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.
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