Brentford 2 Millwall 2

The conditions, and teenage sensation John Bostock, played a large part in what was a disjointed Millwall performance as they struggled to get to grips with a competitive Brentford side.

Heavy overnight and morning rain in west London made the pitch heavy, while a swirling wind made long-range distribution something of a lottery.

Millwall took some time to find their feet against last season's League Two champions and although they tried to play some attractive football, found it difficult to adapt to the slippery surface.

Brentford took advantage within eight minutes when Bostock, signed on loan from Spurs the day before the match, capitalised on a Jimmy Abdou slip to rifle the ball past David Forde from 12 yards.

Stung by the Bees, Millwall went looking for an equaliser and almost grabbed one on 14 minutes when Danny Schofield went on a long run from the halfway line before firing a shot from outside the box that rebounded off Lewis Price's crossbar.

The ball was cleared for a corner and from the resulting kick Paul Robinson dived to meet it in the six yard box to head home in front of the 1,700 travelling supporters.

It was no more than Kenny Jackett's team deserved as they looked to be positive throughout the half.

But the visitors found themselves behind on 24 minutes in the most bizarre of circumstances.

Brentford won a corner on their right and Bostock swung it towards the goalmouth. As it floated over an almighty gust of wind took hold of it and blew it over the covering Jason Price and into the corner of Forde's net.

It was a freak goal and Millwall were rocked. Still struggling to deal with the conditions they allowed Brentford to come at them too often and Ryan Dickson should have scored when he had a free header from another corner on 37 minutes.

Millwall were resorting to playing on the break, although plenty of Forde's clearances struggled to make it to the halfway line, which meant they were frequently on the back foot.

Jason Price had an opportunity to level in first half injury time but put his shot over after good work from Mark Laird set him up.

Brentford almost put the game beyond the Lions in the 51st minute when Charlie MacDonald, a lively presence all afternoon, saw his shot cannon off the near post from a tight angle.

He popped up again 12 minutes later to hit another effort over the bar and Millwall knew they had to do something to tighten the game up.

Jackett made a couple of changes, bringing Darren Ward on for the disappointing Jack Smith and Henry on for Chris Hackett and immediately Millwall began to adapt better to the conditions.

Neil Harris volleyed home from six yards only to see the effort ruled out for offside, while the veteran striker almost got on the end of a long Forde punt, the ball only just eluding him as he bore down on Brentford's goal.

Millwall were piling on the pressure now and winning a succession of corners, although they failed to capitalise on any of them the way Bostock managed in the first half.

On two occasions the Lions contrived to miss out on putting the ball in the net as the ball pinged around the Brentford six yard box.

It looked as if it was going to be one of those days until Henry smashed in his free-kick past the bemused Price to silence the home crowd.

The loanee even found the energy to run into the wind to celebrate with his goalkeeper, with a point seemingly guaranteed.

Millwall almost paid for not concentrating when Karleigh Osborne crashed an injury time shot off the bar.

And the Lions could have snatched all three points for themselves had Schofield managed to produce a better shot when breaking free, only managing to hit the ball straight at Price. Perhaps the strength-sapping pitch had got to his legs by that point.

Overall a draw was a fair result, although it will be Brentford, rather than Millwall, who will be the happier with it.

Despite the point, which keeps Millwall just outside the play-off places, Jackett was disappointed by the performance of his team.

He said: "I felt we didn't play the conditions very well. Certainly for an hour. In the last half an hour we put some pressure on the opposition and created something but the tempo of our game, certainly in the first hour, was not what was required on such a windy day and a very heavy pitch.

"I'm pleased with the way we kept going and our character. We had quite a lot of pressure in that last half hour and had a bit of a go and if you do that you have a chance to come back into it."

"The second Brentford goal was unbelievable really but what can you do? The wind's played a big part but talking to both the guys there they've left it to each other and they are two experienced pros but we have to move on."

Brentford: Price, O'Connor, Dickson, Bean, Bennett, MacDonald, Weston, Foster (Osborne, 85), Bostock, Strevens, Wilson. Unused subs: Moore, Cort, Taylor, Hunt, Wood, Legge.

Goals: Bostock 8, 24.

Millwall: Forde, Dunne, Robinson, Craig, Smith (Ward, 63), Schofield, Abdou, Laird, Harris, Hackett (Henry, 63), Price (Morison, 78). Unused subs: Sullivan, Martin, Frampton, Bolder.

Goals: Robinson 15, Henry 89

Attendance: 6,408

Referee: K Woolmer