30/4/06

Despite a brace from top-scorer Ben May, Millwall slipped up to a 4-2 defeat away to Crewe in the last game of the season. The match was a dress rehearsal for next season as both teams will be playing in League 1 come September. Millwall took the lead on 15 minutes through May, but it was all square by half-time. A sublime 25-yard volley from Johnson, giving Doyle no chance. After the break Crewe took the lead, Maynard poking the ball in from close range. It was May again who got Millwall back on level terms, a neat glancing header making it 2-2. But goals from Varney and Jones condemned Millwall to another defeat, leaving the Lions second from bottom after the final game.

Millwall caretaker manager Alan McLeary named an unchanged side after last weeks 1-0 win over Burnley. And it was the young Lions who threatened early on. Berry Powel scuffed his shot wide after only two minutes.

And on seven minutes Powel was inches away from connecting with Williams' low, teasing cross before Elliot’s fierce drive was held onto by Tomlinson in the Crewe goal. Millwall almost took the lead in bizarre fashion when Marvin William's persistence lead to a deflection, which left the ball rolling across the Crewe goal line before it was eventually cleared.

Crewe woke up and created their first real chance when Eddie Johnson's drive smacked the top of the bar. Elliot came close again on 14 minutes, when he headed over from 8 yards, but soon after Millwall took the lead. Ben May converting Marvin Willliams' cross for a deserved 1-0 advantage.

Millwall almost made it two, but May's volley went the wrong side of the post. But Millwall sat back and Crewe began to pile on the pressure, Jones firing wide before Foster headed over from a Lunt corner.

Millwall were pegged back three minutes before half-time, but there was nothing Doyle could do when Johnson left fly with a 25 yard screamer, which swerved inside the post for the equalizer.

Crewe 1 -1 Millwall - HT

The players had barely got out of the tunnel before Crewe took the lead through Nicky Maynard, who was making his first start for Crewe. A unlucky deflection from Millwall's point of view, fell to Maynard who poked it past Doyle.

The Lions stepped it up a gear and began to press for the equalizer. Elliot looked to have equalized following a Craig corner, but his shot was cleared off the line and just after Powel really should have done better from close range.

Millwall's pressure paid off on 54 minutes. Williams and May working well again for the Millwall's second. A neat cross from the left was met by May, who's glancing header deceived Tominlinson in the Crewe goal. The celebrations were short lived however, as only seconds after the restart, Varney found himself space and coolly slotted the ball past Doyle to put the Railway Men ahead.

Elliot was denied again when his shot was cleared off the line after another Craig corner. But any hopes off salvaging a point were all but crushed on 72 minutes. Jones capitalizing on some sloppy defending to put Crewe 4-2 up.

Millwall still had chances late on, but Elliot and Phillips both squandered good chances.

Crewe 4 -2 Millwall - FT

Crewe Alexandra: Tomlinson, Jones, Foster, Lunt, Vaughan, Bell (Maynard, 46mins), Varney, McCready, Higdon (O'Connor, 46mins), Johnson (Jones, 72mins), Bignot. Subs not used: Moses, Roberts.
Scorers: Johnson (42mins), Maynard (47mins), Varney (55mins), S.Jones (72mins).

Millwall: Doyle, Phillips, Craig, Elliott, Robinson, Whitbread, Hendry, Williams, Cogan, May, Powel (Fangueiro, 74mins). Subs not used: Brooks, Weston, Pooley, T.Robinson.
Scorer: May (15, 54mins)

Ref: G. Salisbury
Att: 5,945

21/4/06

Millwall put on a brave display today as they ran out 1-0 victors over Burnley. Craig, Cogan and Elliot all played well, but Marvin Williams was exceptional. He scored the only goal in a match played infront of just under 8,000. The only goal of the match came in first half injury time, James O'Conner's loose header became a 50-50 ball between Williams and keeper Jensen, which Marvin was always going to win. Beating the Claret's keeper to the ball, Williams calmly lifted the ball over the keeper with a neat chip, for 1-0.

