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BYRON WEBSTER SHOWS MILLWALL FANS WHAT HE'S MADE OF 1
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CONTENTS NEWS
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PREVIEW
CONSISTENT WEBSTER SHOWS MILLWALL FANS WHAT HE’S MADE OF
BLACKPOOL
OPINION
FEATURE
THREE THINGS TO LOOK OUT FOR
MILLWALL A TO Z
NEWS
PLAYER PROFILE
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WALLACE: TEAMS DON’T LIKE COMING UP AGAINST MILLWALL
TEDDY SHERINGHAM
MATCH REPORT
MATCH REPORT
MILLWALL 0 WIGAN 0
DONCASTER 1 MILLWALL 1 3
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CONSISTENT WEBSTER SHOWS MILLWALL FANS WHAT HE'S MADE OF By John Kelly
defensive partners.
YRON Webster believes he is showing what he is capable of after a consistent run in the first team.
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Webster has made 36 appearances so far this season compared to just 13 in his first season after signing from Yeovil Town in the summer of 2014. And his future with Millwall appeared in doubt when he spent the latter part of 2014-15 on loan at his former club.
Tuesday night’s clean sheet in the 0-0 draw against Wigan was Millwall’s fifth in their last seven games in all competitions, with 28-yearold centre-back Webster the only ever-present in defence in all seven of them.
But he has become a mainstay of the team this season in an understated and no-nonsense way, and he thinks the consistency of the selection policy has been key to his own and Millwall’s recent high level of performance.
He has been a constant in Millwall’s back four since he was left on the bench for the 1-0 defeat to Walsall on Boxing Day, with Mark Beevers, Sid Nelson, and even Joe Martin for a spell following Beevers’ red card against Oxford in January, as central
“I’m happy with the way things are going, both personally and with the collec-
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tive,” Webster said. “I always believed that if I had a chance of playing games I’d be able to stay in the team. “Even at the start of the season it was hard to get a run of games. It seemed to be every time I had an average game I’d be taken out last year, and at the start of this year. “Whereas when I’ve been able to get a run of game it’s been alright. But I think that’s the same for everyone. I think you need to play five or six games to get into the rhythm of games and to get that confidence and consistency. “I grew up watching Man United and when their spine of the team was kept the same they went on to win a number of titles. “Whatever club it is if you keep a consistent team it helps a lot.”
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“I’M HAPPY WITH THE WAY THINGS ARE GOING, BOTH PERSONALLY AND WITH THE COLLECTIVE” 7
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PREVIEW:
BLACKPOOL By John Kelly
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ILLWALL boss Neil Harris will have to plan without suspended left-back Joe Martin for the visit of Blackpool to The Den on Saturday.
demonstrated by the fact that they haven’t lost by more than one goal since a 4-2 defeat to Barnsley on December 28. They drew 1-1 at Chesterfield on Tuesday night and Danny Philliskirk, who has scored four goals in ten games since joining from Oldham in January, says Saturday’s clash is the first of “12 cup finals” for his side between now and the end of the season.
Martin picked up his tenth yellow card of the season for a foul on Ryan Colclough in the 0-0 draw with Wigan on Tuesday and will be banned for two games. That could mean Shane Ferguson dropping into the back four with Shaun Williams or Aiden O’Brien restored to the starting XI. Ed Upson could also be an option if he has fully recovered from a hamstring strain, while Fred Onyedinma has been in good form for the U21s recently.
Philliskirk told Blackpool’s official website: ‘“We want to go to Millwall on Saturday, give a good account of ourselves like we did on Tuesday and hopefully get the three points.” “There’ll be times this season when people write us off and we end up picking points up so we’ve just got to concentrate on ourselves.
Blackpool this week signed 20-yearold midfielder Liam Smith on loan from Newcastle for the rest of the season.
“We’ve got 12 cup finals, if we can win half or more we should be OK.”
They are without suspended full-back David Ferguson for the fixture as they look for what would be just a third win away from home in 17 league games this season.
Millwall record against Blackpool: Played 47 Won 14 Drawn 17 Lost 16 Form guide (Last five league): Millwall: WLWDD Blackpool: LDLLD
On-loan Liverpool defender Lloyd Jones is available for the first time since suffering an ankle and knee injury in September.
Sky Bet odds: Millwall 4/6 Draw 13/5 Blackpool 9/2
Blackpool last won away from home on December 12, but that was at Wigan and they have also drawn at Walsall and beaten Gillingham at Bloomfield Road since then.
Probable Millwall team: 4-4-2: Archer; Romeo, Webster, Beevers, Ferguson; Wallace, Abdou, Williams, Thompson; Morison, Gregory.
Despite sitting fourth last in the Sky Bet League One table, two points from safety, their relative resilience is 9
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NEW TACTICAL CHALLENGE AGAINST BLACKPOOL It would have been intriguing to see how the tactical battle between Milllwall and Wigan would have developed had Sam Morsy not got sent off in the 34th minute last Tuesday night. To disrupt Wigan’s passing game, Neil Harris set his side up to stop Wigan at source. When Jason Pearce and Craig Morgan dropped deep and wide to receive a pass from Jussi Jaaskelainen, Steve Morison and Lee Gregory pushed up and either Jimmy Abdou or Ben Thompson pushed up on Sam Morsy. Behind them Millwall communicated to ensure Jaaskelainen couldn’t pick out any of his teammates with a mid-range dinked pass. Such was Wigan’s determination to impose their philosophy they were actually almost caught out a couple of times but Millwall couldn’t punish them.
