Spitting claim as Hammers grab point in heated reunion with rivals Millwall

The Metropolitan Police had 400 officers on hand to ensure there was no repeat of the violence that has marred this fixture in previous seasons.

Police holding back Millwall fans at the final whistle after the Sky Bet Championship match at the The Den, London. Picture: Steven Paston/PA Wire. 

Championship: Millwall 2 West Ham 2

West Ham came from two goals down to snatch a draw from a heated London derby at Millwall. The Lions were leading at half-time through goals from Caleb Taylor and Camiel Neghli, but the visitors hit back through Mohamadou Kanté and Konstantinos Mavropanos.

The Hammers, sitting top of the Championship and looking for a fifth straight win, finished their first meeting with their fierce rivals since 2012 with 10 men after Kanté saw red.

The Metropolitan Police had 400 officers on hand, having thrown a ring of steel around part of London to ensure there was no repeat of the violence that has marred this fixture in previous seasons. There were no immediate reports of any trouble, while West Ham showed no appetite for a fight on the pitch in a timid first half.

It took 15 seconds for Jenson Metcalfe to set the tone, going in hard on the West Ham captain, Jarrod Bowen. In years gone by a Mark Noble, a Julian Dicks or a Billy Bonds would have reciprocated, but West Ham did not put a tackle in throughout the first half.

Millwall went ahead in the 16th minute with a suitably scruffy strike befitting the occasion after Lyndon Dykes caused chaos with a long throw into the box. With Mavropanos off the pitch after receiving treatment, no one dealt with the ball until it fell at the feet of Mark Sykes, whose point-blank shot produced a superb stop from Mads Hermansen, but Taïryk Arconte got to the loose ball first and lifted it back across goal for Taylor to leather home at the far post.

It took West Ham 33 minutes to have a touch inside the Millwall penalty area and Millwall kept pouring forward and were inches from a second when, in first-half stoppage time, Sykes’s 30-yard drive was touched on to the crossbar by Hermansen. There was still time for Millwall to go in at half-time two ahead after another long Dykes throw, the ball this time falling to Neghli to tuck away.

West Ham United's Jarrod Bowen at the final whistle after the Sky Bet Championship match at the The Den, London. Picture: Steven Paston/PA Wire. 

The West Ham manager, Nuno Espírito Santo, threw on Kanté and Pablo Felipe at the break to add a bit of muscle to his fragile side. Bowen finally got a shot away in the 52nd minute, with the Millwall goalkeeper, Filip Marschall, spilling the deflected effort on his Championship debut and Kanté just unable to get to the rebound.

Marschall did well to keep out a close-range header from Pablo, but he was beaten in the 74th minute when Kanté pinged a low drive into the corner. Bowen hit the side-netting before West Ham hauled themselves level with 10 minutes left when Mavropanos headed home Manor Solomon’s cross.

West Ham looked likeliest to find a winner until the last man Kanté was sent off for pulling back Kyrell Lisbie as he raced through on goal.

Afterwards, Hammers striker Taty Castellanos was accused of spitting at Millwall goalkeeper Filip Marschall. Marschall lodged a complaint with the match officials, including Premier League referee Paul Tierney, after the incident in the 65th minute.

With West Ham trailing 2-0, Argentinian Castellanos came to close down Marschall as he held on to the ball.

The players clashed and then Marschall, on his Championship debut, appeared to point at his shirt, gesturing that he had been spat at.

Lions boss Alex Neil said: “I haven’t asked him about it, but it’s like anything else, I’m sure there’ll be footage of it, or not of it if it didn’t happen.

“I’d be extremely surprised if Filip’s made an accusation and nothing’s happened. But that’s not really for me to deal with, I’m sure the authorities will deal with it.

“I didn’t know what had happened, I’d just seen Filip walking out with the ball and thinking, ‘Where’s he going?’ “And then the fourth official basically said that there was an accusation of spitting. So, yeah, I don’t know.” 

Castellanos could face a six-match ban if he is found to have spat at Marschall, which would be a huge blow to West Ham’s promotion bid.

Hammers boss Nuno Espirito Santo said: “I’m aware of the allegation, I didn’t see the images, I didn’t speak with Taty.

“I cannot go much further on that, I’m sorry. For me to answer that, I have to see it. I’m going to look at the images. I cannot answer.” 

MILLWALL: Marschall, Osei-Tutu, Taylor, Cooper, Sturge, Metcalfe (Servais 81), Mazou-Sacko (Cundle 91), Sykes (Baggott 70), Dykes, Neghli, Arconte (Lisbie 81).

WEST HAM UNITED: Hermansen, Walker-Peters (Kante 46), Mavropanos, Kilman, Morato, Bowen, Engels, Mukasa (Austbo 68), Solomon, Piroe (Pablo Felipe 46), Castellanos (Orford 91).