Tony Craig became one of the youngest Millwall captains, as he took on the role of injured Livermore who missed out on an ankle injury. Livermore will want to forget how he was 'booed' by a small section of the crowd when he recieved his ' Player Of The Year Award'.

Eight of the starting line-up were aged 22 or under,with an average age in the side of just 21, but the youngsters impressed in what was the last home game of the season.

Millwall could have been ahead after five minutes. Barry Cogan's run down the right drew out the defender, and then the young Irishman slid the ball to Hendry, but his shot was poor, flying over with the goal begging.

Ben May's free kick ended up in the side netting on the quater-hour mark as Millwall took control early on. Five minutes were added on at the end of the first half, and Millwall took advantage of the extra time.Williams calmly lifting the ball over the advancing Jensen for 1-0.

Millwall 1-0 Burnley - HT

Zak Whitbred was forced off with a knee injury after an hour, his replacement, Dean Pooley, making only his first appearance of the season.

Millwall continued to press, and looked the more likely to score. Ben May's header flew just over and soon after, it took a good defensive tackle from Duff to deny Elliot.

Cogan's looping shot went just over the bar on 80 minutes, and Elliot, who could also have been MOTM (Man Of The Match) fired straight at keeper Jensen, who denied Millwall a deserved second goal.

A lack-luster Burnley did muster a shot on target late on. But Duff's downward header was held onto by Doyle, who for a moment looked like he was going to drop the ball with Burnley strikers waiting to pounce.

But Millwall hung on for a deserved victory,which by now was all too late for the relegated Lions. The youngsters impressed, and the effort of Williams, Elliot, Craig and Cogan was imense, and hopefully showed the board how much Millwall need to hold onto them over the summer for next season.

Although there were distgruntled fans, who made banners to inforce their point to the board, Millwall were clapped off at full-time. And although a lap-of-honour was innapropriate, the Lions circled the stands, thanking the fans for their support, before finally heading for the dressing room after a dissapointing season for the Lions.

Millwall were today condemned to relegation after loosing 2-0 to Southampton. Millwall were 1-0 down after 15 minutes, Kenwyne Jones scoring from the spot after Mark Phillips comitted a foul in the area. Millwall pressed for a goal in the second half, Ben May hitting the bar. But in the dying seconds it was 2-0, Fuller slotting home into an empty net, out pacing keeper Doyle who didn't get back in time, after he went up for a last minute corner

Just as they have done so many times before this season, Millwall started the better side. Alan Dunne's glancing header went just wide of the far post following Craigs cross. The Southampton defence also did well to clear Dunne's cross, when Williams was waiting for the tap in.

Southampton took the lead soon after. Mark Phillips was penalised for a foul and Jones made no mistake from the spot for 1-0.

It should have been 2-0 soon after. Jones latching onto a long through ball, but Doyle did enough as the Jamaican international fired wide.

Phillip's header was held onto comfortably by keeper Miller on 32 minutes following Livermore's cross.

Southampton 1-0 Lions HT

Millwall began to pile on the pressure in the second half, but could not produce the end product, a goal.

A Ben May header smacked the bar with 10 minutes left, and a Tony Craig header flew inches over soon after. But it Southampton who had the last laugh.

It was from a Millwall corner that Southampton scored. Doyle came up in desperation to try and salvage a point. But the Saints cleared tha ball and off went Fuller, who slotted into an empty net.

Millwall will begin to build for next season, but manager David Tuttle says he will no longer be manager next season. Speaking after the match he said: "As so often this season, I can't fault the players for effort, and once again we created a number of half-chances but rarely looked like scoring.

On the day that has seen Millwall relegated it is difficult to start thinking about the future but, as I said after Saturday's game against Plymouth, some decisions need to be made in the very near future to ensure that there is no repeat of this.
I feel so sorry for the fans. Again today, they were absolutely magnificent in their support of the team and they deserve to see their team being successful next season."

More to come on Millwall's relegation...

