first half at Home Park with Plymouth taking a 3-2 lead into half-time.
Watford were rewarded for their bright start in the 11th minute when Matheus Martins cut the ball back from the byeline following a quick throw-in on the right.
Edo Kayembe profited with a clinical finish, clipping the ball past Conor Hazard at his near post.
Home keeper Hazard did well to race out and prevent Watford taking a 2-0 lead after 13 minutes as he beat striker Rajovic to a through ball.
Two minutes earlier he had tipped over Ismael Kone’s goal-bound shot which was heading for the top corner until Hazard’s timely intervention.
Their lead did not last long. Argyle levelled with a brilliant first-time side-foot volley from Finn Azaz – on loan from Aston Villa – from the edge of the box after 20 minutes.
Scorer turned creator seven minutes later as Azaz’s cross-field ball from left to right set fellow playmaker Whittaker away down the right.
Top scorer Whittaker’s first shot was blocked but as it rebounded to him, he roofed home a thundering strike to beat Hamer from an angle.
As well as hitting the upright, Ryan Hardie saw his 35th-minute shot superbly save by Hamer, while – two minutes earlier – Andrews fired the ball just past the far post.
Watford responded by levelling in the 38th minute with another superb goal as Kone played a one-two with Mileta Rajovic before sending a curling shot from the left out of the reach of out-stretched goalkeeper Hazard.
There was still time for the hosts to regain the lead and again they did in style with Whittaker releasing Scottish striker Hardie through the middle of the Watford defence.
Hardie, who had earlier seen his 18th-minute effort come back off the post, raced forward before sending a low shot past Hamer, which gave the Watford stopper little chance as it flew off the surface and in.
In an end-to-end first half, both sides had other golden opportunities to score.
Hazard could do little when Andrews raced through on an incisive Jake Livermore through ball in the 57th minute to cleverly make it 3-3.
Andrews clipped the ball past marker Bali Mumba and then flicked it over Hazard to level.
Hamer made a top-drawer acrobatic save to keep the score to 3-3 as he went full-stretch to keep out Azaz’s 78th-minute goal-bound free-kick from the edge of the box as the spoils were shared.
Ten-man Stoke held promotion-chasing Ipswich to a goalless draw on New Year’s Day.
Midfielder Jordan Thompson was sent off in the second half for two bookable offences as the resilient hosts’ held on for a well-deserved point.
Southampton missed a glorious chance to slash Ipswich’s lead in second to just a point after they were held to a frustrating draw at Norwich.
Steven Schumacher, who took over the Potters last month, masterminded Plymouth’s Sky Bet League One-winning campaign last term as the Tractor Boys finished second.
The former Everton youngster frustrated Kieran McKenna once again as Ipswich’s winless run stretched to five – their longest in the league since April 2022.
For Stoke, they have now gone six games without defeat, but have only won one game in two months.
The Potteries fans were hopeful 2024 would spark a new dawn of results.
As much as they saw Town dominate the ball, it was the hosts who had the better chances in the contest.
They will be buoyed by the fighting spirit and resilience shown after going down to 10 men.
The hosts were the first to show their intent as Lewis Baker forced Vaclav Hladky into an early save.
Daniel Johnson received his first yellow card for a seventh-minute foul on Kayden Jackson.
Schumacher’s Stoke came close to an opener when Moroccan Ryan Mmaee’s volley was well kept out by Hladky.
Ipswich found their way into the contest as Conor Chaplin was denied by Jack Bonham.
Referee James Bell was replaced by the fourth official on the half-hour mark due to injury.
The hosts continued to threaten as half-time approached, with Baker again frustrated by Hladky after he cut onto his left foot before the Ipswich goalkeeper denied the midfielder in stoppage time.
McKenna’s visitors were quick out of the blocks after the break.
Bonham was strong at his near post to keep out Wes Burns’ strike, while at the other end, Dutchman Wouter Burger had a goal chalked off for offside on the hour mark.
But it was backs to the walls for the Potters after Thompson was sent off for a second yellow card when he felled Chaplin.
Burns then nodded over the bar at the back post from Sam Morsy’s cross as Ipswich pushed for a winner.
Ipswich huffed and puffed, but Stoke held firm for a valiant point.
Liam Cullen gave Swansea’s caretaker boss Alan Sheehan the perfect New Year’s gift as he scored the only goal in a home win over West Brom in atrocious conditions.
After a 5-0 drubbing at Southampton on Boxing Day and a 2-2 draw at Coventry three days later, it was a return to winning ways for the west Wales club thanks to Cullen’s 55th-minute strike.
