If promotion winners need to show fighting spirit and a capacity to go until the last minute, then Middlesbrough's 97th-minute equaliser suggests they are on the right track.
Down and beaten with three minutes left, Martin Braithwaite scored to provide a glimmer of hope for Tony Pulis' side. Then, from chaos in the box rose Ashley Fletcher, poking home to snatch a draw.
A perfect day spoiled for Millwall, who were in party mood after Aiden O'Brien and Lee Gregory's strikes put them ahead on the 25th anniversary of the first game at the Den.
Neil Harris named an 11 that did not include a single summer addition. Pulis, hindered by the sale of Ben Gibson to Burnley, threw in Aden Flint for his debut.
The veteran manager's side have been heavily tipped for promotion, but he felt otherwise: 'If you look at the team we had today compared to the team that ended last season, we're six players down.
'We know we have to bring players in. That group is not good enough to get us promoted.'
It was the Lions bore their teeth early. A throw on the right was won in the air by Gregory. He centred it.
O'Brien, making a perfectly timed run, swept the ball past Darren Randolph to put his side ahead 12 minutes in.
Then the error came. An innocuous ball reached £7m signing Flint. He headed it back towards Randolph, not realising that the pesky Gregory was behind him.
The 29-year-old striker reached the ball before Randolph, knocked it past him, and fired into an empty net.
Pulis threw on substitute after substitute. Flint failed to make amends for his error as he fired over.
With time running out Braithwaite snuck a shot past Archer. Even then it seemed unlikely that Boro would have another goalscoring opportunity in them.
'We were very average in the first-half,' Pulis admitted. 'It was only the last 20, 25 minutes that we started to have a go. We missed some good opportunities. We needed a goal. Luckily we got a goal.'
There were fouls and the usual time-wasting. Then the ball flew across the Millwall six-yard box. Archer did not react. Friend, stretching out of a mass of bodies, did, and bundled home.
Harris, who led his team to an unlikely play-off charge last season, said: 'I told my players what a good performance that was against a team that will be in the top two. They are a quality side, they have an experienced manager that knows what it takes to get promoted.
'We've just thrown away two points at home at the death. We won't achieve anything if we don't play for 96 minutes.'
Pulis and his side had spoiled the shindig.