ISSUE
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SHANE FERGUSON NICE GUY FERGUSON PRIMED FOR PROMOTION PUSH
CONTENTS EXCLUSIVE
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PREVIEW COVENTRY CITY
NICE GUY FERGUSON PRIMED FOR PROMOTION PUSH
NEWS
INTERVIEW
6 12 22 32
THREE QUESTIONS FOR THE WEEKEND
HARRIS HAPPY WITH MILLWALL SQUAD BUT COULD BUY AGAIN
NEWS
INTERVIEW
CAPITAL ONE CUP EXIT: THREE THINGS WE LEARNT
HARRIS EXCITED BY STRIKE PARTNERSHIP POTENTIAL
MILLWALL 1 - 2 BARNET (AET) REPORT
SHREWSBURY 1 - 2 MILLWALL REPORT
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EXCLUSIVE: NICE GUY FERGUSON PRIMED FOR PROMOTION PUSH BY JOHN KELLY
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or a player who has struggled to get a regular run in the Newcastle first team after injuries and with the Magpies’ use of the foreign market limiting opportunities, Shane Ferguson has been part of some high-profile, sometimes controversial occasions over the past 12 months.
Last February he was one of five Newcastle players loaned to Rangers. With Newcastle owner Mike Ashley holding a minority stake in the Scottish club, the moves raised not only questions about his influence in the Rangers boardroom but also the ire of Hearts and Hibs.
and said he wanted to take a look at him during pre-season and Ferguson was part of Newcastle’s tour to North America, playing mostly at left-back and even filling in at centre-back against Portland Timbers with the side short on defenders.
In May he was part of Stuart McCall’s side that lost 3-0 to Motherwell in the Premiership playoff game that ended with Rangers’ Bilel Mohsni brawling with a number of opponents in the centre of the pitch after the home side had secured a 6-1 aggregate win.
But with Newcastle adding further to their squad in the summer McClaren felt it was best if the 24-year-old went elsewhere to experience firstteam football. Ferguson explains: “Obviously he knew I was injured last year and he stopped me and said it would be good for me if I could just go and get games and that, just get my fitness up.
The previous October he played for a plucky Northern Ireland who got busy hammering the final nail into Claudio Ranieri’s Greek coffin as they started qualification for a major tournament with three straight wins for the first time ever.
“So that told me what to do, just go out and play and enjoy myself. “I kind of don’t mind if I’m at left-back or on the left wing. I’ve done it with Newcastle and Northern Ireland and played both but wherever I’m need I’ll play, no hesitation.”
Yet when you speak with Ferguson he comes across more like a very polite work experience kid in to help the kitman than a professional footballer with an interesting catalogue of experience behind him, including, in his debut season, playing a key role in a 4-3 League Cup win over Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.
He had only ever been to London to visit once before his move to the Lions but will now have plenty of time to explore the city. He currently lives near the training ground – “It’s great, I can just roll out of bed in the morning and be at training in two minutes!” – and will take time to explore the city which he says he will find a lot different to Newcastle or Derry where he grew up in Northern Ireland.
At that point he seemed set for an exciting Premier League career but injuries added to the constant flux at St James’ Park hindered that progression. Steve McLaren was appointed this summer
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“Aye, it’s a bit of a change because Newcastle isn’t obviously as big as here and it’s definitely a change from back home at Ireland because it’s tiny compared to this,” he says. “But I’m settling down well, I’ve just moved into an apartment, just me and my girlfriend who’s came down with me as well. She’s doing all the work at the minute! “She’s in university as well but that doesn’t start for a couple of months so she’ll just be travelling up and down. “When I was in Newcastle in my spare time I would just probably go out and play golf with my friends and that. Go round the town and that and just take it easy really, just chill. “I’ll definitely go round and have a look at the city here, take pictures and that. I’ve only been down once before so I haven’t really had a chance to look around and I’ll be looking forward to doing that now.” After that he is eager to experience The Den atmosphere again having played there with Birmingham during another loan spell. “It was a good experience and it’s nice and loud and the fans are good as well, they’re great supporters. “Last weekend the away supporters were fantastic and it’s only going to help the players “The confidence we have in that group is fantastic and hopefully we can just carry on and get the job (of securing promotion) done in the end. We’re in such a good position with the squad we have.” 5
PREVIEW:
COVENTRY CITY
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BY JOHN KELLY
EIL Harris could pick the same side that started with a win in their Sky Bet League One opener against Shrewsbury last weekend.
from where he set up Morison for the equaliser at Greenhous Meadow. Up front Gregory will again partner Morison as the pair look to add to their combined three goals in two games so far this season.
The Millwall boss made four changes for the League Cup defeat to Barnet, but David Forde should resume in goal in place of Jordan Archer.
Meanwhile Tony Mowbray is expecting a physical contest on Saturday but feels that centre-back Reda Johnson is equipped to deal with any long balls forward.
