Millwall 1, City 1

THERE was no Blackpool or Burton from City at the Den last night.

The club history book does not need a fresh chapter after City's play-off dreams ended in a cacophony of Millwall noise.

There will be the inevitable thoughts of "what if" over the next few weeks.

What if James Hanson had been fit enough to play some part? What if Filipe Morais had buried that gilt-edged chance at Valley Parade? What if Jamie Proctor had scored a second goal straight after his first?

But ultimately the better team won. Millwall deserve their place against Barnsley in the League One final at Wembley a week on Sunday.

It was no classic encounter and ended with some ugly scenes as home fans streamed on the pitch and gathered to goad the away end.

Those travelling supporters had played their full part in a belting atmosphere but they went away wondering whether the City players could have done more to press for a win to chip away at the first-leg deficit.

True, City's bad luck through the campaign with injuries had come back with a vengeance ahead of the opening game.

And while Phil Parkinson could welcome back Billy Clarke last night – plus protective mask for his cheekbone – there was another unforeseen late issue when Morais had to pull out after the final training session when his wife went into labour.

The sight of Hanson with the squad before the match raised hopes of his return but he had simply travelled to continue treatment on the calf problem that cut short his season.

On a ground where they had never won before in seven previous visits, City's mission improbable was clear.

They had to triumph by at least two goals – having only scored that many once away from Valley Parade since the end of November.

Parkinson had leant heavily on history in his pre-match rhetoric: Chelsea, Burton and Blackpool. City, after all, were one of the three teams to have previously overhauled a two-goal deficit in the third tier play-offs.

Their task could have got even more difficult inside a minute as Nathan Clarke, preferred to the fit-again Reece Burke, blasted a clearance against Josh Cullen. Steve Morison tried to play in Lee Gregory from the loose ball but Ben Williams slid in quickly to clear.

The home crowd were predictably generating a huge racket – even more so with two early shouts for penalty against Lee Evans for handball and when Jimmy Abdou went down in the box.

Millwall were pressing high to pressure the Bantams backline and look for a goal that would surely have killed off the tie.

Their first serious threat came from a City free-kick which was quickly cleared. Gregory, carrying on the sharp work he had shown at Valley Parade, led the counter as the visitors frantically back-pedalled, feeding Ben Thompson in the box. But Cullen had tracked him all the way and made a crucial block to deflect his shot wide.

City needed to do more at the other end to worry a Millwall side who had kept seven clean sheets in their last eight games at the Den.

The only slight concern for the hosts came after keeper Jordan Archer was caught out by Stephen Darby's long throw and Rory McArdle flicked across the six-yard box.

Fellow centre half Clarke flashed a header wide from Tony McMahon's corner – but just as City were seeing a bit more of the ball, the deadlock was broken at the other end.

Inevitably it was the Morison and Gregory combination that once again picked open the Bantams, the Millwall skipper doing all the hard work to set up the former Halifax hitman to slide the ball past Williams from 15 yards.

The place exploded in jubilation and the noise became even louder as Millwall took a massive step towards the Wembley final.

Joe Martin threatened to extend City's agony with a 25-yard free-kick but this time he could not follow up his first-leg cracker, with Williams tipping over the bar.

Yet just as it seemed their play-off hopes were subsiding, City slipped into forward gear – and then threatened to turn the game on its head in the final minutes of the half.

Kyel Reid drove into the box and pulled back a low cross for the supporting Proctor to shoot from close range. Archer blocked his first attempt but he made no mistake with the rebound, side-footing into the roof of the net.

As three sides of the Den looked on astonished, the end housing the travelling Bantams erupted – and they should have had further reason to go berserk straight after.

With Millwall suddenly a bit nonplussed, City tore forward again. Billy Clarke spun to play in Proctor again and he looked set for a quick-fire second.

But Mark Beevers, whose partnership with fellow centre half Byron Webster had shut the door on most things, stopped him pulling the trigger and Carlos Edwards beat Reid to his square pass along the six-yard box as the goal beckoned invitingly.

It was a big chance gone begging, like Morais in the first game – and that was the difference between two evenly-matched teams. Millwall had not wasted similar opportunities.

But it was still the home side who were happier to hear the half-time whistle after the City revival.

That edginess that Parkinson had spoken about was evident among their previously-confident supporters.

He was forced into a change at the break as Cullen, who had been limping, was replaced by fellow loanee Tom Thorpe.

City began in the same vein and McArdle flicked on Nathan Clarke's long throw to cause momentary panic in the Millwall ranks.

But it was the excellent Webster, one of three Yorkshiremen in the Lions team, who went close to restoring their lead as he headed across goal from Chris Taylor's corner.

The noise levels shot up once more – that Millwall "monk" chant reverberated from all corners – but the contest had gone very scrappy.

There was no sign of a City second in the offing so it was no surprise to see Paul Anderson summoned for McMahon midway through the half.

With two proper wingers, the Bantams had to go for it more. The lack of a threat since the break was evident with the growing confidence among the Millwall fans, even if their team were not imposing themselves.

The two-goal cushion they had begun the evening with remained intact and they survived a desperate appeal for a penalty from Thorpe after he was tumbled over by Beevers' tackle inside the box.

Parkinson rolled the dice one final time as Nathan Clarke was sacrificed for another striker in Steve Davies. City went three at the back as Billy Clarke dropped in behind the front two.

City's fans had not given up the fight and continued to make themselves heard amid the constant din around them.

But while the visitors saw plenty of the ball, they did not look like getting in behind the home defence. Millwall had simply proved the better team over the two legs.

The closing minutes were spoiled by a succession of home fans running onto the pitch and one idiot with a St George's flag came on to kick the ball.

It was a poor end to what has still been another season of progress from the Bantams, with plenty of food for thought for another eventful summer ahead.