Harris hails battling Lions after Bristol City point

Neil Harris praised the “character and resilience” of his Millwall team after they had come from behind to earn a battling 1-1 Championship draw at Bristol City.

Already with half a dozen members of their first-team squad on the injured list, the Lions had Aiden O’Brien carried off with a knee problem, while Shaun Williams damaged ankle ligaments in volleying the equaliser and Steve Morison strained a hamstring late on.

“I’m thinking of re-registering myself as a player,” joked manager Harris after the game. “Anyone else fancy playing up front next Saturday?

“We are very stretched in terms of numbers, but what I do know is that I have lads desperate to play and that will get us through.

“The character shown after going behind today was tremendous. It was just the response I asked for because we weren’t ourselves in the previous game against Birmingham City.

“Bristol played some really good football at times. But Shaun Hutchinson was the best player on the pitch and we defended well throughout.

“To be competitive in this division all my players have to be on their game. That wasn’t the case against Birmingham, but we have now put that performance behind us.

“Now we have to continue the same way against Hull City at The Den. While that game is not make-or-break at this stage of  the season, it is very important.”

City looked set for all three points when Nicklas Eliasson’s 52nd-minute cross was miscued into his own net by Jake Cooper in trying to clear.

Famara Diedhiou had hit the crossbar in the first half, but Lee Johnson’s men lacked the punch up front to make the points safe.

They paid the penalty on 78 minutes when Morison headed the ball into the path of midfielder Williams, who laced home a thumping volley from 12 yards.

City head coach Johnson admitted frustration, but insisted: “There were plenty of positives for us.

“A lot of the performance pleased me. It’s no secret that we need a bit extra at the top end of the pitch and we may have to trade in the January transfer window to bring that about.

“But we are still at a building stage and I’m happy with the progress we are making. We have rediscovered our mojo in the last two games and four points is a decent return.

“Of course, I am frustrated because one lapse in concentration had cost us a win in a match we controlled for long periods.

“But we aren’t far away from being a very good side. Our fans have gone home disappointed, which is a shame because we want to be loved.

“All I can say is that we have sufficient good players to be able to trade in January and I hope we can take another step forward then.”