THREE THINGS TO LOOK OUT FOR By John Kelly
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Millwall’s approach required high levels of concentration and discipline, as well as accurate communication and an intense work rate. Whether they would have been able to keep it up is open to question but it was an admirable tactic and forced Wigan to be reactive. The Lions will face a different type of challenge this weekend. Danny Philliskirk gave an indication of what that might be when he told Blackpool’s official website: “We played more like a 4-3-3 formation (in the draw at Chesterfield on Tuesday night), me and Jack (Redshaw) tucked in more in possession behind Uche (Ikpeazu),” he told the club’s official website. “It complemented me and Jack more because we like ball to feet and to get at people.” Millwall had problems earlier in the season in those exact positions, and indeed more recently when Gillingham’s Bradley Dack and Stephen Dawson of Scunthorpe dictated their sides’ play, picking up the ball in front of Millwall’s defence and then picking out a forward pass for a teammate. That will be another tactical to-and-fro to keep an eye on this weekend.
ONYEDINMA OR O’BRIEN TO MAKE LATE-SEASON IMPACT?
lowed up impressive performances against Walsall and Rochdale with a mistake against Scunthorpe at home. That was all accepted as part of the defender’s development.
Fred Onyedinma was the star of the early part of Millwall’s season. In fact, after Millwall’s poor start he was about the only bright spot.
Maybe one player who has gone off the boil to a bigger extent is Aiden O’Brien. Since signing an improved deal with the club he has scored just one goal. O’Brien has recently found himself out of the team but may get his opportunity on Saturday with Joe Martin injured.
He started Millwall’s first 11 games of the season but since then 17 of his 26 appearances have been from the bench. Those kind of stats fit with what Harris has said numerous times this season, that the younger players will have dips in form. The encouraging thing is it’s factored into overall expected performance levels and outcomes so there are never any recriminations.
The flipside of Onyedinma and O’Brien being on the bench is that with just 12 crucial games left tiredness won’t be an issue for them. And if they can rediscover some form then they have the ability, and the goalscoring nous, to play crucial roles in the run-in.
The pattern was seen recently in Sid Nelson fol-
TOP-SIX SCRAMBLE While Millwall’s most recent results against Doncaster and Wigan can be viewed positively they also feel like missed opportunities.
They can’t do that again this weekend because while Southend, Sheffield United and Bradford have repeatedly failed to put consistent runs together recently, there is another team on a charge and looking to break into the top six.
Millwall should have taken advantage of Doncaster’s disorganisation at the back in the opening quarter of an hour last Saturday to win the game in that period, just as they did in the first meeting of the sides this season.
When Barnsley lost to Wigan on December 19 they were in the relegation zone. Since then they have won ten out of 12 games and drawn once. It is a stunning run of form and if they sustain it they will be one of the sides in the top six.
Against Wigan on Tuesday night poor finishing and Jaaskelainen’s superb performance meant they passed up the opportunity not only to move to within five points of the top two but also to cut the lead to Gillingham above them to a point and move further away from the chasing sides.
Given their quality it’s hard to see Coventry dropping away to such an extent they drop out of the race for the play-offs. Gillingham have suffered a recent slump but have enough quality to recover. Bradford still can’t be discounted, neither can Sheffield United.
In both games Millwall simply didn’t possess a ruthless streak, at Doncaster in not going for the jugular and against Latics their composure in front of goal simply deserted them.
It all points to an intensely tight race to the finish (With Burton and Wigan increasingly looking like they will secure the automatic promotion spots). It’s games like Saturday’s in which Millwall cannot afford a stumble.
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Tuesday night’s 0-0 draw with Wigan was only the fourth time in his last 12 games that Lee Gregory failed to score.
Stat's that... BY JOHN KELLY
47 6 59
4th
Millwall and Blackpool have met 47 times before. Blackpool have the slight historical edge with 16 wins to Millwall’s 14. There have been 17 draws.
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Only six of the games have ended scoreless, the last eight games ago in League One in September 2006. The most common scoreline between the sides is 1-1, which has occurred nine times. At this stage of the 2009-10 League One season Millwall were sixth in the table with 59 points from 34 games. At the moment Neil Harris’ side are fifth with 55 points from 34 games.
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Blackpool have won just 20 of their last 108 league games away from home since their relegation from the Premier League since 2010-11.
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Millwall have lost just one of their last ten games in the league. Blackpool have won just two of their 11 games in 2016.
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Tuesday night’s 0-0 draw with Wigan was only the fourth time in his last 12 games that Lee Gregory failed to score. The biggest transfer fee Blackpool have paid was the £1.2million they paid to Leicester to sign DJ Campbell in 2010. The £6.75million they received from Liverpool for Charlie Adam is a record for a player leaving the club.
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Ian Holloway won 62 out of 161 games in charge of Blackpool (38.51 per cent). Holloway won just 14 out of 62 games in charge of the Lions (22.58 per cent).