Sid Nelson played out of position at right-back against Martin Allen’s side but Shaun Cummings will start on Saturday.
“It’s early season and every team wants to get up and running,” he said at Thursday’s prematch press conference. “They beat Shrewsbury away from home which is a huge plus for them, they’re off the mark and they’ll be thinking like we are – a win could send you top early doors.
There has been some speculation surrounding the future of defender Mark Beevers, who has been linked with a move back north where he is from, but it is likely he will continue in his role at left-back this weekend with Joe Martin still out.
“Their fans can create an intimidating atmosphere and your team have to stand up to it. “I think it may be a similar start to the Rochdale game where we ride out a little bit of pressure and then we get the ball and move it. Hopefully Reda will help with the directness of some of the teams in this league and that’s why I was desperate to sign him.
Beevers was impressive last weekend and the club have said he is currently a committed member of the squad. Fred Onyedinma, who won the penalty on Tuesday night from which Steve Morison hit the crossbar, went off after taking a knock but should be fit to take his place in the starting line-up.
“Reda can deal with the first ball better than most in this league. They’ve got some good players and it’s an opportunity for them to bounce back against us.”
Jimmy Abdou is unlikely to return for the visit of the Sky Blues so Ed Upson will continue in midfield alongside Shaun Williams.
Sky Bet match odds: Millwall 6/5 Draw 23/10 Coventry 23/10
Harris, though, could have a tough decision to make who to play on the left side of midfield.
Probable Millwall team:
Paris Cowan-Hall added real incision against Barnet and combined well with Onyedinma and Lee Gregory. Harris has the option of starting the former Wycombe player on the right with Onyedinma switching to the left wing
Forde; Cummings, Webster, Craig, Beevers; Onyedinma, Upson, Williams, Lee Martin; Gregory, Morison 7
THREE QUESTIONS FOR THE WEEKEND By Stan Routledge-Gray
1. Can Fred Onyedinma continue his blistering form?
2. Will Steve Morison repeat his goal-scoring feats from the last time Millwall were in League One?
The 18-year-old spent part of last season on loan at Wycombe Wanderers where he helped them reach the League Two playoff final. His performances for The Chairboys earned the youth team graduate a new contract, keeping him at The Den until at least 2017. Lions boss Neil Harris was rewarded for his faith in Onyedinma with some brilliant form in pre-season including a clever goal in the 3-2 defeat against CD Tondela.
It was an encouraging second debut from Morison as he scored against a defiant Shrewsbury side. Morison was first signed for Millwall by Kenny Jackett in 2009 from Stevenage and left in 2011 to join Premier League side Norwich. During his first spell at the club Morison scored 35 league goals in 83 appearances. The striker, now 31, returned to The Den on loan in 2013 and scored eight goals for the club that season. Morison said this week he is targeting 20 goals this term and Lions fans will be hoping for a figure along the same lines. He already has two in two games.
The winger’s encouraging performances meant that he was handed the number 10 shirt for the season by manager Harris. The local lad has fast become a key player for the Lions and his exciting display in Saturday’s 2-1 win over Shrewsbury earned him the man of the match award. Can young Onyedinma sustain this kind of form throughout the season? The signs so far are very encouraging.
The centre-forward position had been one that manager Harris was keen to address and this became even more pressing when striker Aiden O’Brien was injured during pre-season. With the quality they have in the squad Millwall should be pushing for promotion and fans will be hoping that Morison will be the prominent striker they have been missing for a few years.
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3. Can Coventry City's young side challenge for promotion under Tony Mowbray? Coventry’s starting XI in their first match of the season against Wigan had an average age of just 23.7, while Millwall’s against Shrewsbury was 27.3. Boss Mowbray has put together a youthful team in an attempt to add the energy that they haven’t had over the last few seasons. Early signs were positive as the Sky Blues comfortably beat Wigan last weekend thanks to a brace from 18-year-old loan-star Adam Armstrong. Other youngsters in the team are 20-yearold full-back Jordan Willis and ex-Tottenham winger Ruben Lameiras, also 20. Despite the plethora of young, flair players at Coventry they also possess a solid, experienced centre-back pairing. Mowbray will look to captain Sam Ricketts and ex-Sheffield Wednesday man Reda Johnson to direct and encourage their much younger teammates. The Sky Blues will be confident going into their clash with Millwall, which will make it an intriguing encounter.
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STAT'S THAT... BY JOHN KELLY
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16TH
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Including pre-season, Millwall have gone behind in five out of six games so far. However, they have also shown they have the fight to recover – they have scored six equalisers in those games.
in the league since March 3 when Barnsley beat them 1-0.
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Millwall have won just two out of 13 competitive games they have played at The Den this calendar year – but both those victories have come since Neil Harris took over, against Charlton and Wigan. The Lions managed to win just twice in all competitions at home from August until Harris was made boss in March.
