JAPHET Tanganga scored in the 90th minute to give Millwall a dramatic and critical win over relegation rivals Birmingham City.
The defender headed home from a corner at the end of a second half to give the Lions breathing room at last between themselves and the drop zone.
The 24-year-old was brought in on loan from Tottenham Hotspur in January to add some steel to the defence in the back end of the campaign.
Few could have foreseen him scoring two of the biggest goals of Millwall’s season as he followed up his header last month at Southampton with an even more important moment.
It’s now 10 points from a possible 12 available for Neil Harris whose return to The Den has gone better than even he could have envisaged.
The performances aren’t perfect but he was brought in to get results to stave off the bottom three, and that is certainly what he is doing.
The Lions have now moved five points clear of the relegation zone while Birmingham have dropped to just one place above the dotted line.
Millwall will feel good value for their points after asking the majority of the questions in the first half and ending the game stronger.
After an even first 10 minutes, Birmingham encouraged the hosts with their sloppiness in possession. George Honeyman won the ball back on the edge of the box, played a rapid one-two with Duncan Watmore, and made a beeline for John Ruddy.
The keeper’s save deflected back towards his goal where Emanuel Aiwu had to nod it away.
The Blues did not learn their lesson as just minutes later, Ruddy gave it away cheaply but the man who received the gift, Michael Obafemi, could not get a shot away or find a teammate.
Chances kept on flowing for the Lions over the next 20 minutes. Jake Cooper, without a goal since February 2023, headed an effort straight at Ruddy before, minutes later, forcing the keeper into a far more difficult stop as the defender hooked a loose ball into the corner.
Duncan Watmore would then be in after he latched onto a loose ball in the box before Ruddy could get there and headed it wide.
Millwall could not force the ball in but the commitment and effort that Harris insists upon was certainly there, best emphasised by Watmore attempting to head the ball while prone on the ground, and almost getting kicked by Koji Miyoshi.
The Lions kept up the intensity and Zian Flemming had a penalty appeal after half an hour when he was bumped to the ground by Cody Drameh as they contested a Honeyman cross.
Despite all the pressure, the Blues would wake up before the end of the half with Jay Stansfield, who scored against Millwall in September’s 1-1 draw, forcing a save out Matija Sarkic from an awkward angle.
That late revival from the visitors would foreshadow the beginning of the second half, when suddenly it was Birmingham in control and Millwall on the back foot.
Stansfield had another chance just eight minutes after the restart as he fired wide from the edge of the six-yard box in what was, up to that point, the best chance of the match.
A couple of minutes later, Miyoshi was given far too much space in the box but volleyed his effort wide after miscuing his shot.
A brief commotion between the two sets of players caused by a late tackle by Ryan Leonard on Ivan Sunjic, which earned the Millwall defender a booking, appeared to take the steam out of Birmingham once the game restarted.
Suddenly Millwall forced their way back in and an open, end-to-end and increasingly desperate contest broke out as the two sides tried to claim three points that would feel priceless.
A huge chance fell for Millwall after 75 minutes as a long throw into the box was flicked on by Cooper before being headed over by George Saville from close-range.
While neither side able to capture a rhythm in attack, the atmosphere become increasingly frantic as those in the Cold Blow Lane stand and the away end tried to suck the ball into the net.
As the clocked neared the 90, there was another chance for Saville whose effort was deflected wide out for a corner.
And finally the moment most of the stadium were waiting for arrived in glorious fashion. The goal was so simple – a Saville corner that was whipped to the back post found Tanganga who nodded home into the corner and sparked scenes of celebratory chaos at The Den.
The goal came on the stroke of stoppage time with Birmingham still having a few minutes left to put the pressure on. But their balls in the box and the corner which Ruddy came forward for came to nothing and the cry from home fans at full-time was almost as loud as the goal.
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Millwall: 4-4-1-1: Sarkic; Leonard, Cooper (c), Tanganga, Bryan; Watmore (Longman 60′), Mitchell, Saville, Honeyman; Flemming (Norton-Cuffy 90+2′); Obafemi (Hutchinson 90+2′).
Birmingham: 4-2-3-1: Ruddy (c); Drameh, Aiwu, Roberts, Buchanan; Sunjic (James 83′), Seung-Ho; Bacuna, Pritchard (Jutkiewicz 83′), Miyoshi (Hall 73′); Stansfield.
Referee: Darren Bond
Attendance: 17,008 (2,008)