Millwall 2 Gillingham 1

Match 71/16/1378 - Friday, 30th December 2016 - League One

Millwall (1) 2 Gregory 12 Onyedinma 63
Gillingham (0) 1 Dack 75
Attendance: 10,821

Entrance: £10 Senior (Second hand ticket!)
Programme: £3.00
Mileage: 96/5,188

Match Report

I’m not sure what was the most frustrating, Gillingham’s ability to find a forward gear when 2-0 down and a man light or my inability to find my car after the game!

Gillingham’s form of late has been reasonable but as a watch they have been turgid, to use a friend’s word. So did I really want to travel to Bermondsey on a day when a train strike made driving almost compulsory. Any other time of the season, I might have looked around for another game but having been cooped up over the Christmas period, it seemed like a reasonable choice, one that became all the more reasonable when a bloke picked me out of the queue for a ticket and offered me a £17 senior ticket for a tenner!

It was a cold, foggy evening making the dank surroundings of The New Den even less inviting than they usually are. A good knowledge of the area made a parking space quite easy to find leaving just a ten minute walk to the ground.

An uneventful opening ten minutes ended with Millwall opening the scoring after 13 minutes. An effort was cleared from the line but when the ball was recycled by Shaun Cummings, his loft into the box was headed into the path of Lee Gregory who had the relatively easy task of tucking it past Stuart Nelson.

Millwall, for a period, held the ascendancy and had a goal ruled out for offside when Gregory netted after being put through by Ben Thompson.

Gillingham wrestled control of the game back midway through the half, although their efforts on goal were limited to a comfortable save from Jordan Archer and a header from Jay Emanuel-Thomas that narrowly cleared the bar.

The opening quarter-hour of the second period was even before Millwall doubled their advantage after 63 minutes. Fred Onyedinma made a surging run into the penalty area without facing the most demanding of challenges; his initial shot was blocked by Nelson, but he reacted quickest to the rebound to hook the ball into the net.

The evening quickly went from bad to worse for the visitors as Paul Konchesky, booked after 58 minutes, brought down Onyedinma on the edge of the box to receive a second yellow leaving Gillingham a man light.

In adversity, Gillingham came to the party. Bradley Dack, who had been largely anonymous, suddenly looked the player we know he can be, despite picking up a stupid booking for dissent.

After 74 minutes Dack’s well struck shot from the edge of the box found the bottom corner and Gillingham were back in the game.

It made for an exciting finish as the Gills sought an equaliser putting the Lions under a good deal of pressure. However, hopes of retrieving something out of the game ended when Dack was sent off for a poor challenge on Thompson to reduce Gillingham to nine men.

And so to my post-game adventure. To put it into context, I had worked in the area for 20 years; been down most of the avenues and alleyways in search of an alternative route when the Old Kent Road was at a standstill, not an unusual occurrence.

Dack’s dismissal with barely two minutes remaining convinced me that an early exit was in order but this was stymied by the locked gates of the visitor’s end. However, on this occasion, the wait was short and I was quickly on my way. The easy route was along Zampa Road and down Surrey Canal Road, but I decided to follow the same route that I had taken on the way in. I quickly realised that somehow I wasn’t heading in the same direction that had brought me to the Den and the trouble with any visit to Millwall you don’t want to advertise the fact that you support the opposition by asking for directions.

As I reached a main road, I recognised several landmarks and knew exactly where I was but I had become so disorientated that I couldn’t work out how to get to where I wanted to be. Eventually plucking up courage to ask a couple of blokes who had just got off a bus, just to get back to Millwall, they didn’t have a clue.

Suddenly, a light came on and I reached for my mobile phone and google maps, why had it taken 20 minutes for that to dawn on me? Sure enough in less than 10 minutes I was back at the car and then drove into traffic on the Old Kent Road, some things never change!

Millwall 0 Gillingham 3

Match 53/15/1258 - Saturday, 19th December 2015 - League One

Millwall (0) 0
Gillingham (2) 3 Samuel 20, 90+2, Dack (pen) 25
Attendance: 12,032

Entrance: £17 Senior
Programme: £3
Mileage: 90/3,846

Match Report

Nearly six years ago I stood on South Bermondsey station waiting for a train back to London Bridge whilst, below me, the last 10 minutes or more were being played out on an embarrassing afternoon for Gillingham. Leaving before the end terminated that embarrassment and enabled us to get to the station before Millwall staged their customary lock-in of visiting supporters. Fast forward and we were happily interred at the New Den some half-an-hour after the final whistle after one of the most comprehensive results and displays that I've seen from Gillingham for some while.

I won't deny it, working in Bermondsey, I'm going to enjoy the bragging rights from this local derby.

It is 12 years since Gillingham won at the New Den and the 1,600-plus Gillingham supporters packing out the top tier of the away end were going to celebrate every minute of (as I've been told) our Cup Final!