The home side, still managerless after the departure of Michael Duff last month, made a solid start but despite many passes and much probing could not find a way through the Albion defensive lines.
Chances were few and far between in the first half, with Conor Townsend’s rasping shot from the left edge of the box after a wonderful through ball from Cedric Kipre forcing Carl Rushworth to stretch full length and tip the ball away for a corner in the 20th minute.
Swansea’s first chance fell to Cullen after a cross from the left by Josh Tymon but his header was saved before Jay Fulton’s first-time shot sailed wide.
The visitors should have replied soon after when Fulton gave the ball away and Brandon Thomas-Asante picked up the pieces and drove deep into the home half before crossing for Jayson Molumby to head over.
The impressive Tom Fellows then set-up Thomas-Asante for a clear run on goal with a brilliant turn and lay-off pass but he could only strike the ball straight at Rushworth.
Swansea must have had a stern half-time lecture from Sheehan because they were a side transformed after the break, moving the ball more quickly and were far more direct.
That caught Albion on the hop and Jamie Paterson’s volley from a cross from Charlie Patino was blocked.
Jut before the goal, a Paterson free-kick from the right was headed goalwards by Harry Darling and it took a brilliant reflex save from Alex Palmer to keep it out.
But the Swans now had real momentum and a Tymon cross from the left into the path of Jamal Lowe allowed him to force another good save out of Palmer.
From the corner, the ball was headed clear, only to be pumped back into the box by home skipper Matt Grimes. Darling rose high to head the ball down and Cullen was on hand to sweep the ball past Palmer.
Tymon then hit the right hand post with a chip shot before the visitors mounted pressure at the other end to try to rescue a point.
Wigan came from behind to take a point away from Oakwell in a 1-1 draw with Barnsley.
Devante Cole opened the scoring for the hosts with his 14th of the season before substitute Jonny Smith equalised late on with a spectacular effort.
The Latics should have broken the deadlock in the 18th minute when Martial Godo passed to Jordan Jones inside the box, but his effort flew over the crossbar.
Neill Collins’ outfit took the lead in the opening minute of first-half stoppage time. Good pressure from John McAtee released Adam Phillips in the right side of the box to find Cole, who tapped home.
Wigan wasted a clear-cut chance in the 52nd minute when a defensive error from Jordan Williams gave Josh Magennis a free shot on goal from 10 yards out, but the Latics captain fired wide of the goal.
The visitors equalised in the 87th minute when a short free-kick was passed to Smith on the edge of the box, who curled his effort into the top-left corner.
Patrick Bamford marked his first Leeds start of the season with the opening goal in a 3-0 win over struggling Birmingham at Elland Road.
It was far from the sort of free-flowing attacking football Leeds have been known for at home this season but it did not need to be against a fairly toothless Birmingham side.
The victory ended a run of two successive defeats for Daniel Farke’s side and increased the pressure on under-fire Birmingham boss Wayne Rooney, whose team continue to struggle at the wrong end of the Championship table.
Leeds claimed the lead just after half an hour as Bamford met a Dan James cross from the right with a perfectly timed header.
James doubled the home side’s lead in first-half stoppage time when his shot deflected past Birmingham goalkeeper John Ruddy.
Crysencio Summerville picked his spot for the third midway through the second half.
Dion Sanderson got in to block a Bamford shot as the home side threatened inside the first five minutes and was again in the right place to end a run by Georginio Rutter.
Birmingham were using the right wing to good effect and smart link-up play between Jay Stansfield and Oliver Burke almost saw the latter escape into open space and a run on goal.
Leeds were indebted to Joe Rodon’s covering interception to end a Siriki Dembele run behind the defence.
Summerville’s shot forced Ruddy into the game’s first real save after 25 minutes and James’ follow-up was blocked by Emmanuel Longelo.
Bamford opened the scoring with a well-placed header after 34 minutes as a James cross from the right picked out the striker and he rose above the Birmingham defence to head home.
Rodon again tidied up at the back to cut off Stansfield’s run as Birmingham tried to hit back on the break.
Ruddy got down to hold a James shot but was left helpless as the same player saw his stoppage-time effort deflect in off Lee Buchanan.
Leeds’ third-choice goalkeeper Kris Klaesson saved a Dembele shot to maintain his side’s two-goal advantage to the interval.
Birmingham should have pulled a goal back early in the second half as Dembele set Juninho Bacuna free with a pass on halfway. The finish was lacking as his chip over Klaesson was off target.
Ivan Sunjic fired just off target as Leeds failed to clear a corner before Bamford’s shot came back off the post and James’ follow-up hit Buchanan in the face with nearly an hour gone.