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Jimmy Hampson holds the Blackpool record for most league goals scored in a season, 45 in 1929-30.
72K
Millwall have 57,300 followers on Twitter. Blackpool have 72,200. The Lions, however, have just over 139,000 ‘likes’ on Facebooks compared with Blackpool’s 125,000.
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IS FOR MIDFIELDERS By Mark Litchfield
N a football pitch, the midfield is the engine room of any team. The part where attacks are created – or broken up – and where battles are won or lost.
provided the club with a golden era of midfielders, with names such as Kevin O’Callaghan – the man whose goal won promotion to the old Division One – Terry Hurlock and Les Briley becoming regular figures in the Millwall side.
Currently, Ben Thompson, Jimmy Abdou, Shaun Williams and Ed Upson are vying for the two central berths, but from the 1960’s to the present day, the Lions have had many great midfielders in their possession.
Another name to feature heavily in the 1980’s was Nicky Chatterton. The midfielder arrived from near neighbours Crystal Palace in 1978 and made 312 appearances for the Lions, scoring 67 goals, before leaving for pastures new at Colchester United eight years later.
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In the 60’s, the most famous name in the middle of the park was Eamon Dunphy. After signing from York City for just £8,000 (a lot of money in those days!) in 1966, the Irishman went on to make 302 appearances in a Millwall shirt, scoring 25 goals, before being sold on to Charlton Athletic in 1973.
As one midfield general’s domination of the 1990’s came to a close (Alex Rae), another one’s began as the nineties became the noughties – Tim Cahill. Last week’s profile star enjoyed a star-studded career at The Den, before moving on to Everton after the 2004 FA Cup Final. His partner in crime, David Livermore, also shone during that period, making over 300 appearances – he even
The 70’s saw the likes of Doug Allder and Dave Mehmet make their way on to the scene, whilst the 80’s 17
scored with his right foot once!
90’s.
Bringing the matter more up to date, Liam Trotter stands as one of Millwall’s most recognisable midfielders of the last decade. Splitting the fans opinions seemed to come naturally to the towering Trotter, who scored 25 goals in 164 appearances during his time at The Den.
The golden era of the late 90’s/ early 2000’s saw Steven Reid and Paul Ifill destroy many a defence, whilst the likes of Chris Hackett and James Henry played a major part in successive play-off campaigns in 2009 and 2010. Currently, Shane Ferguson and loanee Jed Wallace look to be adding their names to that list, as the Lions chase promotion back to the Championship at the first attempt.
Over time, those central midfielders have been accompanied by some outstanding wing wizards. Joe Broadfoot and club legend, Billy Neil, set the bar high in the 60’s, with the likes of Anton Otulakowski and Jimmy Carter carrying on that trend in the 80’s and
Who has been your favourite midfielder from years gone by?
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IS FOR NOUGHTIES By Mark Litchfield
T say the least.
they won the title in style with a 5-0 thumping of Oldham Athletic on the final day of the campaign.
HE first decade of the new millennium was quite mixed for Millwall Football Club, to
The next season saw McGhee’s men agonisingly miss out on a shot at promotion to the Premier League, via the Division One play-offs. After a superb season, which had seen the Lions finish 4th in the league table, a two-legged semi-final with arch nemesis, Birmingham City, ended in heartbreak, as Stern John’s injury-time winner on the night also ensured that the Blues would win the tie on aggregate.
In ten years, the Lions suffered relegation, reached an FA Cup Final, played in the UEFA Cup, won the Second Division and reached three play-off campaigns – quite eventful, you could say. The beginning of the decade saw Mark McGhee’s side romp to the Division Two title, finishing the season with a record 93 points and a 28-goal striker in Neil Harris. In a season that saw the club win 17 of its 23 home games in the league, Harris was backed up by the youth of Richard Sadlier, as well as the experience and class of Paul Moody and Steve Claridge, as
2002/2003 saw the Lions finish 9th, as changes started to come into effect following the trouble after that play-off game, but the following season, the club were on a high once more, as under Dennis Wise, they made the FA 20
Cup Final for the first (and only) time in their history, after a run that included wins over Walsall, Telford United, Burnley, Tranmere Rovers and finally Sunderland, in a tense yet memorable afternoon at Old Trafford.
Donachie took charge in his absence. Donachie lasted around a year, but was sacked almost halfway through the 2007/08 season, with the Lions languishing at the bottom of the third tier. Kenny Jackett took charge shortly after and steadied the ship, keeping the club in the division, before starting a remarkable turnaround in the 2008/09 season, as Millwall reached the play-off final at Wembley Stadium, unfortunately losing out in heartbreaking circumstances to Scunthorpe United in a classic.
That accolade meant European football would come to The Den the following season in the form of the UEFA Cup, but that was to only last one round, as the Lions received the unluckiest of unlucky draws, pulling twenty-seven times Hungarian champions Ferencvaros out of the hat. The 2005/06 season was where it started to go wrong for the club. Wise’s resignation at the end of the previous season set in motion a turbulent period of five managerial changes, which ultimately resulted in the Lions losing their Championship status, being relegated to League One. Nigel Spackman took charge of the attempt to return to the second tier at the first attempt, but was sacked a few months into the season after a disastrous start – Willie
The next year, however, Jackett and the club would go one better, returning to the Home of Football, putting things right and banishing the demons with a 1-0 win over Swindon Town, winning promotion back to the Championship after four seasons in the wilderness of League One. It’s never dull being a Millwall fan!