I've also been told that League One is no place for Millwall Football Club and have only found themselves in this position by virtue of a Football Association/League conspiracy and should never be on a fixture list that contains the likes of piddling little clubs like Gillingham. They better get used to it, because on the strength of this performance, they may be alongside these minnows a while longer.

Ex-Millwall midfielder, Josh Wright, came into the Gillingham side replacing the suspended Doug Loft, despite the bereavement of his grandmother a couple of days earlier.

The opening 45 minutes was everything you would expect from a local derby. Feisty, at times ill-tempered, but it was the visitors that took control. Whilst Wright, broke up Millwall's intentions, he was the conduit for Bradley Dack to weave his magic to which Millwall had no answer.

The Gillingham support were on its feet after 15 minutes when they misinterpreted the referee's signal as Dominic Samuel was brought down as he tried to round the home 'keeper Jordan Archer. This was the first indication that Gillingham had too much pace for a cumbersome central defensive pairing of Byron Webster and Mark Beevers.

Five minutes later, Gillingham were ahead. A free kick into the box from Dack, saw the woeful Beevers allow Samuel a yard of space to steer his header into the corner of the net past Archer.

After 25 minutes, the visiting suppporters were once again at the nosiest. As Beevers and Webster dithered, Cody McDonald stole the ball on the edge of the box and was brought down by the advancing Archer with the referee this time pointing to the spot and issuing a red card to the goalkeeper. The substitution took forever, and once David Forde had taken his place between the sticks, Dack showed all his composure to roll the to his right, whilst the keeper went left.

Gillingham were now in total charge of the game and should have gone further ahead when Forde denied Dack as he broke clear.

The half had an unsavoury end when a tackle from ex-Gillingham player Joe Martin on Ryan Jackson brought a mass confrontation that eventually brought bookings for both players. Samuel went to the floor, victim of an alleged headbutt that went unpunished.

Martin had clearly lost his head and his half-time substitution could only have been made by Neil Harris to preserve Millwall's ten men on the pitch.

The second half was a quite different affair and I was a little disappointed that Gillingham allowed the depleted home side the majority of the possession and with it, several very good chances to reduce the deficit. Stuart Nelson made a good save from Lee Gregory and a header in front of goal from Aiden O'Brien should never have cleared the crossbar. It made for uncomfortable viewing as, with a typical Millwall crowd backing them, a goal would have put the home side right back in the game despite their man disadvantage.

Gillingham were still making chances on the break as Beevers and Webster looked vulnerable with every attack. Forde escaped being the second Millwall goalkeeper to see red when he cynically took out Samuel, but given the position on the touchline, the referee issued a yellow card.

As the clock ticked into time-added another piece of comedy defending from Webster gave Samuel the opportunity to dink the ball over Forde from an acute angle to trigger as mass exodus of home fans from the Den and extended celebration from the Kent fans.

Looking back on this post, I know its biased. But when you have been told continually about what a tin-pot club you follow it's nice to force-feed a little humble pie.

Millwall 4 Gillingham 0

Match 57/09/809 - Saturday, 10th April 2010 - League One

Millwall (2) 4 Batt 27, Craig 35, Schofield 60, Harris 65
Gillingham (0) 0
Att. 14,574

Entrance: £20
Programme: £3
Mileage: 80/6,910

Match Report

Just how embarrassing was that?

From the 65th minute when our old mucker Neil Harris headed home from a yard and signalled the beginning of the exodus from the away end, I sat uncomfortably in my seat and 10 minutes later literally could not stand any more.

Personally, I found this performance a greater embarrassment than the 7-0 thrashing at Shrewsbury, even though this may be largely down to locality and the knowledge that justifiably smug Lions fans will be encountered in the next couple of days.

Let’s get the excuses out of the way. Gillingham lost both central defenders, Garry Richards being helped from the pitch following a bizarre collision with goalkeeper Alan Julian. But by then, the damage had largely been done and the visitors were struggling to retain a foothold in the game.

This was our first foray into SE16 with the train being the method of transport and plans went astray from the word go. Engineering works put us half-an-hour behind a schedule that had already been geared to arriving at The Den later than usual.

The delayed arrival at London Bridge and a missed connection meant that we had to make the one stop journey down to South Bermondsey in the company of, shall we say, boisterous Millwall fans. Needless to say we kept it quiet. At the station the separate walkway to the away end gives a slightly more assured sense of security.

Inside the stadium the atmosphere was the same as ever. Sure it is intimidating and there are some complete knuckle heads that appear to watch the away support more than the game itself, but we were far from short of our own protagonists.

Stuart Lewis was preferred in midfield to Curtis Weston and Simeon Jackson returned to the starting eleven at the expense of Dennis Oli.

The opening minutes were relatively even with Dennehy heading over and Jackson forcing a save from David Forde before the home side capitalised on a mistake in midfield by Lewis who was dispossessed. In the blink of an eye, Danny Schofield placed a pass inside Barry Fuller to Shaun Batt, who finished coolly from close range.