Millwall 1-1 Plymouth

Millwall´s relegation to League One was today all but confirmed as a point was not enough for the luckless Lions, as they drew 1-1 with Plymouth at the New Den. With both Brighton and Wednesday winning, the result has dumped Millwall at the foot of the table, with no hope of survival. Plymouth went one-up after 15 minutes, Vincent Pericard headed in un-challenged from 8 yards. But Millwall equalized on 30 minutes, Marvin Williams heading past Larrieu in the Plymouth goal for 1-1. Once again crucial decisions did not go Millwall´s way, two disallowed goals and a red card which was missed somehow all adding to the depressing mood inside the ground.

Plymouth could have scored in the first minute, if it weren´t for a wild shot from Perricard with the goal begging. Zak Whitbread had an early chance as he latched onto a well-sighted pass from Lawrence , but his drive was easily delt with by Larrieu in the Argyle goal. Minutes later Millwall were behind, Paul Connolly´s cross was met by un-marked Perricard with only 15 minutes gone. But Millwall were level 15 minutes later, a deflected shot from Asaba fell to Williams, who nodded the ball past the keeper for the equalizer. Asaba was forced off injured and his replacement Berry Powel had a good chance to put the Lions ahead, but he took to long in front of goal and Plymouth managed to clear their lines.

David Livermore´s inswinging corner had to be tipped over on 44 minutes and on 45 minutes, Millwall had the ball in the back of the net. Whitbread had headed home from Dunne´s corner, but the referee (who seemed to love the sound of his whistle) blew for an foul on the keeper, many people in the ground failed to see this from the ref´s prospective. But Millwall ended the half on a high, unlucky not to be ahead.

Millwall 1-1 Plymouth HT

Millwall started brightly in the second half, May met Dunnes´s corner, but his downward header went just wide of the far post. Buszaky fired wide from 20 yards for Argyle, who had had limited chances up until then. Again the Millwall fans thought they had made a brake-through on 70 minutes, but Powel´s shot was ruled offside by the linesman, Millwall again denied.

Lion´s fans were outraged at how the Plymouth keeper was still on the pitch soon after. Lerrieu clearly handled the ball outside the area, but the referee, who by now was not exactly making friends with the Millwall crowd, missed it with both of his assistants none the wiser. This will be sounding all too familiar for Millwall, who over the course of this season, have had terrible decisions cost them the match, this could be another decision to add to the growing pile.

Urged on by their fans, Millwall surged time after time, but could not produce the end product. Marvin Williams was easily man of the match, and his performance showed just how vital he will be for Millwall next season in League 1. Another run by him causing havoc in the Plymouth rearguard. Picking up the ball inside his own half, Williams beat five startled defenders and slid a perfect pass through to Livermore, but his strike was met by Lerrieu, who was lucky to still be on the pitch. A lack-luster Dunne was replaced by Cogan on 80 minutes , just after a bullet header from Marvin Elliot went inches over the cross bar. Cogan was involved minutes later, when his well-timed cross was,oh so close to the stretching Marvin Williams, who could not get the vital touch. Powel had the final chance of the game on 90 minutes, but his chip-shot went wide.

Plymouth were lucky, being out-played for most of the match and will happily take the point back to the south-east. Millwall, now resigned to relegation, have only League 1 football to look forward to.

Millwall´s will need to win all remaining games if they want to retain their Championship status; for another season at least. The surprisingly OK away form of the Lions this season was nowhere to be seen at Pride Park , as a curling effort from Tommy Smith was enough for Derby who ran out 1-0 victors. To make things worse for Millwall, a double injury blow will see striker Barry Hayles and midfielder Jody Morris out for the rest of the season with knee injuries and Tuttle´s men have slipped a ranking in the league table to second from bottom, just one point ahead of Brighton.

