" Match Report Millwall v Cardiff City 19th March 2011 " "
Mon Mar 21, 2011 9:31 am
The long awaited trip to London to play our “close” friends finally happened and what a trip it turned out to be. I decided to meet up with the forum bus just outside London. I drove down to Luton to meet up with forum user LutonBluebird, Jules, and we set off to meet the forum bus at Chievely services Junction 13 of the M4. What a sight it was when Jules and myself approach the coach. There were a few coaches in the park but we did not need to ask which was ours as half the passengers were standing next to it pissing against the side. This was going to be a day to remember and it certainly turned out that way.
We pulled into another services on the M25 to delausse the coach. Now I know these forum trips are designed to allowing drinking like but how the hell do you get through so much. The empty bins in the service car parks, well we filled everyone.
So it was into London we went. We met up with our police convoy and prepared ourselves for the worse from our close friends the Millwall fans. Well the Lions certainly had a surprise for us as we looked out for them running from a corner with a brick in their hands. From 2 stories up from a block of flats appeared your prodigy Millwall fans dressed in only a pair of shorts supporting a bald head and a five bellies. This was it we thought until some 50 year old woman appeared in front of him wearing her dressing gown with a fag in her mouth. The final straw for me was when her dressing gown front showed off a bit of inside leg. I could not stomach it anymore but it did not stop some of our lot giving it back. What a relief it was when we pulled away from that.
We were one of the first coaches to get to get to the ground. Also it was one of the first grounds that once inside I was body searched. I was approached by a local, he was a black as the ace of spades and did not sound a bit cockney. So much so I did not understand one word he said. It was only when a policeman spoke to me did I get the gist.
Anyway, I had a banner tucked inside my jacket. A banner I made up to play a prank on some Millwall fan. It read “Bonehead, do the ayatollah”. Now I feared I was not be allowed to display this hence why it was tucked away. I thought I was rumbled when approached by the “local” and when asked what it was I thought well not bad going, 2 steps into the ground and it is taken off me. Well when I said it is a banner they just said OK. No frisking or anything like that and I thought what was the point.
So it was onto the next obstacle and that was to find somewhere to hang it before anyone else tried stopping me. Well Nips grabbed me as I made my way to the stand and had this organised. As we started to unravel the banner and hang it over the barrier a young cop came up to me and asked what we were doing. Definately the end of this prank I thought. “Just putting this banner up” I told him as we managed to get it hung up without him seeing what was on it. “OK” he said and left us alone. What was the point in asking I thought. Well guys you know the story about the young lad falling and all the coins being thrown. All I will say is what was the point of having the stewards and police at Millwall because they did bugger all?
Ok onto the game. For the first half Cardiff defended the goal at the end of the away fans. Over 1,800 had made the trip and were cramped into the upper tier. The noise they were creating was perhaps the best atmosphere they have achieved all season and they continued this all the way through the game. A great effort from the travelling lads and ladies it must be said.
The first half unfortunately could not match the atmosphere being created by both sets of supporters. The football was poor but the half could be a defining moment for our season. Half way through the half Jay Bothroyd went off injured and was replaced by Parkin. Then later on Hudson went down and was substituted by Gyppes. We wait to see the outcome of both these injuries but if serious this time of year well it could be very defining regarding our push for promotion.
The first half will be best forgotten as I can only recall one effort on goal and that was from Parkin just before half time when he bounced on the ball just outside the area and sent a vicious shot towards the Millwall goal forcing a point blank save from the keeper. The only other effort form the visitors was from Bothroyd just before he was substituted where he struggled with a header than fell into the arms of the home keeper. In return the home side achieved nothing on the Cardiff goal, absolutely nothing.
The second half was a different story altogether. Cardiff took the initiative and within 4 minutes were in the lead. Chris Burke collected the ball on the penalty spot and went around the Millwall defence. When he got inside the 6 yard area he toe poked the ball across the goal and it trickled into the net.
The celebrations that followed are best to be forgotten. A few plastic bottles ended up amongst the Cardiff players, one of the contents soaking me as well. Also it was then that one of our fans fell to the bottom tier.
Within a minute of the restart Cardiff gave away a penalty. Gyppes was left standing as a Millwall pass split our defence. Gabor brought down his marker and the penalty taker sent Bywater the wrong way. Now we know we can’t keep a lead but this was taking the piss.
Moments later Cardiff had a penalty decision taken away from them. No not a penalty appeal but a decision. The referee pointed to the spot when Bellamy through on goal was tacked by ex Cardiff favourite Darren Purse. However the referee the changed his mind and gave a corner after listening to the fourth official.
Millwall then had their best spell, only good spell where they had one more effort on target and scored. From a corner and some terrible marking one of their forwards had the easiest of chances to head home from about 2 feet. So from look like walking away with the game we found ourselves down. How do we do it?