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WALLACE: TEAMS DON'T LIKE COMING UP AGAINST MILLWALL By John Kelly
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ED Wallace believes Millwall have developed into a side that League One sides fear playing. “But you can’t go around chasing people down in modern-day football on your own, they do a onetwo around you and they’re gone. “I always think that it’s better make to make a ten-yard run at the right time than a 40-yard run at the wrong time.
The Lions drew 0-0 with Wigan on Tuesday night and should have beaten the most in-form team in the league after a second-half barrage of shots on Jussi Jaaskelainen’s goal, but they just couldn’t conjure a winner. Wallace, with Shane Ferguson and strikers Steve Morison and Lee Gregory, is part of one of the most potent attacks currently in the division, but ahead of their next fixture with Blackpool this weekend the winger emphasised the need for focus and patience as the scramble for the play-offs heats up with just 12 games remaining.
“I think there are a lot of teams in the league at the moment who wouldn’t want to play us. The front two are on fire and hopefully Fergie and I can keep up the supply.” Wallace has yet to score for the Lions but came close on at least two occasions against Wigan, with an effort in the first half looking like it was destined for the top corner until Jaaskelainen got a fingertip to the ball.
“I don’t look too far into the future, I just look at the fixtures the teams around us have got,” Wallace said. “It’s difficult when you’re at home and you’ve got the punters behind you wanting to press.
There has been no problem, though, with the supply down the right since the 21-year-old’s arrival from
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against Walsall, when Wallace supplied him with the pass from which he scored his first senior goal.
Wolves. Together with the attacking impetus, as well as the defensive security, provided by Mahlon Romeo the combination has lifted the overall strength of the team.
“Mahlon is a very good player,” Wallace said. “I was impressed with him as soon as I saw him in training. I said to the guys, ‘Who’s that?’ And they said he hadn’t really played before. Football now is so power-based. You see the power and pace of modern football and he’s got that.
Wallace regards his 20-year-old colleague highly, and revealed that soon after arriving on loan from Wolves he asked his new teammates about the powerful defender who had yet to play in the first team. Romeo made his debut
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“We’ve had conversations about the defensive side of the game and I don’t think a goal has come down the right side since he’s played. I’m a great believer in getting the defensive side of the game right.
really well with that because you can get excited when you score and think, ‘Scoring goals is much more exciting than keeping clean sheets’. “He’s got a big future ahead and there are plenty of people he can learn from, like Shaun Cummings and Carlos Edwards.”
“When you break into the team and score a goal on your debut like he did it’s important to remember that you’re a defender. And he’s done
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MILLWALL'S THOMPSON: DON'T WASTE CHANCES AGAINST BLACKPOOL By John Kelly
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EN Thompson has urged his teammates to take their chances against Blackpool this weekend after they let Wigan off the hook on Tuesday night. Tuesday night’s game was developing an intriguing tactical edge before Sam Morsy was sent off, and Thompson gave an insight into Millwall’s approach to stopping Wigan, who have one of the highest possession statistics in the league.
Millwall have 12 games left this season, with automatic promotion beginning to look more difficult and a clutch of sides scrambling for a top-six place. And Thompson doesn’t want Millwall to be as wasteful as they were against Wigan when they had 20 efforts on goal.
“We wanted to break up their rhythm, not let them get into their usual game plan and play it out from the back,” Thompsonn explained. “We didn’t let them play it out and made them kick it long because our strengths are in the air.
“We had numerous chances but the ball just didn’t drop for us, it was one of those days,” Thompson said. “Chance after chance came and by the end we were thinking ‘One’s got to go in, surely’. But it didn’t go for us and on Saturday hopefully if we get those chances we can put them away.
“We pushed up on the deepest midfield player to make sure he didn’t get it and I think it worked. “There was a lot of movement from them but it was just about talking to each to make sure we knew where all their players were. Communication was key in that game and we did it really well.”
“We have to take it into the next one. We’ve got Blackpool, that’s a massive game for us again. But every game for us is important now. “We just have to make sure we take all our chances on Saturday.” 29
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P LAYER PROF I L E :
TEDDY SHERINGHAM By Mark Litchfield
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OR one former record goalscorer, it all could have been so different. season, scoring four goals in the process.
Edward ‘Teddy’ Sheringham joined Millwall Football Club at the age of 16 in 1982, after impressing in a youth team game against the Lions for Leyton & Ilford.
The 86/87 season saw a period of change, with Graham leaving the club and John Docherty coming in as the new manager. This saw Sheringham complete his first full season at the club, being an ever present in a season that saw him score 13 times, as the Lions finished 16th in the old Division Two.
In the early part of his career, Sheringham struggled to make his mark on the first team, making just seven appearances (all during the 1983/84 season), scoring one goal, with his debut coming against Brentford on January 15th; the former striker seemingly could not catch the eye of manager George Graham, however and was shipped out on loan to Aldershot and Swedish side, Djurgarden, after being the subject of a £5,000 offer from Brentford for his services.