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The last time the sides were in the same division was in the Championship in 2011/12 when Millwall did the double over their opponents. Two goals from Darius Henderson and one from Liam Feeney helped the Lions to a 3-0 win at The Den, while Shane Lowry’s goal gave his side all three points at the Ricoh Arena. Millwall finished 16th at the end of the season with Coventry in 23rd and relegated to League One.
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Millwall are undefeated in their last seven home matches against Coventry in all competitions. The Sky Blues, meanwhile, haven’t lost a game away 10
In each of the last three seasons, Coventry have won the next game after getting knocked out of the League Cup. Like Millwall, they exited the competition on Tuesday night after losing to Rochdale on penalties. The sides have met on 57 previous occasions. Millwall just edge the historical win record with 24 to their rival’s 22. Just 11 of the games have ended in draws. The highest aggregate score involving the sides is 10. Millwall beat Coventry 9-1 when the sides met in a Division Three South game on November 19, 1927. Just six of the 57 games between the sides have ended in goalless draws. Coventry were in the First Division in Millwall’s only seasons in the top flight. In the 1988/89 and 1989/90 seasons Millwall lost just once in four games to the Sky Blues – a 3-1 setback in February 1990 as Bruce Rioch’s side slid back into the Second Division.
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HARRIS HAPPY WITH MILLWALL SQUAD BUT COULD BUY AGAIN BY JOHN KELLY
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ILLWALL’S injured trio Aiden O’Brien, Joe Martin and Jimmy Abdou should all be back in contention in the next two weeks to boost Neil Harris’ options. but wasn’t making any snap statements about the need to urgently bring in new players.
Harris is “happy” with his squad but hasn’t ruled out adding more signings before the transfer window shuts on August 31.
“I’m really happy with my squad,” he said. “But if we feel the need to strengthen an area then we will.
Martin’s injury has seen Mark Beevers pressed into action at left-back while Ed Upson and Shaun Williams have been the regular midfield partnership through pre-season and again against Shrewsbury and Barnet.
“We have some players out injured at the moment but they are short-term injuries. “Aiden, Joe and Jimmy will all be back in the group in the next seven to fourteen days and we look forward to having them back.
The Lions were linked with Shrewsbury centre-back Jermaine Grandison last week before he committed his future to Micky Mellon’s side the day before the start of the season.
“It’ll give me some more good options. Once they’re back in we’ll have a much stronger squad.
O’Brien’s injury has left Harris short up front. John Marquis started against Barnet on Tuesday night before Lee Gregory came off the bench to add extra combativeness to the attack.
“We will learn from our mistakes the other night. We concede goals as a team and we score goals as a team and if I talk to an individual it’s to help him improve.”
Harris was disappointed with the manner of the defeat to Martin Allen’s League Two side
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FERGUSON: MILLWALL BOSS HARRIS CONVINCED ME ON DEN MOVE BY JOHN KELLY
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HANE Ferguson revealed there was interest in him from other clubs before he left Newcastle – but a chat with Neil Harris convinced him to relocate to south London.
Ferguson made his debut off the bench at Shrewsbury before starting in the defeat to Barnet on Tuesday night.
“I thought I was just coming down really, just to have a look at everything and then I got told I was going to be in the squad.
The Northern Ireland international played a full part in Newcastle’s pre-season and was part of their tour to North America, but was then surprised at how quickly his move to the Lions was wrapped up after he travelled down to London just two days before the start of the league season.
“I want to help get Millwall as far up the table as I can and just make sure they’re in a good position and then we’ll see from there what happens (at the end of his loan deal).
He explained: “There were a couple of clubs interested but I spoke to the manager here and I liked the enthusiasm he’s got for his club and the ambition as well. It just made me want to come here and just enjoy my football.
Ferguson, 24, also received a phone call from his international boss Michael O’Neill when rumours emerged that Harris was interested in bringing him to The Den.
“The reason I came here is to play as many games as I can.”
And O’Neill backed the move as he wants his squad – currently in second place in Group F in the Euro 2016 qualifiers and in line to qualify for their first major tournament in 30 years – to get as much first-team football as possible this season.
“The first meeting he said, ‘I just want you to distribute it direct and get as many crosses into the box as possible.’ “I think it was (the pre-season friendly against) York that he was saying he was really impressed with the crosses I was putting in.”
“He phoned me up because he was hearing stuff and he was saying it’s a good move,” Ferguson said. “Obviously he just wants me playing football. That’s good for him, it’s good for me and it’s probably good for Newcastle as well.”
“It was good to come on and make my debut, it came as a shock that it happened so quickly as well.
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MILLWALL CAPITAL ONE CUP EXIT:
THREE THINGS WE LEARNED BY JOHN KELLY
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E take a look at some of the talking points after Millwall were knocked out of the League Cup by Barnet.
The Lions came back to level through Steve Morison after John Akinde had put Barnet ahead before Andy Yiadom sent the Bees through to the second round. From Lee Gregory’s importance to the side to Millwall’s habit of going behind in games, we analyse the Lions’ latest result and what it means.