Leeds scored their third when Rutter set Junior Firpo away down the left and he pulled the ball back for Summerville to pick his spot from 12 yards.
Ruddy’s fingertip save denied Ethan Ampadu an injury-time fourth in what turned out to be a comfortable win for Leeds.
Carlisle moved off the bottom of the League One table after coming from behind to beat Port Vale 2-1 .
Jon Mellish scored the winner in the third minute of stoppage time after Jordan Gibson’s penalty in the 80th minute cancelled out Ben Garrity’s opener just after half-time.
The hosts had the better of the first-half chances and nearly broke the deadlock in the 11th minute when Sean Maguire was denied by Connor Ripley.
Ripley produced another excellent save in the 38th minute, getting his fingertips to Gibson’s effort.
Moments later, Carlisle defender Sam Lavelle stepped out of defence and laid the ball off to Taylor Charters who advanced and shot narrowly wide.
Gibson’s acrobatic attempt went over shortly after the restart as the Cumbrians carried on where they left off, but they soon found themselves behind as Garrity got on the end of Ethan Chislett’s low cross into the box for his ninth league goal of the season.
Maguire came close to scoring an equaliser almost immediately, but he turned Gibson’s cross just wide.
Down at the other end, Gabriel Breeze palmed away a powerful effort from James Wilson and recovered quickly to block Chislett’s follow-up.
Gibson brought Carlisle level with 10 minutes of normal time remaining, sending Ripley the wrong way from the penalty spot after Jack Robinson was fouled in the area.
And the home fans were sent into raptures in the dying moments as Mellish headed home Robinson’s cross to secure all three points.
Ricky Jade-Jones scored in stoppage time to give Peterborough a dramatic 3-2 win at rival League One promotion hopefuls Derby.
Derby made a dream start with Tom Barkhuizen crossing for James Collins to head past Fynn Talley after only 22 seconds.
But Peterborough hit back in the ninth minute when Kwame Poku got away on the right and picked out Harrison Burrows who found the bottom-left corner from 15 yards.
Peterborough’s pace and movement was unsettling Derby and Ephron Mason-Clark and Jade-Jones missed good chances.
Both teams looked a threat and after Collins headed straight at Talley, Joel Randall forced Joe Wildsmith into a diving save in the 42nd minute.
Posh had another chance in the 50th minute but Randall fired over from eight yards.
Derby took advantage 10 minutes later when Hector Kyprianou handled a free-kick in the area and although Collins’ penalty was saved, he headed in the rebound.
But Peterborough equalised in the 84th minute through Poku’s header and Jade-Jones pounced from close range in the third minute of added time to snatch the points.
Skipper Shaun Hutchinson struck an added-time winner to give Millwall a 1-0 Championship victory over Bristol City in a drab contest at Ashton Gate.
The centre-back went forward for a corner from the right deep into five minutes of stoppage time and, when City failed to clear, thumped a sweet left-footed volley past Max O’Leary from 12 yards.
It was enough to settle a poor quality game in which both sides struggled to create meaningful openings.
That did not worry the 600 travelling Millwall fans, who celebrated wildly at the final whistle after seeing their team continue their recent run of good results.
Both sides adopted an unadventurous approach in a drab first half, which was bereft of clear-cut chances.
Jason Knight headed wide from a Matty James corner after 11 minutes for City before producing the one save of note from Matija Sarkic.
The Millwall goalkeeper did well to dive to his right and get a firm hand to Knight’s 17th-minute downward header.
Striker Tom Bradshaw had the visitors’ only first-half goal effort when his low 22nd-minute attempt was blocked by centre-back Rob Dickie.
Andreas Weimann hit twoshots wide for City, but for all their possession Liam Manning’s side lacked tempo to their attacks and a telling final ball.
The last 15 minutes of the half were played out without a scoring opportunity and there was little to encourage supporters of either team on a cold afternoon.
Millwall threatened at the start of the second period. Ryan Leonard saw a low drive blocked by George Tanner and Murray Wallace sent a powerful header over the bar.
Manning responded with two substitutions after 54 minutes, sending on Mark Sykes and Taylor Gardner-Hickman for Weimann and James.
Still Millwall pressed and Wallace was wide with another header as the match finally showed signs of warming up.
Visiting boss Joe Edwards made his first change after 62 minutes, with Aidomo Emakhu replacing Duncan Watmore.
If anything, the play became more scrappy, with passing errors on both sides. O’Leary made his first save after 76 minutes, dealing comfortably with a Brooke Norton-Cuffy header.
City lost Sykes to injury a minute later, Harry Cornick replacing the substitute.
There was still no bite to their attacks and a goalless draw looked certain until Hutchinson’s dramatic late contribution.
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