EAGLES columnist SAM ROSS is happy enough with the draw at Millwall and explains why.

LAST night’s south London derby was far from the result either side wanted, but Palace should be more pleased with a point from the game than Millwall.

Thankfully the Eagles are showing signs of getting over their recent alarming slump, but they still looked some way off a side who are challenging for a play-off spot and lacked any conviction.

Chances were few and far between at The Den, with David Forde’s save from Yannick Bolasie’s shot being the game’s best opportunity.

Ian Holloway has often been criticised for his substitution decisions as a manager, but he certainly had the upper hand over Kenny Jackett in that regard last night.

Jackett puzzled many by replacing the threatening and hard-working Shaun Batt with a lazy and uninterested Dany N’Guessan, whose attitude was so poor he was replaced himself after only being on the field for a disastrous 14 minutes.

I would have liked to have seen Kevin Phillips introduced, but can’t complain with the choice of Jonathan Williams and Stephen Dobbie ahead of the veteran striker.

Hopefully he is saving himself for the Peterborough game.

It was a fantastic performance from captains Danny Shittu and Mile Jedinak, who epitomised both sides’ work ethic and set the tone for the passionate display.

Jedinak is certainly the real deal and with Tony Pulis in the stands at The Den, it looks frustratingly likely he will not be a Palace player next season.

Sean St Ledger produced a man of the match performance for me, though.

He was clearly instructed to get in the face of Wilfried Zaha and Bolasie and did so superbly at every available opportunity.

The Irishman also made a crucial last-ditch tackle when Glenn Murray looked clean through.

One positive outcome of last night’s result means Saturday is sure to be an exciting day for both clubs.

I personally hope Millwall stay up to allow the possibility of another London derby next year should we not reach the Premier League via the play-offs. Palace’s game against Peterborough is no easy task and the Eagles could do their rivals a favour with a win over the Posh.

Darren Ferguson’s side have had some bizarre results this year and are a real unknown.

You just never quite know what to expect from them.

The one worry about the play-offs is the presence of Bolton.

Dougie Freedman’s side look the team to fear right now and to be knocked out by the Trotters in the play-off final looks a very likely and devastating outcome.

But first the Eagles must maintain their own spot in the play-offs and with the radio at the ready for Selhurst this Saturday I can’t wait for all the excitement to unfold.

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