1. GREGORY MAKES A DIFFERENCE
The former Halifax Town striker has a knack of always seeming to find himself at the centre of the action in and around the box.
Neil Harris wanted a trimmer squad this season – and the stats show a positive correlation between the fewest number of players used per season and final league positions – but two or three injuries can quickly reveal limitations.
He immediately unsettled the Barnet defence last night and linked well with Morison and with Fred Onyedinma and Paris Cowan-Hall.
Harris rested Lee Gregory last night and probably would have liked to have been in the position to leave him on the bench for the entire evening.
It’s crucial Gregory stays fit if Millwall are to challenge for a top-six spot. He scored ten league goals last season after his move to the Championship from non-league football, so reaching a target of 15 this season – with Morison already on two in two games – will surely leave Millwall duking it out towards the business end of the table.
But, with John Marquis struggling to impose himself and strike up an understanding with Steve Morison, Gregory was summoned on 66 minutes to replace his team-mate.
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He is also at this point a steadier presence than his understudy.
2. ARCHER ENJOYS TARGET PRACTICE Jordan Archer has had to bide his time for his competitive Millwall debut. He finally got his chance last night and produced several really excellent saves, as well as some truly heart-inthe-mouth moments.
Twice last night Archer had Millwall fans holding their breaths. First he looked like he was going to try to take the ball around Akinde close to his own line only to be quickly closed down. He was lucky – and relieved – that the ball squirted harmlessly wide.
It is tempting to think regular number one David Forde wouldn’t have got down to tip Luke Gambin’s 26th minute shot against the post to prevent Barnet taking a two-goal lead.
In extra-time he raced out of his box to clear, only to see his header go behind him to Michael Gash whose shot towards an open goal was on target but cut out by Webster.
Archer also showed lightning reflexes to keep out a John Akinde shot from inside the box in the second half, again getting down smartly, this time to his right, to divert the ball around the post.
Archer has an all-action style, cat-like reflexes and an eccentric side that could make for some interesting watching this season.
Forde, along with club captain Tony Craig, is a key player for Harris in the dressing room and is quite vocal before games.
slightly out position the striker worked space for a shot that went over.
3. SPACE INVADERS Moses Emmanuel. Lyle Taylor. Luis Machado. John Akinde. Millwall went behind in three of their four pre-season games and have done the same in both competitive fixtures so far. A feature of the goals scored by the players above for Bromley, AFC Wimbledon, CD Tondela and Barnet was the space those players exploited behind Millwall’s defence. Harris wants to play a high, pressing game, but the Lions defence has been caught out with long balls over the top or passes played in the inside channels between the centre-backs and full-backs.
A few minutes later he was able to isolate Webster and after being picked out with a ball down the inside-left channel he raced away from the defender only to be brought down in the box. In the 102nd minute of extra-time the scenario was repeated, this time in the opposite channel but against the same opponent. Akinde had done all the hard work when Andy Yiadom arrived to finish past Archer. On Saturday, Webster could find himself directly up against Adam Armstrong, Coventry’s quick, on-loan Newcastle forward.
When teams have broken through the first line of defence in midfield they have often found time and space to play a ball in behind a high line for pacy strikers to attack the spaces between the back four and goal.
He played in a left-sided role against Wigan, scoring twice in a 2-0 win. Millwall will have to be aware of the danger he is capable of posing, especially if Coventry work space in midfield or, as against Wimbledon and Tondela, just after possession has been turned over.
Last night, Akinde warned of the threat he posed a few minutes in when he took up a position off Byron Webster’s shoulder and with Sid Nelson
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HARRIS: HOME PRESSURE SHOULDN'T BE A FACTOR BY JOHN KELLY
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EIL Harris has dismissed any idea that his players feel added pressure playing at The Den. “I can’t wait for Saturday now. We had 18 shots in the penalty area and that should be enough to win any game.
Millwall exited the Capital One Cup at home at the hands of Barnet on Tuesday night but Harris refused to make any excuses.
“We didn’t so we move on to Saturday. It’ll be tough against Coventry because they’re a good side, but we will learn from our mistakes and look forward to putting things right at the weekend.
With David Forde, Shaun Cummings and Lee Gregory set to come back into the side for the visit of Coventry on Saturday, he also added he expects a much better performance this weekend as the Lions bid to make it two wins from two in the league.
“When you have a defeat the first thing you want to do is put it right and we have the perfect opportunity to do that.”
He said: “There shouldn’t be any pressure in the group playing at home. If I think there is then players won’t play. “I’ll be patient with them. I thought some of it (Tuesday) night was really good but some of it was poor.
Harris was also pleased with Jordan Archer’s debut but rued all those missed chances. “He made some good saves. It was his debut for the club and that was one of a lot of positives for me.
“I need to look back on the game again but we’re under no illusions that we need to be better at home than we have been, and we will be.
