Millwall Report

For some reason I was convinced this was a 2 o clock kick off.

So was slightly surprised to get to the list meet pub in deepest New Cross to find it was just me Keith and a few Millwall fans. Al, Alex, Niggy and Naeffy turned up after a bit but it was only when someone got in a round at 1.40 that “my shouldn’t we go protestations” gleaned the fact that it was a normal KO time.

It would probably have been better if we had left at the time I wanted, as after Al “it’s my manor” Edgar had finished his goat curry, he then led us through a not very magical mystery tour through the streets of SE London until confessing he was lost. This meant we missed KO though by the sound of it that may have been a good thing.

To put the match in context you need to understand Millwall are sh*t. Not just normal Championship sh*t but really bad Sunday league incompetently dreadful. In addition to the standard Championship inability to pass to their own team-mates, they displayed a particular penchant for giving away corners when under no pressure.

This meant that we had plenty of possession in the first half and had chances to score, but instead managed to hit the same post twice and also pass the ball across the face of goal a couple of times when it looked easier to score. Hulse, Healy, Blake and Douglas being responsible. Douglas having come on for Derry who had a pretty good 30 mins before limping off injured.

At half-time it looked like we’d be easy winners but we never really got going second half and the game looked like drifting away to a nil nil. We still had plenty of possession but our formation seemed to have switched from a 4-4-2 with Blake wide right to more of a 4-5-1 with Hulse alone upfront and Healy and Blake getting in each others way behind him. Hulse caused plenty of trouble and the bloke marking him really should have got a second yellow quite apart from a decent penalty shout, but we never really created much.

Millwall got marginly better and Sullivan had to tip a chance over with about 10 minutes left and their first shot seemed to wake it up. A bit of penalty box pinball led to Douglas’s low shot being well saved by the keeper, before another cross left us 3 on one in the area but Hulse swiped, missed the ball and fell over with Healy and Miller watching, even we laughed. It looked like it wasn’t going to be our day when Hulse missed another cross and then inadvertendly blocked the ball on the line as Blake fired back in, but the luck we were missing came good in the last minute when Healy fired one across the face of the area in injury time and a huge deflection took it past the keeper.

Unsurprisingly the locals were not over-impressed at the turn of events, although if anyone deserved to win it was us, though we made hard work of it.

Bit of a weird experience going to Millwall nowadays, the membership scheme seems to have halved the amount of fans and the hundred of so muppets who remained seemed content to trample down a bit of netting in the adjoining stand, even though that meant they were still 50 yards away from us and in the Upper Tier of a different stand. It does give the Police some excuse for extra overtime though as they shepherded us back to KX in a 80s style convoy, whether you wanted to go that way or not.

Still the time was passed as Rich / Al found a phone in the stand at the end of the game. 10 minutes later.

Ring Ring
Hello
Who’s that ?
The bloke who found your phone
Can I have it back ?
Yes
Where Are You ?
South Bermondsey Station
What Do you Look like ?
I’m 6 foot two with a pink hat on !!

Amazingly this was true.
 

Scores

Sully 6 – Bugger all to do

Kelly 7 – Never in trouble – cruised the game.

Gregan 6 – Got booked, odd foolish lunge but generally OK

Kilgallon 7.5 – Best game for a while, even skinned the full back near the end

Harding 6 – Glad of a game when under little pressure

Lewis 5 – Barely noticed him

Derry 7 – Doing well until injured

Miller 6 – Decent player, not overly interested. Asking for trouble with white boots in this division.

Blake 7.5 – Plenty of ball, looked good but little end product.

Hulse 7 – Led the line brilliantly but fluffed his chances

Healy 6.5 – In and out

Matt