West Ham United preserved their place in the Championship's top two with a dramatic 2-2 comeback draw at Millwall on Sunday. The Hammers trailed by two goals at half-time but fought back with strikes from Mohamadou Kante and Konstantinos Mavropanos, only for Kante to be sent off late on.
Nuno Espirito Santo's side remain second in the table on 15 points, just two behind leaders Swansea City. The point was secured despite a difficult first half at The Den, where West Ham had not won a league match since 1988.
A disastrous first half
Millwall took the lead after 16 minutes when Caleb Taylor found the net. The hosts doubled their advantage deep into first-half stoppage time, with Camiel Neghli scoring to make it 2-0. West Ham's best chance of the opening period came just before the break when Mark Sykes struck the crossbar from 35 yards.
Nuno responded with a double change at half-time, introducing Kante and Pablo. The substitutions changed the game's momentum. Jarrod Bowen forced a save from Millwall goalkeeper Filip Marschall seven minutes after the restart, and Marschall produced a spectacular one-handed stop to deny Pablo's header in the 67th minute.
The match was briefly halted around the 65th minute following an allegation from Marschall that West Ham forward Taty Castellanos had spat at him. Play resumed without any disciplinary action being taken.
The comeback and the red card
West Ham's pressure finally told in the 74th minute. Pablo provided the assist for Kante, who scored a fine goal to halve the deficit. Six minutes later, the Hammers were level. Manor Solomon set up Konstantinos Mavropanos, who netted his fourth goal of the season to make it 2-2.
The comeback was nearly complete, but Kante's eventful substitute appearance took a sour turn in the 89th minute. He was shown a straight red card for bringing down Millwall's Kyrell Lisbie. Playing with ten men, West Ham held firm through added time, with Lyndon Dykes firing a half-volley over the bar in the 93rd minute.
After the match, Nuno Espirito Santo addressed Kante's mixed contribution. "He came into the game very well, a beautiful goal but then a big mistake and then it was the right decision to take it and avoid something tragical," the manager said. Millwall boss Alex Neil described his team's effort as "unbelievable" and said his players "left everything on the pitch".
The draw extends West Ham's recent form to three wins, one draw and one loss from their last five matches. They have scored 22 goals in eight league games this season. The club's next fixture is at home against Queens Park Rangers on 9 October.
First reported at Sky Sports