“But, as I said, if you don’t take more of the chances you’ve created you have to make sure you keep them out at the other end. It is a collective team effort.”
“Whatever team I pick, I can accept poor performances but not continued poor performances.
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MILLWALL BOSS DISAPPOINTED WITH PERFORMANCE IN BARNET LOSS BY JAY TAYLOR
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EIL Harris expressed his disappointment at Millwall’s performance in their Capital One Cup defeat to League Two Barnet.
ry and Paris Cowan-Hall were introduced, replacing John Marquis and Lee Martin. And Harris was pleased with the impact his substitutes made, but revealed he expressed his dissatisfaction with his players after the defeat.
The Lions were eliminated from the competition after a 2-1 defeat through goals from John Akinde and Andy Yiadom, either side of a Steve Morison header.
“I made a couple of changes from Saturday and left a couple of players on the bench and to bring them on was pleasing.” Harris said. “Whatever team I picked tonight should have been able to win that game at home. “I told the boys in the dressing room I was disappointed. I also told them what we will need do between now and Saturday and after that point to improve.
And Harris could scarcely hide his dismay at the defeat to a fellow London side as he explained his sides shortcoming’s. “I’m disappointed because I wanted to win tonight,” Harris said. “We want to win every game, but I am disappointed because in the first half we didn’t control the game very well.
“I thought at times we made poor decisions, we were rushing, we have to be calm.
“Barnet played well in the first half but we were very sloppy in possession, we didn’t have the high energy in the forward areas that I wanted us to have.
“I’ve told the boys we have to learn from our positive play, but we will also learn from our mistakes.”
“In the second half, though, we changed things around a little bit and we had some good spells.
Harris added: “We will learn from our failures tonight as a team, how we have to control the tempo of the game and how to control the game itself at The Den. That’s extremely important when you play for this club.
“We controlled large parts of it and scored a good goal, but we should have had another three or four. “You go to extra-time thinking if we carry on doing what we’re doing, we should win.
“We didn’t play well at times tonight, but some of our play was really good.
“To give a poor second goal away was extremely disappointing.”
“We had 18 shots from inside their penalty area. With that amount of chances in that sort of area you should be winning the game. We didn’t, and we move onto Saturday.”
Millwall looked more of a threat going forward in the second half when Lee Grego-
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MILLWALL NEW BOY STEVE MORISON SETS HIGH GOALS TARGET BY JOHN KELLY
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TEVE Morison is targeting 20 goals for Millwall this season – but says his number one priority is helping Neil Harris’ side win promotion.
that I’m here I want to get to 20 goals,” he said. “If I didn’t get to 20 goals and we got promoted it wouldn’t bother me too much, but from a personal point of view I’d like to get to 20.
Morison was quickly off the mark against Shrewsbury on Saturday, tapping in after Fred Onyedinma’s run and cross.
The striker also revealed the process behind his move back to south London after Leeds manager Uwe Rosler had told him early last week that he wanted him to stay at Elland Road.
The 31-year-old centre-forward was the last Millwall player to score more than 20 goals in one season, netting 23 when he helped fire the Lions to promotion to the Championship in 2009-10.
Little over 24 hours later, however, he had sealed his move to Millwall and began training with his new club just two days before the trip to Shrewsbury.
He got 17 the following season as Millwall finished ninth in the table and is setting similar high standards this season after Onyedinma teed him up for the equaliser at Greenhous Meadow.
“It all happened quite quickly,” he explained. “I had played for Leeds the Saturday before and trained Monday. It was Monday afternoon I got a call to say things had been agreed between the two clubs and I came down Tuesday.
Of his goal he said: “I saw Fred going down the left but when he pulled it back I thought, ‘This is never going to get to me.’ And then all of a sudden it was there and I was able to put it in. “I was desperate to win that game, get back, and it was great to get that goal after Fred’s magic down the wing.”
“I left Leeds at 9am and got here at about three in the afternoon. I got it all done, went back to the family on Wednesday and then back to work Thursday.
“When I first came I didn’t set myself any targets because I was new to the level but now
“It wasn’t something I was overly thinking about but obviously when Leeds said that
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they didn’t want me – or the owner didn’t want me to be there, the manager was a different kettle of fish – once that had all been agreed there was only one place I wanted to go. “The offer was on the table and, once I was able to leave, this was an ideal situation. “I spoke to Rosler on the Monday and he was keen for me to stay, he wasn’t really interested in me leaving. “He put it in my court and I went away for a couple of hours and made the decision that I would accept the offer the owner had given me and I was going to leave.”
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HARRIS EXCITED BY STRIKE PARTNERSHIP POTENTIAL BY JOHN KELLY
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EIL Harris says he saw signs of a burgeoning strike partnership in Saturday’s League One win at Shrewsbury.
keepers and defenders are going to make a mistake and cost us a goal but I can live with that if everything else is right. “On Saturday David looked assured and confident and kicked really well. His link-up to the front two was excellent. It’s a start for us but we’re not getting carried away.”
