Manager Tony Mowbray felt Sunderland ‘dominated’ their 1-1 draw with Millwall despite relying on a late Jack Clarke penalty to rescue a point at The Den.

Kevin Nisbet gave Millwall a deserved lead after a superb delivery from Arsenal loanee Brooke Norton-Cuffy.

However, Clarke scored his 10th goal of the season with 12 minutes left to rescue a point for
the Black Cats, though Millwall’s Tom Bradshaw did have a goal disallowed for offside in the closing stages.

The result means Joe Edwards is still without a win at The Den since taking charge of The Lions while Sunderland are winless in three.

Mowbray said: “I thought we dominated the game, probably from start to finish apart from the last 10 minutes after we scored.

“You would expect us to be like The Alamo and go and get the winner but it was the other way really.

“We don’t look like we are going to score a goal and yet we can control the game. I think they had isolated breakaways, it is what they can do and it is ok.

“I think we dominated for long spells without looking like we were going to score.

“We don’t look like we are going to score a goal, why is that?

“I think it is because we have young attacking players, inexperienced attacking players who are not really ready to play for our team.

“And yet we have to play them and we are playing them and we are not suffering the results but we are trying to develop them and get them up to speed to be able to be a striker in the Championship.”

Jobe Bellingham, younger brother of Real Madrid star Jude, was an unused substitute.

Mowbray admitted he has a duty of care and does not want to overplay the 18-year-old.

The draw leaves Sunderland in ninth while Millwall are in 19th.

Edwards felt his side were always in the game despite enjoying far less possession.

He said: “I thought Sunderland started the game well and then we grew and after we got the first goal I felt there was a noticeable change in the team.

“We looked confident, the fans supported us well and it felt like we were building some nice momentum, although they pretty much dominated possession throughout the game.

“We always posed a threat and we looked confident in our defending.

“The way they use width and the wide players in their team, it causes everyone problems but I felt we dealt with it well.

“When you lead a game for so long and you don’t win it feels disappointing but I think you have to respect that they did have a lot of control of the game.

“In the second half, they mounted a lot of pressure as an away team so for me it is just areas where we can improve. I thought we did so well without the ball.

“We posed a threat on the break and in transition but I think we have just got to keep bridging that gap so we don’t have to play at our max like that just to take a point at home.”

Jack Clarke’s penalty denied Joe Edwards his first home win as Millwall manager and rescued a 1-1 draw for Sunderland at The Den.

Kevin Nisbet gave the hosts a deserved lead after an energetic first half in South London.

However, Clarke equalised from the penalty spot with 12 minutes left, much to the delight of the travelling Sunderland supporters behind the goal.

Arsenal loanee Brooke Norton-Cuffy had the first shot on target of the match but his tame effort was straight down the throat of Anthony Patterson in the Sunderland goal.

The home fans were calling for a red card after a crunching challenge from Mason Burstow but the forward escaped with a booking.

Millwall won a corner a minute later but Jake Cooper could not get any power behind his header and Patterson caught it with ease.

The Lions were growing into the game and with 10 minutes left of the first half, Norton-Cuffy whipped a superb ball across goal.

Zian Flemming could not get on the end of it but it was a sign of what was to come.

Ryan Leonard fired a sensational long-range effort just wide of the bottom-left post and George Saville forced Patterson into action as the hosts continued to push for the opener.

It finally came on the stroke of half-time when Nisbet tapped the ball past Patterson after another fantastic delivery from Norton-Cuffy.

Sunderland won a free-kick four minutes after half-time but they could not get a touch on Adil Aouchiche’s solid delivery.

The ball eventually fell to Abdoullah Ba but his strike went well wide of Millwall’s goal.

It could have been 2-0 in the 57th minute when confusion in the Sunderland defence set Norton-Cuffy free down the right wing but he scuffed his cut-back and the attack petered out.

The Black Cats had an excellent chance to equalise after a dangerous run from Clarke but Bradley Dack stabbed the ball wide from close range.

Patterson produced a phenomenal save moments later to deny Tom Bradshaw, whose curling effort seemed destined for the bottom-right corner.

Clarke had come alive down the left wing and just as the game seemed to be slipping away from Sunderland, he won a penalty before coolly converting it to get his side back on level terms.

Bradshaw could have restored Millwall’s lead after being put through on goal but another top-quality stop from Patterson kept the score at 1-1.

He finally found the back of the net at the third time of asking but the forward was judged to have been offside and both sides had to settle for a point.

Ipswich bounced back to winning ways following their first league defeat in 12 games with a thumping 3-1 victory over struggling Millwall.

The Tractor Boys were two goals to the good after just 12 minutes through Conor Chaplin and Massimo Luongo and Nathan Broadhead got the third six minutes before the break.

Kevin Nisbet registered a consolation goal for the visitors 12 minutes from time.

The result kept Town’s lead over third-placed Leeds to seven points and moved Kieran McKenna’s side to within a point of leaders Leicester.

Millwall meanwhile were left in the lower echelons of the Championship table, sitting 19th after suffering back-to-back defeats.

The opening goal came after a fine move down the right wing.

Sam Morsy found Wes Burns and the Welshman got past Millwall full-back Ryan Longman and crossed for George Hirst at the far post, who headed the ball down for Chaplin to rifle home after just five minutes.

Seven minutes later Ipswich made it 2-0 when slick interplay from Chaplin, Hirst and Burns resulted in the ball being laid off to Luongo who fired through a crowded penalty area.

