Millwall head coach Joe Edwards was left wondering what his side have to do to win at home after they were denied right at the death by Huddersfield in a 1-1 draw.
The Lions were within seconds of just a second victory in 12 games and their first at The Den since September after Brooke Norton-Cuffy had bundled in an untidy opener that was in keeping with a lot of the action.
Instead, they were left cursing their luck after Delano Burgzorg buried a penalty in the seventh minute of stoppage time to earn the Terriers an equaliser they had hardly threatened.
The draw moved both teams two points clear of the relegation zone, thanks to more late drama elsewhere between fellow strugglers Sheffield Wednesday and QPR.
Edwards said: “We looked like we could have got the second but as we know whenever that scoreline is 1-0 you’re at risk, particularly when you’re in this run that we’re in.
“To lose it like that to probably an unnecessary set-piece down in the corner, then a deflection onto someone’s hand, without feeling sorry for ourselves, it feels like that’s how it’s going for us at the moment.
“We’ve conceded goals at Ipswich and Leicester where we’ve got six bodies in front of the ball and it’s deflected in or going through and it’s in our net.
“The ball goes in our box and that [the penalty] happens and it’s incredibly frustrating because I thought, in what was probably a poor game, we were the better team that looked like the home team going to try and win it.
“I thought we deserved to in general and it feels like two points dropped, for sure.”
In a tense first half that lacked quality, the closest either team came was when Millwall’s Zian Flemming had an effort from 25 yards pushed away by Huddersfield goalkeeper Lee Nicholls.
It was the Lions who broke through after 57 minutes when Nicholls saved Tom Bradshaw’s header before getting down to Norton-Cuffy’s follow-up but he couldn’t prevent the Arsenal loanee forcing in his second attempt.
Soon after Nicholls was forced off with a head injury, his replacement Chris Maxwell made a double save from fellow substitutes Duncan Watmore and Joe Bryan.
This turned out to be vital as Huddersfield were awarded the latest of penalties when George Saville handled Josh Koroma’s shot and Burgzorg held his nerve.
Huddersfield boss Darren Moore said: “The boys faced a bit of adversity but such is the character and the spirit within the team to keep the commitment and endeavour and keep pushing forward.
“I took the captain off [Jonathan Hogg] to get another attacker on the pitch and it’s always nice when you get your just rewards.
“I know it was late in the game but we always showed an attacking intent to come here and respond from Tuesday night [against Preston].
“I suppose it was points shared but from our point of view it was what we deserved.
“We didn’t feel we did ourselves any justice on Tuesday night in terms of how we approached the game, so we wanted to be more on the front foot today.
“We wanted to be showing more of ourselves and I thought they showed that but it was the right response from our perspective from Tuesday night.”
Al-Ahli 1-2 Al-Hilal: Mitrovic double keeps Saudi champions perfect
Aleksandar Mitrovic proved to be the difference once again for Al-Hilal as the reigning Saudi Pro League champions beat Al-Ahli 2-1 on Saturday.
Al-Ahil went in front with 12 minutes played when Gabri Veiga was sent through on goal by Franck Kessie, with the Spaniard rounding Yassine Bounou to open the scoring at King Abdullah Sports City.
The hosts went close to doubling their advantage soon after, with Riyad Mahrez and Ivan Toney going close, before Sergej Milinkovic-Savic saw his effort cleared off the line at the other end.
But parity was restored early in the second half through Al-Hilal's master marksman, as Mitrovic nodded home a trademark header from Renan Lodi's delivery.
Al-Ahil were then awarded a penalty when Rayan Hamed fouled Malcom inside the box, only for Mitrovic to see his effort saved by Abdulrahman Al Sanbi.
However, the Serbian was given the chance to redeem himself after the VAR deemed encroachment had taken place, and he made no mistake at the second time of asking to net his 14th goal of the season in all competitions.
Data Debrief: Mitrovic the main man
Mitrovic has been in fine form since his move to Saudi Arabia, with his latest double taking his tally to 54 goals in as many appearances for Al-Hilal.
This time out, he contributed 1.16 expected goals (xG) tally to the visitors' 2.24 total, while also recording the most touches in the opposition box (six).
Malcom also impressed for Al-Hilal, creating more chances (three) than anyone on the pitch, with his 14 passes into the final third a total only bettered by Ruben Neves (18) and Salem Al Dawsari (15) among his team-mates.
Championship: Sheff Utd joint-top after win over Luton, Rooney sent off but Plymouth prevail
Sheffield United maintained their unbeaten start in the Championship and moved joint-top of the table with a 2-0 home win over Luton Town.
Jesurun Rak-Sakyi marked his 22nd birthday in style, scoring a goal in each half, as the Blades brushed aside their struggling visitors on Saturday.
The youngster was denied in the opening stages, but still ensured United got off to a strong start, firing in an emphatic finish after just 12 minutes.
He then got his second just seven minutes after the restart, sliding it through Thomas Kaminski's legs.
The Blades should have had a third late on when Vinicius Souza struck the post, but they had already done enough to take advantage of Sunderland dropping points on Friday to join them on 19 points at the summit.
Luton, meanwhile, are winless in three as they sit just above the relegation zone in 21st place.
Elsewhere, Plymouth Argyle snatched a dramatic 2-1 home win over Blackburn Rovers, after manager Wayne Rooney had been sent off.
Michael Obafemi's 15th-minute goal looked enough to secure a win until Joe Rankin-Costello equalised with four minutes left of normal time.
Rooney was subsequently sent to the stands for his protests as he felt there was a foul in the build-up, meaning he was not on the touchline when Morgan Whittaker headed in a last-gasp winner in the seventh minute of stoppage time.
Watford also secured a late victory, with Tom Cleverley's side coming from behind to beat Middlesbrough 2-1 at Vicarage Road.
It initially looked like they were in danger of falling to a second consecutive defeat, having failed to create chances before George Edmundson took advantage of slack defending to put Boro ahead.
However, the Hornets' substitutions swung the game back in their favour, with Edo Kayembe pulling them level before Kwadwo Baah's half-volley secured the points in the 87th minute.
Al-Nassr 3-0 Al-Orubah: Mane double helps hosts close in on leaders
Sadio Mane scored a goal in either half, helping Al-Nassr cruise to a 3-0 win over Al-Orubah and close in on the top two in the Saudi Pro League.
Cristiano Ronaldo had given the hosts the lead from the spot, setting them on their way to a dominant victory.
After a slow start, Jean Seri was penalised for a handball, and Ronaldo made no mistake from the spot. After a stuttering run-up, he coolly slotted his strike into the bottom-left corner.
Mane got his first on the stroke of half-time, latching onto Ronaldo's pull-back before firing his low shot into the far side of the net.
He could have had a hat-trick, having also hit the woodwork and squandered a first-time shot by slicing it wide, but he did get his second in the 71st minute, guiding Nawaf Bu Washi's cross past Gaetan Coucke.
Cristian Tello came closest to a consolation for the visitors, smashing a long-range effort off the crossbar.
Data Debrief: Mane's time to shine
Mane, so far this season, has been providing the spark as a playmaker after registering five assists in Al-Nassr's first five games in the Saudi Pro League.
Today, however, he regained his scoring touch, getting his first two goals of the campaign.
He had the most shots (five), and shots on target (three), as he accumulated 0.97 expected goals (xG), while his seven touches in the box was the most of any player on the field.
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