It was all Cardiff after this setback. Peter Whittingham found himself a lone attacker on the left as the Millwall defence packed their penalty area. A cross from the right was only half clear and fell to Whitts 25 yards out. With plenty of time he sent a swirling shot that hammered the left post.
Cardiff concentrated on attacking the Millwall left side with Burke and Bellamy being very productive. It was a Burke cross that found Bellamy head that forced the ball to hit the crossbar from 6 yards.
Moments later Cardiff were back on equal terms. This time Bellamy from the Millwall left managed to get ot the byline and send a low cross in that totally foxed the home defence. The ball found its way to Whittingham inside the 6 yard area who blasted the ball home.
Cardiff continued to pressure for another goal and soon got their just reward. Bellamy this time from the Millwall left worked his way into their area and forced a parried save from their keeper. However the ball fell to Burke inside the 6 yard area and he failed to make a clean shot of it but somehow the ball bundled over the line.
So with 10 minutes to go Cardiff were in the lead again and looked good for all 3 points. Millwall never looked like scoring but then somehow created one more chance. The Welsh international Morison found himself with only Bywaters to beat. The goalkeeper should have stayed on his line but decided to come for the ball. Morison was always going to beat him to it and Bywaters action made up Morisons mind to what to do. He coolly looped the ball over Bywater and into an empty net with 3 minutes to go.
The referee brought the game to an end after 5 minutes of extra time but not before sending a Millwall defender off for a second bookable offence against Bellamy.
We all had time to ponder how we once again had thrown it away as we all sat in our seats as the forum coach went over the Thames three times, passed Big Ben, Sharrods or was that Harrods and Buckingham Palace. We finally got back to Chievely services a couple of hours later but nearly got away with finding the answer to replacing Chopra. I wonder if David Nugent will ever buy a Burger King again?
Summing up. We were awful in November and December yet found yourselves still 2nd. Lately we have dominated games but only come away with 2 points from 12. Well luck balances itself out during the season. Perhaps we had all ours last year.
We pulled into another services on the M25 to delausse the coach. Now I know these forum trips are designed to allowing drinking like but how the hell do you get through so much. The empty bins in the service car parks, well we filled everyone.
So it was into London we went. We met up with our police convoy and prepared ourselves for the worse from our close friends the Millwall fans. Well the Lions certainly had a surprise for us as we looked out for them running from a corner with a brick in their hands. From 2 stories up from a block of flats appeared your prodigy Millwall fans dressed in only a pair of shorts supporting a bald head and a five bellies. This was it we thought until some 50 year old woman appeared in front of him wearing her dressing gown with a fag in her mouth. The final straw for me was when her dressing gown front showed off a bit of inside leg. I could not stomach it anymore but it did not stop some of our lot giving it back. What a relief it was when we pulled away from that.
We were one of the first coaches to get to get to the ground. Also it was one of the first grounds that once inside I was body searched. I was approached by a local, he was a black as the ace of spades and did not sound a bit cockney. So much so I did not understand one word he said. It was only when a policeman spoke to me did I get the gist.
Anyway, I had a banner tucked inside my jacket. A banner I made up to play a prank on some Millwall fan. It read “Bonehead, do the ayatollah”. Now I feared I was not be allowed to display this hence why it was tucked away. I thought I was rumbled when approached by the “local” and when asked what it was I thought well not bad going, 2 steps into the ground and it is taken off me. Well when I said it is a banner they just said OK. No frisking or anything like that and I thought what was the point.
So it was onto the next obstacle and that was to find somewhere to hang it before anyone else tried stopping me. Well Nips grabbed me as I made my way to the stand and had this organised. As we started to unravel the banner and hang it over the barrier a young cop came up to me and asked what we were doing. Definately the end of this prank I thought. “Just putting this banner up” I told him as we managed to get it hung up without him seeing what was on it. “OK” he said and left us alone. What was the point in asking I thought. Well guys you know the story about the young lad falling and all the coins being thrown. All I will say is what was the point of having the stewards and police at Millwall because they did bugger all?
Ok onto the game. For the first half Cardiff defended the goal at the end of the away fans. Over 1,800 had made the trip and were cramped into the upper tier. The noise they were creating was perhaps the best atmosphere they have achieved all season and they continued this all the way through the game. A great effort from the travelling lads and ladies it must be said.
The first half unfortunately could not match the atmosphere being created by both sets of supporters. The football was poor but the half could be a defining moment for our season. Half way through the half Jay Bothroyd went off injured and was replaced by Parkin. Then later on Hudson went down and was substituted by Gyppes. We wait to see the outcome of both these injuries but if serious this time of year well it could be very defining regarding our push for promotion.