The Lions found themselves behind ten minutes into the second half at Greenhous Meadow before goals from Steve Morison and Lee Gregory gave them the points. The Millwall boss was also pleased with the outlet his strike pair provided and David Forde’s ability to pick them out with long kicks.
Harris also praised the contribution of his wingers after watching Fred Onyedinma produce some thrilling moments and an assist for Morison’s goal as well as seeing Lee Martin go close to scoring when his fierce free-kick was tipped over the bar by Jayson Leutwiler.
“I think it would be a bit unfair to pick out any one player without acknowledging the whole side,” Harris said.
Harris said: “But I thought the two wide men were outstanding. “We know what Fred’s got and he keeps impressing everybody. His ability to run with the ball and keep it in tight areas and his strength and pace is outstanding.
“But I think think we saw real glimpses of a strike pairing, which gives me great options. When you can bring John Marquis off the bench 2-1 up with ten minutes to go, what a fortunate position that is for me as a manager.
“He took his time to get into the game but I’ve got no problem with that and no problem with an 18-year-old wide player running with the ball and giving it away, getting it back again and doing the same again.
“I thought Steve Morison was outstanding for 90 minutes. He was a real handful with his workrate, his energy and presence. That set the tempo for us and I can’t remember their centre-halves having a free header and they are two good, solid defenders.
“We saw him burst into life with a couple of channel runs and when he came inside on his left foot he forced the keeper into a great save. He also had an assist and his positional play was excellent for 90 minutes.”
“I thought from back to front we were outstanding. It’s a real outlet for us for Fordey to be able to aim for those two, it gives us a real chance to get up the pitch and support the play.
Meanwhile Harris has yet to decide how many changes he will make for the League One first round tie against Barnet at The Den on Tuesday evening.
“He’s a top quality goalkeeper who’s got a real hunger to play. He talks in the dressing room leading the troops, him and Tony Craig.
“We’ll see who’s fit and lively and we’ll make a decision based on what we know about Barnet and what we’re looking to achieve this week.
“I’m fortunate I’ve got really good Millwall characters. “David’s hungry, I saw that in ten games last season when he played for me and I saw it in pre-season as well.
“Obviously we’ll have the opportunity to change a couple of players if we feel the need to but we won’t be making wholesale changes.”
“Everyone can’t play well every week. Goal-
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NEWSATDEN LINKS UP WITH MILLWALL
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ewsAtDen and Southwark News were pleased to announce a new media partnership during the week with Millwall Football Club.
will now be available to purchase in the Lions Store.
The partnership will see NewsAtDen and Southwark News working closely with the football club on a range of sponsorship, advertising and digital content opportunities.
The Southwark News began life as the Bermondsey News in 1987 and has rapidly grown to cover the entire borough and the surrounding area. Their print product remains the only independent, paid-for newspaper in London.
Weekly editions of the Southwark News, which go on sale each and every Thursday,
NewsAtDen and Southwark News announced their own partnership in 2013.
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CLASSIC NEWSATDEN
MATCH REPORTS
COVENTRY 0-1 MILLWALL
CHAMPIONSHIP 11/12
17TH APRIL 2012
MURPHY 1 KEOGH 2 HUSSEY 3 CLINGAN 4 BELL 7 MCSHEFFREY 11 MCDONALD 14 CRAINIE 15 NORWOOD 16 PLATT 22 CLARKE 26
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39 TAYLOR 21 SMITH 3 CRAIG 26 ABDOU 18 WARD 31 LOWRY 16 BARRON 44 WRIGHT 20 KEOGH 37 KANE 14 HENRY
HANE Lowry scored his first senior goal as Millwall completed a smash and grab victory at League Onebound Coventry City.
Taylor’s penalty save was just one of several decisive interventions from the Leeds United loanee as he pulled off a string of fine saves throughout the match to keep Andy Thorn’s side at bay.
Keeper Maik Taylor saved a Gary McSheffrey penalty less than ten minutes before Lowry buried a close-range header from Alan Dunne’s first-time cross midway through the second half.
Cody McDonald’s 33rd-minute volley looked destined for the top corner until Taylor tipped it around the post at full-stretch. Andy Keogh and James Henry both spurned good chances to add a second for the Lions, who are now one of the division’s form sides going into the final weeks of the campaign.
