Millwall 3-4 Blackburn Rovers: Lions denied play-off spot by Rovers comeback

Ben Brereton Diaz had gone 8 nine games without a extremity earlier his treble for Blackburn astatine The Den

Millwall dropped retired of the Championship play-off places aft a stunning second-half fightback from Blackburn Rovers saw the visitors travel backmost from 2 goals down to triumph 4-3 connected a melodramatic last day.

Joe Rankin-Costello pounced connected a escaped shot successful the container to propulsion 1 backmost for Blackburn soon aft the restart and Ben Brereton Diaz made it 3-3 successful the 63rd infinitesimal with a curling changeable from 20 yards out.

That sparked a frantic finale arsenic Millwall sought a victor which would salvage a top-six spot, but Blackburn had the amended chances.

Brereton Diaz tapped successful to circular disconnected a counter-attack with conscionable 4 minutes remaining and headdress a singular turnaround.

Millwall had started the time successful sixth but dropped to eighth arsenic Sunderland moved supra the Lions, courtesy of their 3-0 triumph astatine Preston, and Blackburn finished seventh connected extremity difference.

• Relive the last time of the Championship season

Millwall's triumph astatine Blackpool connected 28 April meant Gary Rowett's broadside knew that a final-day triumph would beryllium capable to unafraid a play-off berth, portion Rovers - who had slipped to ninth aft an eight-match winless tally - had to instrumentality each 3 points and anticipation different results went their mode to decorativeness sixth.

The hosts made an assertive commencement successful beforehand of a raucous assemblage and took the pb successful the eighth infinitesimal erstwhile a agelong propulsion from Zian Flemming recovered its mode done to Watmore, who crashed successful his changeable disconnected the crossbar.

Tom Bradshaw thought helium had made it 2-0 3 minutes aboriginal aft tapping successful aft a Flemming free-kick which came backmost disconnected the left-hand upright, but an offside emblem denied the Welsh striker his 18th league extremity of the season.

Blackburn levelled erstwhile Wharton squeezed successful a curling left-footed changeable from 25 yards out, yet Millwall appeared to beryllium successful afloat power astatine half-time aft capitalising connected antiaircraft errors to nett doubly successful the abstraction of 3 minutes.

First Watmore converted from a constrictive space aft a mix-up betwixt Harry Pickering and goalkeeper Aynsley Pears and past Burke picked up an errant walk and precocious guardant to sprout debased into the bottommost left-hand corner.

Rovers instrumentality stuns Lions

However, Blackburn were a squad transformed aft the interruption and got backmost into the crippled erstwhile a Brereton Diaz free-kick was palmed distant by George Long and, aft a follow-up effort from Callum Brittain had been blocked, Rankin-Costello poked in.

Brereton Diaz ended his eight-game extremity drought successful the league to marque it 3-3 and astir enactment Rovers backmost successful beforehand a infinitesimal aboriginal arsenic Millwall mislaid their grip connected the contest.

The Chile planetary recovered abstraction successful the container and curled against the right-hand upright earlier Tyrhys Dolan sent the rebound backmost crossed the bare extremity and bobbling wide.

Scott Malone past cleared a goalbound header from Brereton Diaz disconnected the underside of his ain crossbar, portion an progressively hopeless Millwall offered small successful attack.

Substitute Tyler Burey did unit a prevention from Pears but Blackburn rapidly broke distant and Sammie Szmodics centred the shot for Brereton Diaz to pat into an bare nett and permission the location assemblage stunned into silence.

Ultimately Blackburn's triumph proved to beryllium successful vain and Millwall's mediocre signifier successful the run-in, which saw them prime up conscionable 2 wins successful their last 9 games, means their exile from the apical formation volition proceed into a 34th year.