LINES FROM LONDON: MILLWALL

A win’s a win but we made hard work of this and were hanging on in the final stages. We really need to sort our penalty-takers out. All in all, though, it’s been a good twenty-four hours with Coventry and West Brom both losing and Leeds conceding a very late equalizer against Swansea.

BEFORE

It seems like weeks since our last game but maybe I'm just trying to forget about the debacle that was the Coventry match. I was very pleased to see them get beat 3-1 last night and I started to entertain the idea that they might go on a bad run and end up in sixth spot so Burnley can take care of them while we beat West Brom over two legs. I think we could beat Burnley in the final if we both get there but I'd prefer to avoid Coventry at all costs. As we know, anything could happen and possibly Burnley will get an automatic spot and we could have to face Leeds. Anyway, my hopes have been tickled yet again and I'm looking forward to this afternoon's match. Millwall have a definite Sunderland tinge to them these days with Alex Neil at the helm and Aaron Connolly a fairly recent signing, though he's unlikely to feature today. I think Watmore and Honeyman are still with them but I noticed a while back that they weren't in the squad then. They could conceivably have a late run of form and grab a play-off spot so they still have something to play for. For us, Hume should play some part but Cirkin and Le Fee are still a way off. I suppose realistically that as long as we retain fourth spot we can afford to lose a couple of matches but of course I want us to win every game. I'm back in London so it'll have to be SAFSEE for me. My match prediction is a bit of an ugly 2-1 win for us.

I got the team-news around 2.15 and Browne was in for Cirkin while Isidor was starting in place of Mayenda, who was on the bench along with several players I didn’t know much about at all. I was surprised to see that Connolly was starting for them but there was no sign of Honeyman or Watmore. I got the match online and awaited developments.

THE GAME

We had three good chances very early in the game when Isidor and Jobe both had shots blocked and then a Rigg header was held by Jensen in goal. We won the first corner in the sixth minute when Jensen turned a Roberts effort round the post and it quickly led to our second corner. Again it promptly led to another corner and that one was cleared. I could hear our fans making a good racket. Jobe got the first yellow-card of the game in the thirteenth and next thing O’Nien had a good wrestle with Tanganga, almost ripping his shirt off in the process. Commentator Benno said we weren’t pressing them enough. Things had quietened down a bit. We won our fourth corner in the twentieth but I never get too excited when I hear that these days as we rarely create anything from them. As soon as I typed that we took the lead. We took the corner short and via Mundle and Roberts the ball came to Hume who volleyed it into the bottom-left corner.

We conceded a free-kick not far outside our box and Connolly’s shot sailed high and wide to much jeering. Mepham became our second player to go into Robert Madley’s book for a foul and we survived the resultant free-kick. Rigg landed heavily and was down injured for a while before finally managing to continue. We played with ten men for a few minutes, though. Connolly was certainly getting in the thick of things and wasn’t getting any kid-gloves treatment from our players. Isidor appealed for a penalty with about ten minutes to go before break but Barnesy said he had no hope of getting one and had just been outmuscled. With five minutes to go the game had gone rather quiet but another goal before the break was what we needed. Connolly went into the book for a foul on Neil and that was four bookings altogether so far. With Rigg’s injury there was bound to be a fair bit of added-time and three minutes were duly announced. Millwall had a decent spell of attacking play but it remained 1-0 as the whistle went to polite applause. It had sounded a rather dull game but as long as we were ahead I had no real complaints. Elsewhere both Leeds and Burnley were 1-0 up while the West Brom game was goalless.

I hoped to see Mayenda on before long as I was sure he must have wondered why he’d been relegated to the bench and would be revved up. We needed a bit of revving up as with that slender lead anything could happen and probably would. There were no changes as we kicked off again. In the forty-seventh a Mundle cross-shot wasn’t met by any of our players and that was that. A Jobe shot was blocked and then in the fifty-third Jensen did well to deflect an Isidor header from six yards out and we won another corner. This time it did come to nothing. Next thing there was some kind of medical emergency in the crowd near the front of the East Stand and the game was stopped. The stoppage only lasted for around four minutes, which hopefully indicated that the person taken ill was on the mend, and then we were off again. Roberts was having a good game and a pass from him found Jobe but again his shot was blocked. Millwall made the first change of the game, bringing on striker Ivanovic for Emakhu in the sixty-sixth. Millwall changed to two upfront and Ivanovic had an immediate impact as Millwall won their first corner. Meanwhile Swansea had equalised away at Leeds.

Isidor was booked in the sixty-ninth and I could see him being replaced by Mayenda soon as he hadn’t been very effective and had thrown himself to the ground too much. Soon afterwards a Coburn header went straight at Patto and that was probably their first effort on target. With fifteen minutes on the clock, though with seven or so minutes of added-time no doubt, I wondered when we’d make a change or two. We then had a couple of good scoring chances with a Mundle shot being blocked and a Hume effort going narrowly over the top. As we won another corner Millwall prepared to make a triple switch but still no sign of a change for us. Seven minutes to go and I was starting to feel nervous but I felt better not long afterwards when Tanganga brought down Mundle in the box and we were awarded a penalty. I was surprised to hear that O’Nien was going to take it, and so was Mundle by the sound of it, but Jensen saved it and it remained 1-0. That’s three pennas in a row we’ve missed. Mundle was definitely narked but he was promptly subbed by Watson while Isidor went off for Mayenda. Mundle went straight down the tunnel and no doubt that wouldn’t be the end of it. Only five minutes of added-time were announced and that suited me. The crowd had gone quiet and they were probably feeling like me. Mepham made a great block from Ivanovic in the ninety-third and things were getting very tense. Connolly was subbed right near the end and I could hear applause, perhaps some from our fans. Watson was booked as he conceded a free-kick in a dodgy position and we could have done without that but we cleared the ball. The whistle finally went and we’d won 1-0. After the match Mundle re-emerged and was waving to the fans so hopefully he’d calmed down a bit.