Spot-kick storm as Afobe keeps Lions in promotion hunt

GARY ROWETT will take a point wherever he can find it, even a dodgy penalty in the eighth minute of added time.

Millwall are still on the play-off trail thanks to referee Leigh Doughty, who decided that Gary Gardner fouled Jake Cooper and pointed to the spot.

Benik Afobe (below) converted and cancelled out an equally soft penalty from the home side when Lyle Taylor went down under a challenge from George Saville, then picked himself up to score from the spot.

Lions boss Rowett reckoned neither of them should have been given, while counterpart

Lee Bowyer queried the one against his side.

Rowett said: “Neither were penalties in my opinion. But that point could be huge. We can’t slip up and we need other teams to slip up.

“We have to take care of our business.

“At that late stage we needed a lifeline and while we didn’t do the basics well we have got fabulous desire.”

Birmingham took the lead through Juninho Bacuna after the visitors tried to play their way out of the area, before Oliver Burke levelled it up.

Bowyer said: “I hope this has shut up some people who say the players don’t play for me. You see that performance there – it was great to have the reaction we did.

“It was a physical game and two good honest teams giving it everything. I thought from start to finish we competed.”

The woodwork was Millwall’s friend in the first half. Gary Gardner’s early freekick whacked a post and away to safety while Bacuna, racing on to Onel Hernandez’s pass, saw his effort end in similar fashion.

The Lions are play-off dark horses, one in a pack chasing the top six after two defeats in 14 – and managed by ex- Birmingham boss Rowett. They brought a sell-out to St Andrew’s but the final whistle saw some altercations, with suggestions that seats had been ripped out and thrown.

Rowett said: “I could see something but couldn’t see if it was both fans or one set. Clubs will look at it. You don’t want to see that.

“My daughter was in the away end. That is up to the clubs to get some clarity.”

BIRMINGHAM: Etheridge 7; Friend 6, Roberts 7, Gordon 6; Colin 6, Sunjic 6, Gardner 7, Bela 6 (Graham 81st); Bacuna 7; Hernandez 8, Taylor 7

MILLWALL: Bialkowski 6; Ballard 6, Cooper 7, M Wallace 7; McNamara 6 (Leonard 87th), Kieftenbeld 7, Saville 6, Hutchinson 6 (Bennett (62nd) 6); Burke 7, Afobe 6; Bradshaw 7 (Burey 79th)

STAR MAN: Onel Hernandez

REF: L Doughty