If Teddy’s first full season in league football was one to remember, the following season – 87/88 – would top that and more. The Lions won promotion to Division One (now the Premier League) in a season that saw Sheringham team up with his new strike partner, Tony Cascarino, producing a lethal partnership that garnered nearly a half century of goals, culminating in the number nine’s strike at home to Blackburn Rovers on the final day in a 4-1 defeat.
His loan spell in Sweden proved to be a successful one, as Sheringham netted 13 times in 21 games, finishing as the clubs top scorer and helping them to the league title – on his return to The Den, Graham began to use the striker more, which saw him make 18 appearances in the 85/86
The 88/89 season saw Millwall do
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the unthinkable – top the table in the top flight, after a 3-2 win over Queens Park Rangers on October 1st. Neil Ruddock was the only addition to the playing staff, as Docherty stuck by the squad that had won their place in Division One the previous season and it paid dividends; the Lions ended the campaign in 10th, but had spent most of the season in the top 6 – something that would mean European qualification these days.
The 90/91 season – Sheringham’s final as a Millwall player – saw the striker hit a whopping 33 goals in 48 games, as he finished the season (and his Lions career) with the golden boot and a place in the PFA Team of the Year. During that time, he did indeed break the record (set by John Calvey) and become the Lions’ all-time leading scorer, setting the bar at 111. Of course, this was to be broken by Neil Harris in 2009, as the now manager went on to raise the target to 138.
Sheringham would once more top the scoring charts that season, as he and Cascarino both ended the year on 15 goals. The only blot on his copybook that campaign was a red card in a 1-0 home defeat to Wimbledon – the first of his professional career.
Sheringham’s final season ended in disappointment, however, as Millwall lost out to Brighton and Hove Albion in the play-off semi-finals. The striker joined Nottingham Forest in 1991, before going on to have a career at the highest level, taking in clubs such as Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester United, West Ham United and Colchester United, as well as making 51 caps for England, scoring 11 goals.
89/90 saw the club start well once more, topping the table again in late August/early September, but this time, they could not keep up the pace, as just two wins between October and the end of the season meant that Millwall would return to Division Two once more. In a season that saw John Docherty sacked, Sheringham still managed 12 goals, as he looked to set the record as Millwall’s all-time leading goalscorer.
The ex-Millwall record-breaker is now unemployed, having been sacked from Stevenage earlier this year. Anyone fancy having him back to bolster the front line for the end of the season?
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Morison was close to making a better connection with Wallace’s cross but Wigan survived.
ILLWALL missed a host of chances against ten-man Wigan at The Den as Jussi Jaaskelainen produced a magnificent performance to help his side gain a point.
In the 66th minute Millwall somehow contrived to miss a trio of glorious chances within a few seconds to go ahead. First Jaaskelainen saved Gregory’s shot and when the ball broke to Morison it seemed like he would put his side a goal up only for the keeper to block again. Wallace picked up the loose ball but fired over.
The goalkeeper was unbeatable, but the home side will look back on a number of gilt-edged chances and wonder how they didn’t take the three points. Jaaskelainen made a splendid save in the eighth minute when he tipped Jed Wallace’s shot that was destined for the top corner over the bar.
Five minutes later Jaaskelainen produced a worldclass save after Wallace had laid the ball off to Jimmy Abdou in the box.
Wigan midfielder Sam Morsy was dismissed for a second bookable offence in the 34th minute.
Millwall kept up the pressure, and Joe Martin almost grabbed a crucial goal but instead his header from Shane Ferguson’s cross went inches wide.
At the end of the opening half referee Lee Collins made himself unpopular with the home fans when he failed to award a penalty after Lee Gregory went down in the box.
PIVOTAL FIXTURE The stars aligned to make this a crucial juncture in
Millwall started the second half brightly and Steve
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the season. Neil Harris said in his programme notes there has been no “must-win” game yet, but in terms of the chances of a top-two finish the stakes are certainly getting higher. Wigan could have opened up a decisive lead over Millwall with a victory, so maybe in that knowledge, and despite the eventual circumstances of this game, Harris will be satisfied with a point.
It was a rash decision with Gregory a distance from goal and near the right touchline.
If this game could have been pivotal in terms of automatic promotion, it certainly seemed a turning point had arrived when Morsy was sent off in the first half.
Wigan started the second half looking undaunted at being down to ten men, but eventually began to wilt in the face of wave after wave of attack. And they had Jaaskelainen to thank for earning them a point.
Instead, Jaaskelainen was the decisive participant, standing as an unbreakable last line of defence in Gary Caldwell’s team. His save to deny Abdou was stunning, when he flung his 40-year-old frame to his right to touch the midfielder’s shot away. But Millwall will have to take a measure of blame themselves. Morison and Wallace were particularly culpable when presented with the chances to beat Jaaskelainen who was off his line after denying Gregory. Wigan are arguably the form side in the league, and they showed their resilience to dig in to claim the point. WIGAN DOWN TO TEN MEN; MILLWALL DENIED A PENALTY It didn’t take long for the nature of the tactical battle to become obvious. Wigan wanted to play the ball out from the back from Jaaskelainen through their defence but Millwall were wise to it, with Abdou and Ben Thompson pushing up to join Gregory and Morison in closing down space and forcing the goalkeeper to clear it long. That required discipline and a high work rate and Jaaskelainen took a couple of unnecessary risks in a tight and tense first half but Millwall just couldn’t punish him.
