Archer adds string to his bow

JORDAN ARCHER let his gloves do the talking in the fight to be Millwall’s No.1 with a great display.

The keeper is a target for the boo-boys in the stands following a series of high-profile mistakes last season, forcing the club to bring in Ben Amos as competition.

And Archer has responded to the challenge in style, to the delight of Millwall boss Neil Harris.

He said: “Jordan did not have the best of seasons last time – on the back of two very good years – and Ben has been brought in and has been outstanding in pre-season.

“Jordan has got the nod from me in their 50-50 battle for the place and he was strong last week and outstanding today.

“He has taken his game to a new level and set a very high standard today that I now expect from him every week.”

The home side had the ball for long periods but lacked a cutting edge up front in contrast to Harris’ side who made the most of their possession, hitting the woodwork twice in the first half.

Tony Mowbray’s men took until the final three minutes of the first half to get going when Bradley Dack was brought down by Shaun Williams and the midfielder drew a brilliant save from Archer from the resulting free-kick.

Darragh Lenihan came even closer with the last attack before the break when his looping header beat the Scotland international only to bounce off the crossbar.

The home side continued to crank up the pressure after the restart with Danny Graham twice beating Millwall defenders in a foot race to through-balls from Dack only to be denied by the impressive Archer, who also spectacularly tipped behind a thunderbolt from substitute Joe Rothwell.

With the visitors unable to hold the ball for any length of time and the home side unable to get past the unbeatable Archer, both sides had to settle for a point.

Mowbray said: “We will take the point and the positives that come with it, such as we created enough chances to win the game in the second half.

“On another day I think Danny Graham would have put one of those one-on-ones away. But their keeper was almost like Peter Schmeichel the way he dashed out and spread himself star-shaped.”