Another break down the right by Burns almost resulted in a third goal. The wide man crossed for Hirst, whose first-time shot was acrobatically tipped over the bar by Millwall goalkeeper Bartosz Bialkowski.

Ipswich keeper Vaclav Hladky had to get down smartly to gather a shot from Longman as the visitors tried to get back into the game but, at the other end, Burns struck the left-hand post with a fierce shot from just inside the penalty area.

Morsy fired over the bar from an acute angle and moments later Town went further in front.

It came after Cameron Burgess surged forward and fed the ball out to Leif Davis, whose pinpoint cross was powerfully headed back across Bialkowski.

There was some pushing and shoving on the touchline when Millwall substitute George Honeyman fouled Broadhead and Hirst’s ambitious attempt at goal from 25 yards out had Bialkowski leaping high to see the ball sail over the bar.

Bialkowski came to the rescue of the Lions again when he tipped over a shot from Chaplin and Luongo fired narrowly wide as Town tried to find a fourth goal.

Millwall grabbed a consolation in the 78th minute when Nisbet expertly guided the ball home following a cross by Longman.

On-loan striker Jay Stansfield’s second-half goal rescued a point for Birmingham against Millwall to maintain the club’s unbeaten start to the Championship season.

Stansfield grabbed his second in two league games after Kevin Nisbet had given the Lions an early lead.

Birmingham’s Scott Hogan could have equalised deep into first-half stoppage time but his penalty was saved.

The West Midlands side started brightly with Lee Buchanan’s dangerous left-wing cross heading for Hogan but the City striker was quickly crowded out.

Juninho Bacuna then sliced high and wide as it looked like the home side were taking control.

But the visitors struck after just six minutes.

City keeper John Ruddy got a hand to Nisbet’s 22-yard free-kick but could not keep it out after Kevin Long had fouled Tom Bradshaw.

Stansfield glanced a header wide of Millwall keeper Matija Sarkic’s back post before Bradshaw’s effort sailed over Ruddy’s bar.

Bacuna went close twice in as many minutes as the hosts battled to get back on terms.

Blues skipper Dion Sanderson headed over Keshi Anderson’s free-kick at the back post when he should have hit the target.

Millwall thought they had gone 2-0 up after 20 minutes.

Ryan Leonard fired in a George Saville corner but the spectacular strike was disallowed after his volley was judged to have hit Jake Cooper who was standing in an offside position.

The home crowd grew restless as opportunities dried up with the visitors defending resolutely.

However, Birmingham were awarded a penalty five minutes into stoppage time in the first-half after Sarkic fouled Anderson as he latched on to a slide-rule Bacuna pass.

But the goalkeeper made amends as he dived to his right to brilliantly save Hogan’s spot-kick – and Ivan Sunjic shot wide from the rebound.

The equaliser came eight minutes after the restart.

Stansfield hammered a stunning shot into the bottom left-hand corner after he ran on to an outstanding reverse pass from Bacuna.

And Stansfield, on loan from Fulham, almost put Birmingham ahead minutes later but his fierce attempt was well dealt with by Sarkic.

Millwall still posed a danger and Ruddy had to be alert to smother Saville’s 25-yard effort on his line.

City midfielder Krystian Bielik headed away Brooke Norton-Cuffy’s attempt as the frantic contest continued to swing from end to end.

Sarkic acted quickly to cut out Sunjic’s drilled cross into the six-yard box in the closing minutes.

A final chance fell to left-back Buchanan who blasted high and wide as Birmingham pushed forward hunting a late winner.

Hibernian are braced for the departure of Kevin Nisbet after Sky Bet Championship club Millwall had another offer for the Scotland striker accepted.

The London club tried to sign the 26-year-old in January but he decided to remain at Easter Road as he had only recently returned from a nine-month lay-off with a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament.

However, Nisbet – who was recalled to the Scotland squad this week after scoring 12 goals in the season just finished following his return from injury in December – admitted last week that there was a good chance he would be moving on this summer.

The former Partick Thistle, Raith Rovers and Dunfermline forward, who has a year left on his contract, has now been given another chance to speak with Millwall after their latest offer was accepted by the Hibees.

Hibs will definitely be without another key player for the start of next term after confirming on Thursday that Chris Cadden has ruptured his Achilles and will be out for “a significant period of time”.

The right-back was carried off in the second half of last Saturday’s cinch Premiership draw away to Hearts, with the club immediately fearing the worst.

Hibs revealed on Thursday that Cadden has already had surgery on his Achilles as he starts a recovery process that is expected to run deep into next season.

The Edinburgh club also announced that Jake Doyle-Hayes, who was forced off 16 minutes prior to Cadden in last weekend’s showdown at Tynecastle, has damaged his shoulder girdle.

The Irish midfielder is set to miss the start of pre-season but the Hibees are “hopeful” that he will be available for the start of competitive action.

“Firstly, I would like to wish Cadds and Jake a speedy recovery,” manager Lee Johnson told Hibs’ website.

“Everyone is devastated for Cadds and I know he will be going through a difficult time, but as staff and players, we have to rally around him and give him as much support as possible.

“We have a first-class medical department at the club that will help him through his recovery and ensure he comes back fitter and stronger.

“With Jake, this type of injury was the best-case scenario. Unfortunately, it looks like he will miss the start of pre-season, but we know how determined he is to return as quickly as possible, so he can have a big impact for us next season.”

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