That red card was perhaps in referee Collins’ mind right at the end of the first half when he denied Gregory what appeared to be a penalty after Millwall’s top scorer was felled in the box as he was about to shoot.
At the other end, Jordan Archer was virtually a spectator. UP NEXT Millwall will have mixed memories of their last meeting with Blackpool, a 1-1 draw at Bloomfield Road in October. It was the third game of an eventual nine-game unbeaten sequence that ignited promotion ambitions. But it could have been much more had a late red card for Carlos Edwards and Jack Redshaw’s subsequent conversion of the penalty that resulted not spoilt it. Although they only got a point against Wigan, Millwall will take a lot from a relentless attacking performance – albeit against ten men for an hour and without being able to apply the decisive finishing.
Millwall disrupted their opponents well, though, and funnelled players back to the edge of the box quickly to thwart the away side. Ryan Colclough and Conor McAleny tried a couple of long-range shots but dragged them well wide. A feature of the early stages was Gregory’s closing down, and Morsy’s red card was a direct consequence of that. The midfielder, who scored against Millwall for Chesterfield before joining Wigan in January, had already been booked for a foul on Wallace. And just six minutes later he evidently panicked after being closed down and then dispossessed by Gregory before pulling back the striker.
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HARRIS TURNS MILLWALL FOCUS TO BLACKPOOL AFTER WIGAN DRAW By John Kelly
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when Lee Gregory appeared to be fouled in the box as he was about to shoot, but Harris preferred to focus on the positive aspects of his side’s performance.
ILLWALL manager Neil Harris has stressed the point against Wigan will only be a valuable one if they follow it up with a win against Blackpool.
“I haven’t seen it again,” Harris said. “At the time we all thought it was a penalty but I’m not going to be critical of the referee until I’ve seen it again. But at game speed it looked like it was clearcut penalty to me.
The 0-0 stalemate on Tuesday night leaves Millwall in fifth place in League One, three points ahead of Coventry, with the next ten teams separated by just eight points.
“I can’t focus on what the referee did or didn’t do, I’ve got to focus on how well we played. But the fact is we should have had three points.
Despite creating more than 20 chances to score against Wigan, the Lions came up against Jussi Jaaskelainen in superb form and he helped his side gain a point after Sam Morsy’s red card gave Millwall the impetus to launch waves of attacks in the second half.
“I was delighted with the performance. We created lots of chances, there were lots of really good balls into the box. But I thought their centre-halves defended magnificently and I’m just disap-
Millwall also could have had a penalty just before the break
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pointed that we didn’t score a goal. “I thought we deserved to win but what we have to do now is recover for Saturday and make sure that beating Blackpool is a priority. “That would make this a really good point.”
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In between those moments Gregory could have done better when he found himself through on goal but he couldn’t execute a back-heel past Stuckmann.
ILLWALL stretched their unbeaten run away from home to six games in all competitions, but they had to settle for a point after being pegged back by a determined Doncaster side.
Nathan Tyson had a great chance to put Doncaster ahead with six minutes left, but Archer pulled off a superb save to deny the attacker.
Steve Morison gave Millwall the lead in the sixth minute when he finished past Thorsten Stuckmann after Paul Keegan had inadvertently headed on Jordan Archer’s clearance.
Midfielder Conor Grant then could have won it for Donccaster in the fourth minute of injury time only for Archer to deny him with an outstretched leg.
Former Millwall midfielder Richard Chaplow levelled for Doncaster when he swept home Andy Williams’ low cross.
CHAPLOW LUCKY Neil Harris will perhaps look back at that incident when Chaplow seemed to catch Webster late and with his studs as one of the game’s key moments. It won’t please Millwall fans to hear it but Chaplow played with the kind of aggression and ambition that was often absent during his time at the club.
Morison missed from a yard out from Lee Gregory’s cross five minutes into the second half, before five minutes later Chaplow was lucky to only receive a yellow card for what looked a dangerous tackle on Byron Webster.
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Millwall started well and when Morison scored looked like they could wrap the game up early as they had done the last time the sides met. Maybe too much could be read into Doncaster’s results recently. They hadn’t won in seven games but the last time they lost by more than one goal was in a 2-0 defeat to Rochdale back on November 21. There were plenty of people around the Keepmoat before the game that said results didn’t reflect performances and maybe after the way they finished this contest on top, with Chaplow taking it upon himself to battle in the corner to try to get one final ball into the box, this outcome will add to those feelings. THE EARLY BIRD… Fifth, sixth and eighth minutes. Morison has got it done early against Doncaster this season after his two goals at The Den in October. Even though it was so early, it wasn’t a surprise to see Millwall take the lead. Doncaster started with three at the back and two wing backs and if the idea was that they would deny Millwall’s wingers and strikers space it didn’t work initially. Gregory and Jed Wallace found so much room in those early moments, but it was from route one Millwall got the opener. Keegan was possibly unlucky
©MillwallFC
that Archer’s long clearance skimmed his head and when the Doncaster midfielder spun around he saw Morison in so much space and with so much time to choose his finish. He opted to lob Stuckmann and that should have been the signal for Millwall to go for the jugular against a side winless in seven. Instead, Doncaster reorganised, but hardly reinvented themselves, and it was they who gathered the momentum as the first half went on. Still, they were perhaps lucky not to give away a penalty when Gregory’s shirt was clearly tugged in the box before Stuckmann saved his shot. Millwall could also blame themselves for allowing Doncaster’s confidence to grow. In the 37th minute the home fans were frustrated and urging their side to get the ball forward with more urgency. Yet seconds later Williams was bursting into the box and Chaplow arrived at speed to slam the ball into the net against the club he left last summer. The identity of the scorer only deepened the sense of Millwall shooting themselves in the foot. Morison will look back on the chance he missed at the start of the second half, when Gregory had set him up in front of an open goal, and wonder how he didn’t turn the ball in. Both sides had chances to win it, with Grant coming closest in the last few seconds.