Victory was Millwall’s fourth in a row and moved them to within two points of 16thplaced Crystal Palace. But the Sky Blues, now five points adrift of safety with two games to go, are on the verge of relegation. 27
LEAGUE ONE TABLE P W D L F A G D PT 1 Gilling h a m 1 1 0 0 4 0 + 4 3 2 Swindon Tow n 1 1 0 0 4 1 + 3 3 3 C h e s t e r f i e l d 1 1 0 0 3 1 + 2 3 4 C o v en t r y C i t y 1 1 0 0 2 0 + 2 3 5 Ro c h da l e 1 1 0 0 2 0 + 2 3 6 B ur t on A l bi on 1 1 0 0 2 1 + 1 3 7 Millw a l l 1 1 0 0 2 1 + 1 3 8 B lack p ool 1 0 1 0 2 2 + 0 1 9 C o lc h e s t e r U n i t e d 1 0 1 0 2 2 + 0 1 10 B ur y 1 0 1 0 1 1 + 0 1 1 1 Do n c a s t e r R ove r s 1 0 1 0 1 1 + 0 1 12 F le e t w ood Tow n 1 0 1 0 1 1 + 0 1 13 O ld h a m A t h l e t i c 1 0 1 0 1 1 + 0 1 14 So ut h e n d U n i t e d 1 0 1 0 1 1 + 0 1 15 Wa ls a l l 1 0 1 0 1 1 + 0 1 16 C re w e A l exa n dr a 1 0 1 0 0 0 + 0 1 17 P o r t Va l e 1 0 1 0 0 0 + 0 1 18 Scun t h or p e U n i t e d 1 0 0 1 1 2 -1 0 19 Sh re w s bu r y Tow n 1 0 0 1 1 2 -1 0 20 B ar n s l e y 1 0 0 1 1 3 -2 0 21 P e t e r borou g h U ‌ 1 0 0 1 0 2 -2 0 2 2 W iga n A t h l e t i c 1 0 0 1 0 2 -2 0 23 B r a d for d C i t y 1 0 0 1 1 4 -3 0 24 Sh e f f i e l d U n i t e d 1 0 0 1 0 4 -4 0
FIXTURES COVENTRY CITY T HE DEN S ATU RDAY 1 5 T H AU G U S T
BARNSLEY T HE DEN TUESDAY 1 8 T H AU G U S T
SCUNTHORPE UNITED GL ANFOR D PA R K S ATU RDAY 22 N D AU G U S T
CHESTERFIELD T HE DEN S ATU RDAY 29 T H AU G U S T
PORT VALE VA LE PAR K S ATU RDAY 5TH S E P T E M B E R
AET
MILLWALL BARNET
1 2
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Millwall defence that was comfortable last weekend at Shrewsbury looking flustered and stretched.
t may not have seemed like it on Tuesday night but it could be that Neil Harris will look back on this defeat and think Millwall were better off without an extra fixture or two clogging up their early season schedule.
The tactic was clearly to pit Akinde against Byron Webster and the striker showed he had the pace to beat his opponent numerous times in the first half as he exploited any space there was on a pitch that is six metres longer this season.
Sure, a plum tie may have materialised down the line but realistically at this point Millwall aren’t carrying a big enough squad to cover themselves on more than one or two fronts and most fans would view the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy as a more negotiable path to Wembley.
How Webster could have done with reduced dimensions coming up to 11 minutes when Akinde picked the ball up in the inside-left channel and stretched those powerful legs to race into the box.
Not that there won’t have been a heavy level of dissatisfaction with how the side performed against their League Two opponents who were three divisions below them in the football ladder last year but who possess a striker in John Akinde who was exactly the type of muscular, bullying presence that the Lions could have done with as they struggled to break through a disciplined Barnet defence.
Akinde, top scorer for the Bees last season, had already given Millwall a warning a few minutes earlier when he found space with Sid Nelson out of position to cut back inside and fire over. This time he easily beat Webster for pace and the defender could only rashly haul him down in the box. In front of a noisy south stand Akinde picked himself up and calmly rolled the ball to the bottom corner of the net with Jordan Archer diving the wrong way.