Gillingham were undone again 10 minutes later when a clearance fell to defender Tony Craig whose dipping volley from 20 yards found Julian off his line. First impressions were that it had caught a deflection and looped up, but a later viewing on the television showed differently.

With their backs to the wall, no puns intended, Gillingham needed a route back into the game before half time and a gilt-edged opportunity opened up when Rene Howe managed to wriggle clear down the right hand side, but his weak cross was easily gathered by Forde.

Darren Dennehy, who had taken a first half blow to the head, failed to appear for the second half with Josh Gowling substituting and the situation in the central defensive department was quick to go from bad to worse. After just five minutes with Garry Richards shepherding a ball through to Alan Julian, the keeper collided with his own man and was urgently calling for the physio’s attention with the big defender subsequently unable to continue.

Mark Bentley formed the new partnership with Gowling and within a quarter-of-an-hour the game was over as a contest. Schofield was allowed time and space to skip a couple of half-hearted challenges and plant a shot from the edge of the box past Julian and five minutes later when Harris executed the coup-de-grace the decision had to be made regarding an early exit.

The thought of imprisonment in that away end for another 45 minutes following the misery already endured proved too much and a hasty retreat was sought. As we passed the Den on our way back to Kent we could see the faithful that had stuck it out to the finish patiently waiting to make their own exit. Credit it you people, but it was all too much to bear.

Millwall 1 Gillingham 1

Match 61/07/678 - Saturday, 5th April 2008 - League One

Millwall (0) 1 Robinson 75
Gillingham (1) 1 Southall 26
Att. 10,006

Entrance: £20
Programme: £3
Mileage: 80/5,488

Match Report

The New Den might be a sanitized environment in comparison to its Cold Blow Lane predecessor but it is still a scary place to visit as an opposing supporter. It may well be that Millwall are tarnished by past reputation not representative of today but previous problems dictated that we parked my car at my work, a 20 minute walk to the ground. It was a untroubled stroll to the ground, these days through relatively nice, modern housing, but you still have that nagging feeling that something sinister is around the next corner.

Over 1,300 Gillingham fans had made their way to South London for this relegation six-pointer and they were determined to make themselves heard, lessening the intimidating atmosphere that could have been generated by the home crowd. Millwall fans can make it an uncomfortable afternoon for visitors with their threatening gestures but they also have a very low tolerance level of their own players and can turn very quickly from support to derision if events on the field turn for the worst.

Gillingham struggled to make any early impression and were thankful that a couple of early chances had gone begging and they had quitened the crowd, or so it seemed amongst the din that was being produced by the Gills faithful. When Gillingham were awarded a free kick on the edge of the box on 26 minutes there was a sense of injustice as Barry Fuller had kept his feet under a challenge and seemed to be making his way into a scoring opportunity as the referee blew. This was forgotten seconds later as Nicky Southall curled the ball beautifully into the top corner, evoking memories of his goal against Sheffield Wednesday in the cup run of 2003. Millwall were shaken and their play became untidy and passes started going astray much to the anger of the home support.

At the half-way point, possession wise there had been little in it, but the feeling was that Gillingham were in control of the game. Adam Miller, who is struggling with a hernia, was replaced at half-time by Leroy Griffiths and Dennis Oli replaced by Georges Ba. Realistically I think we all knew that Millwall were not going to take this lying down and they came at Gillingham from the first whistle of the second half. Personally I think Mark Stimson made a mistake with Griffiths’ entrance and Kevin Maher would have been a better choice. The Lions had been consistently getting encouragement down their right flank from the excellent Danny Senda and with Griffiths not being a natural defender, his protection for Barry Fuller was minimal. From one such situation Senda got a perfect cross into the six yard box for Brkovic to miss almost impossibly with a header that went wide.

The noise levels rose intimidatingly as Millwall took the game to their visitors who were now offering very little threat of their own and on 75 minutes Gillingham's resistance was finally broken. They failed to clear a corner to safety and when the ball was lifted back into the danger area it fell invitingly for Paul Robinson and the Lions skipper drove into the net for the equaliser.

15 agonising minutes finally passed, not without scares, before the final whistle sounded. At this stage of the season, and in our position, it seems almost as draining watching as it must be for the players. News of Crewe’s defeat at home to Southend, for me leaves the verdict that this is a point gained rather than two lost.

All that was required now was a safe passage back to TSO’s car park. It was half-an-hour after the final whistle that Gillingham supporters were allowed to leave the stadium, but the police had done a good job of clearing the area of any potential trouble as we saw hardly any home supporters on our walk back to Mandela Way.

Back at work on Monday night it will be interesting to hear whether the Millwall supporters also view this as a point gained. For both clubs there now seems little chance that either one is going to be safe before the last game.