Tuttle made five changes to the starting line-up which lost to Brighton: Andy Marshall, Barry Hayles, Colin Cameron, Jamie Vincent and Paul Robinson, all out with injuries and suspensions respectively. Marvin Williams was also unavailable having sustained a dead leg during a training session. Despite the result, Millwall started brightly and created the first few chances of the match. Morris and Asaba both coming close within the first 15 minutes. Derby came back into it however, a trademark Idiakez free kick coming agonizingly close on 20 minutes. Derby began to take control and Millwall´s early pressure was a distant memory by now, and a top-class tackle by Mark Phillips denied on-loan striker Kevin Lisbie a shot on goal. Millwall lost Morris to injury who had to be stretchered off with a knee injury on the half hour mark, and it was all down hill from there.

Former Derby defender Jamie Vincent came on to a chorus of boo´s from the Derby fans and had been on the pitch barely a minute before Millwall were behind. Poor defending and bad positioning was to blame for the goal. Smith picked up the ball just inside the Millwall half and began to run at the Millwall defense who´s half-hearted attempt at a tackle was laughable. Smith calmly curled a shot past a poorly positioned Doyle, who really should have done better. After the goal, nothing changed and if it weren´t for a string of fine saves from Doyle. Notably a one-on-one save which denied Lisbie a second goal for the Rams, who could easily have been three or four goals up.

But after this 10 minute spell of Derby pressure, Millwall woke up and began asking questions of the Rams defense. Dunne and Vincent both had efforts go wide of goal, and just before the break Derby managed to clear the ball when a goal-line scramble caused havoc after a Livermore corner. 

Derby 1-0 Millwall HT

Millwall started well in the second half, but just like so many times before, it didn´t pay off. Marvin Elliot´s put a delighfull ball across the box, but none of his team-mates managed to get the vital touch. Dunne should have done better when he got on the end of an Asaba flick-on, his shot flew wide. May went close on 60 minutes, but his header went the wrong side of the post.

But having put so much emphasis into scoring an equalizer, Millwall began to look stretched at times. A poor pass by Phillips fell straight to Lisbie who thought he had time to pick his spot, he realized he had no time only after Lawrence had nicked the ball off the striker and cleared the ball. Again Lisbie should have put the game beyond doubt when he picked up the ball with Doyle looking stranded in the Millwall goal, but his shot was terrible, closer to the corner flag than the goal.

Millwall began to pass the ball about and created two more chances before full-time. A chip shot by Elliot ended up on the roof of the net, and a smart save from Camp denied Phillips late on.

A match Derby will feel they should have won by a bigger margin, for Millwall it`s the same old story, good pressure but no end product.

Millwall 0-2 Brighton

Millwall seem to have got into a frustrating pattern, with fans never knowing what will be the club's status come the end of the season. A win against Luton, was followed by defeat to Leicester, and a win at Watford has been followed by a defeat to Brighton. The game looked all but over after 11 minutes, Reid and McShane giving the Seagulls a 2-0 victory.

Marshall will claim he was impeded before Reid fired home for 1-0, but it looked as if he was more impeded by his own player, not one in a maroon shirt. The keeper came out for a cross, completely misjudged it, and clattered into Whitbred, leaving Reid with a simple finish.

But Marshall redeemed himself on 9 minutes, getting down well to tip Kazim-Richards' low drive past the post. But the game was almost out of reach on 11 minutes when McShane headed home from a corner. David Livermore, unlike Marshall, will have a good reason to be angry with the referee. He was tripped in the centre circle when Millwall were breaking, no foul was given. Brighton ran up the pitch and won the corner, 2-0. But poor defending was also to blame; McShane just simply wasn't picked up in the box.

Millwall's afternoon could have, and probably should of, gone from bad to worse when Kazim-Richards broke through, minutes after the restart.It was only when Whitbred dived in at the last minute, to block the strikers shot, that the score remained 2-0.

Marshall was lucky not to be picking the ball out of his net again. Reid’s drive, which went between Marshall's flapping arms as he dived, took a bobble on the pitch at the last minute which put the ball inches past the post. Brighton were a well drilled defense, and even when Brighton’s Gary Hart went off for 10 minutes for treatment; Millwall didn't not make an impact.

Courtesy of: seagulls.premiumtv.co.uk

Only when Millwall fans realized that Brighton had been playing with 10 men for all that time, that it became clear how dire the Lions were playing.