The Bees played nothing like a side that had lost their opening League Two fixture 2-0 against Leyton Orient and instead displayed a level of cuteness that had a
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Shrewsbury boss Micky Mellon said on Saturday that Millwall had reacted better to going behind but there was no evidence that Barnet were going to sit back and allow the home side to play their way back into the game. In fact it was the Bees who would have doubled their advantage only for Archer to produce an excellent save low to his right after Luke Gambin had burst into the box to shoot. Archer was making his full competitive debut for Millwall after his move from Tottenham and, though he had some nervy moments, he produced a string of saves throughout to keep Millwall in the game. Two in particular stood out, first when he prevented Akinde from making it 2-0 in the second half by again getting down quickly to his right to keep out the striker’s low shot from inside the box and then when he palmed away Andy Yiadom’s left-foot curler that looked destined for the top corner. Archer did enough to convince Harris that should David Forde not be available he has a fine shot-stopper in reserve. At the other end Millwall struggled to get anything off Barnet centre-backs Michael Nelson and Bira Dembele , yet Lee Martin should have equalised ten minutes before the break when after being put through by Steve Morison he couldn’t lift his effort over the advancing Graham Stack and when the ball rebounded towards goal midfielder Sam Togwell did brilliantly to get back to clear off the line. Lee Gregory showed against Shrewsbury what an important player he will be for Harris this season and that was illustrated again - this time by his absence – when on 61 minutes Fred Onyedinma was fouled in the box
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only for Morison to hammer his penalty off the crossbar. At least Millwall were pinning back their opponents in their own half but it was really only after the introductions of Gregory and Paris Cowan-Hall on 66 minutes that they looked like consistently threatening Stack’s goal. The Lions are already stretched up front with Aiden O’Brien out injured and will be desperate that Gregory and Morison stay fit this season. Despite a productive spell on loan at Gillingham last term, John Marquis frustratingly found himself on the margins of the game before being replaced with Gregory who has a knack of always being at the centre of the action in and around an opponent’s box. It was the nuisance of his presence and Cowan-Hall’s urgency that finally unsettled the away side and Morison made up for his earlier miss when he rose highest in the box on 76 minutes to flick Shaun Williams’ freekick to the net past former Lions keeper Stack. Millwall should really have won it in 90 minutes – they had 18 shots in total in the box over the course of the game – but it was Barnet who did in the 102nd minute. Akinde, who had been much quieter in the second period, managed to isolate Webster again, this time in the inside-right channel, and square for Yiadom who scored from a couple of yards out. Millwall threw everything at their opponents in five minutes of added time to no yield but as they made their way out of the ground all but a small pocket of joyous supporters in the away end crowd will probably reflect that the Lions’ season won’t be made on a dreary Tuesday night in August.
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SHREWSBURY TOWN MILLWALL
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TEVE Morison scored on his second Millwall debut to help Neil Harris’ side to the three points against Shrewsbury at Greenhous Meadow.
though Shrewsbury had their chances, the away side were well-organised and showed impressive hunger to close down their opponents.
Morison tapped in at the back post for a 59th-minute equaliser before the excellent Lee Gregory scored from the spot eight minutes later.
It was also a first win away in the league since February 10 against Birmingham City and Harris could hardly have imagined it going much better in the first game of his first full season as manager.
It was no more than the Lions deserved after a battling display, and Gregory and Fred Onyedinma in particular were key to the win.
He handed a debut to Morison with the former Leeds man partnering Gregory up front.
Gregory worked non-stop throughout and was embraced by Neil Harris when he was replaced with five minutes left.
Mark Beevers continued at left-back in the absence of the injured Joe Martin while on-loan Newcastle winger Shane Ferguson was on the bench.
Morison will rightly get some of the headlines, but it was Onyedinma who was central to both goals and he looks like he has hugely benefitted from last season’s loan spell at Wycombe.
Harris also went for the more physical Byron Webster to partner captain Tony Craig in the centre of defence with Shrewsbury possessing some robust forwards. And it was Millwall who were first to threaten when Onyedinma, with the new number ten shirt on his back
This was an impressive Millwall performance and
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and looking confident, took on and beat Mat Sadler but his cross was headed away.
but Abu Ogogo had done well to scramble back and he headed the ball off the line.
But Shrewsbury have a formidable recent home league record and they quickly settled with Ryan Woods in particular looking composed in midfield.
Shrewsbury’s front pair were causing Millwall’s defence a few problems and Barnett again headed over a difficult enough chance before the break.
Clearly the instructions from Micky Mellon were to try to get Jean-Louis Akpa Akpro in behind Shaun Cummings on the left and on 14 minutes the tactic almost paid off when the winger beat the defender to cross for Tyrone Barnett who headed over.
Ironically it was after the game’s quietest period that Shrewsbury went ahead on 55 minutes.
David Forde, who was shaky in the last pre-season game against CD Tondela, was looking much more confident here and he was quickly off his line to thwart James Collins as he attempted to muscle through in the box. Gregory spent much of the opening 45 minutes chasing down and battling for loose balls and after he had won a free-kick 35 yards out, Shaun Williams almost surprised Jayson Leutwiler with a stinging drive but the keeper gathered at the second attempt. Leutwiler then did even better to tip Lee Martin’s deflected free-kick over the bar as Millwall enjoyed a period of possession. And they came closest to opening the scoring shortly before half-time when Beevers climbed at the back post to head Martin’s corner towards the top corner,
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Ogogo did well to fizz a cross behind Millwall’s back four and Collins beat Forde from a tight angle close in. But Millwall quickly recovered after that shock and equalised four minutes later. Onyedinma took on and teased Matt Tootle to cut the ball back for the onrushing Gregory. He missed it but Morison arrived at the back post to tap in. That goal didn’t just transform the away side as Morison suddenly began to look a real threat as well. With just over 20 minutes left Onyedinma again drove at the heart of the Shrewsbury defence to find Morison who collected the ball in the box and was taken down by Sadler. Shrewsbury fans were upset with the decision but Gregory kept his composure to fire into the top corner. Upson went close with a couple of snapshots and Millwall hung on through six minutes of added time to hand Harris the perfect start.
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