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.