A football-obsessed Aberdeen supporting mate of mine was down in London last night ahead of work commitments today. He had brought his eager 11 year old son Danny and they were keen to see any live match in town. A quick scan of the upcoming fixture showed it was a choice between Brentford v Ipswich or Millwall v QPR. Naturally I fancied taking them to West London to see Griffin Park and it's famed four corner pubs before the Bees move into their new stadium. However the logistics of their arrival put that out of bounds we we decided on a trip to the New Den. That worked out well because another old mate of mine from Cyprus decided to come back to see his daughter and cram two Millwall home games in so we also got to catch-up. If that wasn't enough I was immediately called out when entering the West Upper by a coterie of lifelong Millwall fans I have known for years. That's my excuses over...
The match itself was a real disappointment. I was expecting Millwall to wallop a sliding QPR team, especially following their dismal defat at Norwich on Saturday. That's probably what the travelling QPR fans also expected given there were barely 1000 of them. However, the alarm bells at Loftus Road must finally have been ringing and with QPR at risk of Millwall closing to within a point, they stood up to Millwall, especially in the first half. It wasn't a great advert for the Championship with few goal-scoring opportunities but Rangers shaded the chances up to the break. There was a huge shout after Lee Gregory was bundled over 30 yards out but the ref looked across to the lino, saw no flag and waved play-on to a raucous chorus of abuse from the home fans. As if to maintain his authority he then awarded QPR the next ten decisions which didn't endear him to the locals. The half-time catch-ups on the concourse revealed that Millwall's other three relegation rivals were all winning against better opposition and Millwall were effectively in the bottom three.
After the break Millwall came out with much more determination and during the course of the second-half they forced a string of corners which they failed to capitalise on. Too often the ball didn't beat the first man and the Lions were second-best in the air to a big QPR side who packed the box. Whilst the Lions huffed and puffed, QPR continued to counter when the chances arose and they were aided by their later substitutions. The good news during the half was that Aston Villa, Norwich and Hull City all fought back against Rotherham, Reading and Wigan so Millwall's point was enough to keep them out of the drop zone but they now sit with their rivals all on 41 points with a game in hand. They should be ok but they go to Sheffield United on Saturday and they really are in a scrap and on last night's showing lacking a bit of confidence and goal-scoring capability - Gregory is the lone striker and Morison can only do a late shift now.
Charlton fans would love to change places with Millwall at the end of the season, as much so we can avoid them next season but I suspect there is a greater chance of us playing them in either the Championship or League One.
The match itself was a real disappointment. I was expecting Millwall to wallop a sliding QPR team, especially following their dismal defat at Norwich on Saturday. That's probably what the travelling QPR fans also expected given there were barely 1000 of them. However, the alarm bells at Loftus Road must finally have been ringing and with QPR at risk of Millwall closing to within a point, they stood up to Millwall, especially in the first half. It wasn't a great advert for the Championship with few goal-scoring opportunities but Rangers shaded the chances up to the break. There was a huge shout after Lee Gregory was bundled over 30 yards out but the ref looked across to the lino, saw no flag and waved play-on to a raucous chorus of abuse from the home fans. As if to maintain his authority he then awarded QPR the next ten decisions which didn't endear him to the locals. The half-time catch-ups on the concourse revealed that Millwall's other three relegation rivals were all winning against better opposition and Millwall were effectively in the bottom three.
After the break Millwall came out with much more determination and during the course of the second-half they forced a string of corners which they failed to capitalise on. Too often the ball didn't beat the first man and the Lions were second-best in the air to a big QPR side who packed the box. Whilst the Lions huffed and puffed, QPR continued to counter when the chances arose and they were aided by their later substitutions. The good news during the half was that Aston Villa, Norwich and Hull City all fought back against Rotherham, Reading and Wigan so Millwall's point was enough to keep them out of the drop zone but they now sit with their rivals all on 41 points with a game in hand. They should be ok but they go to Sheffield United on Saturday and they really are in a scrap and on last night's showing lacking a bit of confidence and goal-scoring capability - Gregory is the lone striker and Morison can only do a late shift now.
Charlton fans would love to change places with Millwall at the end of the season, as much so we can avoid them next season but I suspect there is a greater chance of us playing them in either the Championship or League One.
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