©MillwallFC
LEAGUE ONE TABLE P W D L F A G D PT
1 B ur t o n A l bi on 33 21 4 8 4 3 2 7 1 6 67 2
W iga n A t h l e t i c
34
1 7
12
5
55
30
2 5
63
3 Wa ls a l l 33 1 6 11 6 4 9 33 1 6 59 4 Gilling h a m
34 1 7 7 1 0 60 4 3 1 7 58
5 Millw a l l 34 1 6 7 11 52 41 11 55 6 C o v e n t r y C i t y 33 1 4 1 0 9 56 37 19 52
7 B a r n s l e y 34 1 6 4 14 54 4 5 9 52 8 So ut he n d U n i t e d
34 1 4 9 1 1 4 6 4 3 3 51
9 B r ad for d C i t y
33 1 4 9 1 0 39 36 3 51
10 P o r t Va l e 35 1 3 10 12 39 39 0 49 1 1 Sw in don Tow n
34 1 4 6 1 4 53 51 2 48
1 2 Sh e f f i e l d U n i t e d
34 1 3 9 1 2 47 4 5 2 48
13 B ur y 34 1 3 8 1 3 4 5 55 -1 0 47 14 Sc unt h or p e U n i t e d
33 1 3 7 1 3 38 4 0 -2 46
15 Ro c h da l e 34 12 9 1 3 44 4 6 -2 45 16 P e t e r borou g h U n i t e d 34 1 3 5 1 6 57 55 2 44 17 F le e t w ood Tow n
33 1 0 9 1 4 4 0 4 1 -1 39
18 C h e s t e r fi e l d
34 1 1 5 1 8 4 5 54 -9 38
19
Do n c a s t e r R ove r s
33
9
10
14
36
4 4 -8
20
Sh re w s bu r y Tow n
33
10
7
1 6
39
51
37
-1 2 37
21 B la ck p ool
34 9 8 1 7 33 4 3 -1 0 35
2 2 O ld ha m A t h l e t i c
33 6 1 6 1 1 33 4 4 -1 1 34
23
34
C re w e A l exa n dr a
6
11
1 7
36
59
-2 3 29
24 C o lche s t e r U n i t e d 34 6 9 1 9 4 2 79 -37 27 44
FIXTURES Blackpool T HE DEN S ATU RDAY 5TH M A R C H
Swindon Town CO UNTY GROUND S ATU RDAY 1 2 T H M A R C H
SHEFFIELD UNITED T HE DEN S ATU RDAY 1 9 T H M A R C H
BRADFORD CITY VA LL EY PARA D E S ATU RDAY 26 T H M A R C H
BURTON ALBION T HE DEN M O N D AY 2 8TH M A R C H 45
PLAYER STATS LEAGUE ONE
Ap p
Sta r ts
Assi sts
Go als
D. F or de 8 7 0 0 J. Ar c h e r 2 7 2 7 0 0 S. Cu mmi n g s 1 6 1 5 1 1 T. Cr a i g 1 6 1 6 0 1 S. Ne l s on 9 9 0 0 M. B e e ve r s 30 30 2 4 B. We bs t e r 2 8 2 3 0 3 S. Fe r g u s on 31 2 1 7 2 M. R ome o 6 6 0 1 J. Wa l l a c e 1 0 1 0 4 0 C . Edw a r ds 1 3 1 3 1 0 J. M a r t i n 1 8 1 7 0 2 S. Wi l l i a ms 2 8 2 7 3 2 E . U p s on 2 1 1 5 1 0 L . M a r t i n 8 2 1 0 J. P o w e l l 1 1 0 0 B. T homp s on 1 6 7 1 0 N. A bdou 2 1 2 0 0 1 J. P hi l p ot 0 0 0 0 K . Tw a r de k 0 0 0 0 G. S a vi l l e 1 2 1 2 0 0 P. Cow a n H a l l 3 0 0 0 L . G re g or y 30 24 2 13 F. O ny e di n ma 2 8 1 6 1 4 J. M a r q u i s 1 0 0 0 0 S. M or i s on 34 32 4 10 A. O ’ B r i e n 31 2 3 4 8 A. P a ve y 4 0 0 0 46
UNDER 21S AUGUST Nottingham Forest (A) 3-1 (Pavey) Crewe Alexandra (H) 1-0 (Philpot) Charlton Athletic (A) 0-1 (Abandoned) (Romeo) Ipswich Town (H) 3-0 (Philpot, Pavey, Okenabirhie)
ACADEMY ROUND-UP LAST GAME
SEPTEMBER
MILLWALL 1-3 HULL CITY
Leeds United H 3-1 (Pavey 2, Wood) Bolton Wanderers (A) 0-2 Coventry City (H) 4-1 (Wood, Pavey 3) Hull City (A) 0-0
MFC GOALSCORERS: PHILPOT
OCTOBER
MILLWALL:
Plymouth Argyle (H) 1-0 (Wood) Huddersfield Town (H) 0-2 QPR (A) 0-4 (Eze 3, Ndjoli)