HT Millwall 0-2 Brighton

Tuttle, who is usually as tactically aware as a Sunday League manager, made a much needed double substitution at half-time. Vincent and Asaba made way for pace-man Marvin Williams and top-scorer Ben May. This livened the Lions up, giving the fans something to roar about. Williams looked to have replecated his last minute goal against Luton on 54 minutes. A flick on, and Williams was off, out pacing the two defenders. The keeper came out, unsure what to do. The ball still bouncing, Williams toe poked the ball past keeper Henderson. Half of the Den were on their feet, just waiting to see the net move. Half of the Den however, knew the ball was going to miss the goal. It trickled despairingly past the post.

Robinson almost scored by mistake, a looping cross was well tipped over by Henderson, but rushing in May clattered into the keeper. And referee Keith Hill, who seemed to be blowing his whistle at every opportunity, blew for a foul, denying Millwall a corner.But Livermore somehow was denied just after. A Dunne corner fell to the captain, whose shot was superbly saved by Henderson. To compile the misery, Ben May went off with ten minutes to go to receive treatment for a head injury, but he never made it back onto the pitch. Brighton’s joy will be immense as Millwall's misery, but it's probably too late for both clubs now, if Millwall do survive, then it really would be 'the great escape'.

(Post - Match comments)

26/3/06

Millwall's relegation survival may be back on, after a surprise win at nearby Watford. Millwall won 2-0 with second half goals from Asaba and May sealing victory. Keeper Andy Marshall played excellently, most notably saving a first half penalty.

Watford 0-2 Millwall

The great escape may be back on for Millwall after an excellent 2-0 victory over Premiership hopeful’s Watford. Although Sheffield Wednesday also won, it gives Millwall more breathing space over Brighton who drew 1-1 with Luton.

The game started in a lively fasion when Whitbread cleared a 1st minute corner off the line. Paul Robinson also made a good clearance early on when Marshall was caught stranded. Watford dominated the opening exchanges and Vicarage Road should of erupted when Watford were awarded a penalty for a clear handball by Whitbread.

But Marshall had other plans; the shot-stopper got down well to parry Mahon's spot kick. Millwall, inspired by the penalty saved swarmed forward and seconds later probably should of taken the lead. Millwall broke out of defense and Alan Dunne's almost perfect through ball found Asaba who was through on goal. But replays showed that the pass was a little ahead of Asaba, which meant he was stretching as he shot. The ball trickled a foot wide.

Watford 0-0 Millwall HT

Millwall started well in the second half. A vicious drive from Asaba just after the restart flew just wide. A Livermore corner needed to be saved by Watford keeper Foster, when the cross was met by Robinson. Millwall now had the momentum going into the final half an hour. A Livermore free kick just whistled over the bar on 65 minutes and Millwall's pressure finally turned into a deserved goal.

It was another well worked break out of defense, Livermore passed to Vincent down the left wing and the on-loan defenders through ball was perfect for Colin Cameron, who drew out Foster and put the ball across the box. Asaba, who had missed a one-on-one earlier in the match, was not going to miss this sitter and gratefully slotted the ball into the unguarded net.

Even a smile was spread across the face of the usually glum faced David Tuttle at this point, but this soon disappeared as Watford began to pressurize after the restart. Marshall, having already saved a penalty earlier in the match, needed to be on top form. A cheeky chip from Ashley Young needed to be tipped over, and Young was denied again when Marshall rushed out to block a shot in the last few minutes.

With full time drawing ever closer, it seemed apparent that Millwall were going to hold on. But the points were made safe with the last kick of the ball. May, who had replaced Asaba ten minutes earlier, ran onto a through ball from Livermore, shrugged off two defenders, and flicked the ball past unlucky Foster who managed to get a hand to the shot. May ran off to celebrate with the Millwall fans that had gone mental behind the goal. Watford only had time to kick off before the final whistle went. For Millwall its a well needed three points, and deservedly so. Watford really need to shape up if they want get into the Premiership.