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Millwall
v West Bromwich Albion
The New Den, South
Bermondsey. 12th April 2004, 3.00pm. |
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We may have lost ground to Norwich after their win at Reading, but
I would've taken a point before the game and, with Sunderland losing,
we're another step closer to promotion. Coupled with a referee who
somehow saw fit to dismiss two Albion players, a draw was an excellent
return.
Megson rang the changes after the disappointing but ultimately successful
performance against Gillingham bringing in Clement, Facey and O'Connor
for Robinson, Hughes and Kinsella. It could be called sensible use
of the squad for the second game in three days, but it ultimately
weakened the side.
There was little in the way of goalmouth incident early on as both
sides failed to string any sort of passing movement together. O'Connor,
making his first appearance since Kinsella's arrival at the club
in January, looked a little lost in the midfield three with Johnson
and Koumas trying to stamp some sort of authority on the game.
And it was a Koumas free kick that brought the first real opportunity
on 15 minutes when Gaardsoe ghosted in at the back post but couldn't
rise quite high enough to get the proper contact.
Chambers was looking less than comfortable at right wing back and
gave away a silly foul on 19 minutes. Wise floated the ball across
and DICHIO got above Gaardsoe and Hoult to give the hosts the lead.
Millwall looked to be on top as Moore, Gaardsoe and Gregan were
all called upon to be at their best defensively to keep the score
at 1-0 but as half time approached, Albion started to create chances.
Koumas saw a long range shot fly wide of the post before Facey stung
Marshall's hand with a volley from 15 yards.
But two minutes before the break, Koumas, who had been booked for
an innocuous tackle earlier in the half,mistimedd a tackle on Wise
on the edge of the Millwall area and received a second yellow card.
Wise certainly made the most of the tackle and while perhaps careless,
neither tackle was dangerous enough to warrant a yellow card. Somehow,
Wise failed to be booked for a tackle on Clement that was much worse
that either of JK's efforts.
O'Connor's return to the first team proved to be short-lived as
he was replaced by Dyer at half time. Facey was also replaced by
Dobie for his first appearance since the draw at Norwich.
Chambers did well to block a cross from Cahill as Millwall threatened
early in the second half, but it was Albion to found the net after
55 minutes.
A neat exchange between Clement and Dyer saw the young substitute
play the ball across the six yard box. Dobie diverted the ball goalwards
before Andy JOHNSON followed in to nudge the ball over the line
from all of two inches.
Albion suddenly looked the more likely to win despite their ten
men, and Dyer almost put the visitors in front when he fired in
a blistering shot from 25 yards that struck the crossbar with Marshall
well beaten.
After that, their was little goalmouth incident as Albion struggled
to make any real headway with a man short, but to their credit,
Millwall had few chances thanks to some excellent defending.
Gregan lead the team superbly with Johnson, Gaardsoe and Moore all
chipping in with excellent performances. And when Millwall managed
to find their way through, Hoult was on hand saving well from Roberts
on 64 minutes and Sweeney with 13 minutes left.
In injury time, the referee manage to bemuse everyone when he blew
up when Dichio and Gaardsoe clashed in the area. Gaardsoe was shown
a red card and the referee gave a free kick on the edge of the area
- for what I'm not sure. An excellent block from Kinsella ensured
that Albion got the point they deserved.
What could have been a good game was spoiled by a referee who failed
to use a little common sense in what was obviously a highly-charged
game. But it was a good point for Albion, and it's on to the North
East for the big one next week.
RESULT - MILLWALL 1 WEST BROMWICH
ALBION 1
Marks
Hoult - 7 - Made a couple of key saves.
Gaardsoe - 8 - Immense game - will be missed if suspended.
Moore - 8 - Gave as good as he got with Dichio.
Gregan - 9 - MOM. Lead the team superbly, an inspirational performance.
J Chambers - 6 - Looked lost in the first half but did well in the
second.
Koumas - 6 - Unlucky to be sent off but they were two silly tackles.
Failed to sparkle.
Johnson - 8 - Excellent performance and even he couldn't miss from
there.
O'Connor - 4 - Looked completely lost. A pointless change by Megson.
Clement - 6 - Did OK, but maybe not enough to keep his place.
Facey - 6 - Didn't do enough.
Horsfield - 6 - Worked hard but didn't look too dangerous.
Dyer - 7 - Big performance - showed grit when it was needed.
Dobie - 7 - Did well, ran the channels well.
Kinsella - 7 - Worked hard when he came on.
The Manager - 6 - Substitutions worked well but the changes to the
line up were not really necessary, although Robinson may have been
ill.
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Millwall
(4-4-2):
Marshall; Roberts, Lawrence, Ward, Ryan (Sweeney 65); Elliot, Wise,
Cahill, Livermore; McCammon (Harris 80), Dichio. Subs not used:
Gueret (GK), Chadwick, Hearn. |
West
Bromwich Albion (3-5-2):
Hoult; Gaardsoe, Moore, Gregan; J Chambers, Johnson, O'Connor (Dyer
45), Koumas, Clement; Facey (Dobie 45), Horsfield (Kinsella 79).
Subs not used: Murphy (GK), Hughes.
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Scoring: Dichio (19)
1-0, Johnson (55) 1-1.
Bookings: Millwall - Dichio (dissent 35), Livermore (foul 45). West
Bromwich Albion - Koumas (foul 26), Kinsella (dissent 90+5).
Sendings Off: West Bromwich Albion - Koumas (foul 43, second yellow
card), Gaardsoe (professional foul 90+3).
Referee: S Mathieson (Cheshire).
Attendance: 13,304.
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