Girling
Colchester United (H) 1-0 (Wood)
Edwards (Brown, 61’)
NOVEMBER
Mbulu
Palace (H) 5-1 (Martin 2, Upson, Thompson, Powell) Swansea (A) 1-2 (Ndjoli 2)
Parr Wood
DECEMBER
Onyedinma
Brentford (H) 1-0 (Martin) Watford (A) 0-1 (Ndjoli) Wolves (A) 1-3 (Onyedinma, Romeo, Cowan-Hall)
Powell Farrell Twardek
JANUARY
Ndjoli
Cardiff City (H) 1-1 (Twardek) Charlton (A) 1-1 (Marquis) Palace (A) 3-3 (Powell, Onyedinma, Twardek)
Philpot
FEBRUARY Bristol City (A) 0-1 (Garita OG) Hull City (H) 1-3 (Philpot) QPR (H) 2-2 (Twardek, Wood)
TOP SCORERS: Alfie Pavey - 7 Keaton Wood - 5 Mikael Ndjoli - 4
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LAST SEVEN GAMES DAT E
2 - Fe b-16
6-Feb -1 6
1 3-Feb -16
CO MP E T IT IO N
JP T
Lea g u e One
Lea g u e O ne
OPPO N E N T
Oxfor d U t d ( A)
Wa l sa l l ( A)
Rochd ale (A )
RESU LT
0 -1 W
0-3 W
0-1 W
G O AL K E E P E R
Archer
Archer
Archer
DEFEN DE R S
C u mmi n g s ( 68 )
Romeo
Romeo
We bs t e r
Nel son
Nel son
Be e ve r s
Web ster
Web ster
Fe r g u s on
Ferg u son
M a r ti n
Wa l l a c e
Wa l l a ce ( 75)
Wa l l a c e
A bdou
Ab d ou
Ab d ou
U p s on ( 8 2 )
Wi l l i a ms
Wi l l i a m s
O’ Br i e n
Up son
Up son
M or i s on
M ori son ( 8 8 )
M ori so n
G re g or y
G reg or y ( 8 8 )
G reg or y (86)
S UB
For de
Ford e
Ford e
S UB
Martin (68)
Wood
Ed w a r ds
S UB
T h omp s on
M a r ti n ( 75)
Ferg u so n
S UB
Ony e di n ma ( 8 2 )
Thomp son
Thomps o n
S UB
Marquis
Onyed i nma
Onyedinm a
S UB
O’ B r i en ( 8 8 )
O’ B r i en
S UB
M a rqu i s ( 8 8 )
M a rqu is (86)
M IDFIE L DE R S
AT TAC K E R S
1 6-Feb-1 6
2 0 - Fe b-16
2 7-Feb -1 6
1 -M a r -1 6
Le ague O n e
L e a g u e On e
Lea g u e One
Lea g u e O ne
S cu n th o r p e ( H)
P e t e r borou g h ( H )
Donca ster ( A)
Wi g a n ( H)
0- 2 L
3-0 W
1 -1 D
0-0 D
A rch e r
Archer
Archer
Archer
Romeo
R ome o
Romeo
Romeo
N e lso n
We bs t e r
Web ster
Web ster
We b ste r
B e e ve r s
B eever s
B eever s
Fe rg us o n
Martin
M a r ti n
M a r ti n ( 7 9)
Wal lac e
Wa l l a c e
Wa l l a ce ( 8 9)
Wa l l a ce
A bd o u ( 81 )
A bdou
Ab d ou
Ab d ou
Upson ( 45)
T h omp s on
Thomp son
Thomp son (64)
O ’Brie n
Fe r g u s on ( 8 5 )
Ferg u son ( 76)
Ferg u son
M ori so n
M or i s on ( 7 3 )
M ori son
M ori son
G re go r y
G re g or y ( 7 6 )
G reg or y
G reg or y
F o rde
For de
Ford e
Ford e
Beever s
N e l s on
Nel son
Nel son
M a r ti n
E dw a r ds
Mbulu
Ed w a r d s
T h o m p s o n ( 45)
P ow e l l
Wi l l i a ms
Wi l l i a ms (64)
O nyedin m a
Ony e di n ma ( 8 5)
Onyed i nma ( 8 9)
Onyed i nm a
O ’Brie n
O’ B r i e n ( 7 6 )
O’ B r i en ( 76)
O’ B r i en (7 9)
M a rqu is ( 81 )
Marquis (73)
Phi l pot
Phi l pot
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