The first half will be best forgotten as I can only recall one effort on goal and that was from Parkin just before half time when he bounced on the ball just outside the area and sent a vicious shot towards the Millwall goal forcing a point blank save from the keeper. The only other effort form the visitors was from Bothroyd just before he was substituted where he struggled with a header than fell into the arms of the home keeper. In return the home side achieved nothing on the Cardiff goal, absolutely nothing.
The second half was a different story altogether. Cardiff took the initiative and within 4 minutes were in the lead. Chris Burke collected the ball on the penalty spot and went around the Millwall defence. When he got inside the 6 yard area he toe poked the ball across the goal and it trickled into the net.
The celebrations that followed are best to be forgotten. A few plastic bottles ended up amongst the Cardiff players, one of the contents soaking me as well. Also it was then that one of our fans fell to the bottom tier.
Within a minute of the restart Cardiff gave away a penalty. Gyppes was left standing as a Millwall pass split our defence. Gabor brought down his marker and the penalty taker sent Bywater the wrong way. Now we know we can’t keep a lead but this was taking the piss.
Moments later Cardiff had a penalty decision taken away from them. No not a penalty appeal but a decision. The referee pointed to the spot when Bellamy through on goal was tacked by ex Cardiff favourite Darren Purse. However the referee the changed his mind and gave a corner after listening to the fourth official.
Millwall then had their best spell, only good spell where they had one more effort on target and scored. From a corner and some terrible marking one of their forwards had the easiest of chances to head home from about 2 feet. So from look like walking away with the game we found ourselves down. How do we do it?
It was all Cardiff after this setback. Peter Whittingham found himself a lone attacker on the left as the Millwall defence packed their penalty area. A cross from the right was only half clear and fell to Whitts 25 yards out. With plenty of time he sent a swirling shot that hammered the left post.
Cardiff concentrated on attacking the Millwall left side with Burke and Bellamy being very productive. It was a Burke cross that found Bellamy head that forced the ball to hit the crossbar from 6 yards.
Moments later Cardiff were back on equal terms. This time Bellamy from the Millwall left managed to get ot the byline and send a low cross in that totally foxed the home defence. The ball found its way to Whittingham inside the 6 yard area who blasted the ball home.
Cardiff continued to pressure for another goal and soon got their just reward. Bellamy this time from the Millwall left worked his way into their area and forced a parried save from their keeper. However the ball fell to Burke inside the 6 yard area and he failed to make a clean shot of it but somehow the ball bundled over the line.
So with 10 minutes to go Cardiff were in the lead again and looked good for all 3 points. Millwall never looked like scoring but then somehow created one more chance. The Welsh international Morison found himself with only Bywaters to beat. The goalkeeper should have stayed on his line but decided to come for the ball. Morison was always going to beat him to it and Bywaters action made up Morisons mind to what to do. He coolly looped the ball over Bywater and into an empty net with 3 minutes to go.
The referee brought the game to an end after 5 minutes of extra time but not before sending a Millwall defender off for a second bookable offence against Bellamy.
We all had time to ponder how we once again had thrown it away as we all sat in our seats as the forum coach went over the Thames three times, passed Big Ben, Sharrods or was that Harrods and Buckingham Palace. We finally got back to Chievely services a couple of hours later but nearly got away with finding the answer to replacing Chopra. I wonder if David Nugent will ever buy a Burger King again?
Summing up. We were awful in November and December yet found yourselves still 2nd. Lately we have dominated games but only come away with 2 points from 12. Well luck balances itself out during the season. Perhaps we had all ours last year.
Re: Match report Millwall v Cardiff 19 March
Mon Mar 21, 2011 9:51 am
I always look forward to your match reports Ian, always top notch.
Your sentiments in the final paragraph ring true; supposedly we are due luck. We've had it all season though.
Your sentiments in the final paragraph ring true; supposedly we are due luck. We've had it all season though.
Re: Match report Millwall v Cardiff 19 March
Mon Mar 21, 2011 11:21 am
Cheers ian, was great day out 
Re: Match report Millwall v Cardiff 19 March
Mon Mar 21, 2011 1:46 pm
milly44 wrote:Cheers ian, was great day out
That it was, shame about the 3 points, but the second half was one of the best this season I thought.
Saying that, all my Millwall mates in work said we should have won and who the f**k was our goalkeeper, I sgree with them.
Thanks for the report as usual
Re: " Match Report Millwall v Cardiff City 19th March 2011 " "
Mon Mar 21, 2011 2:21 pm
Cheers Ian for such a Quality Match Report
Re: " Match Report Millwall v Cardiff City 19th March 2011 " "
Mon Mar 21, 2011 3:28 pm
great report
Re: " Match Report Millwall v Cardiff City 19th March 2011 " "
Mon Mar 21, 2011 4:13 pm
From Facebook
Anthony Chiplin
Will agree there first half was shit second half prob most entertaining half of footie ive ever seen shit defendin and worse keeper cost us big 3points there .
2 hours ago · Like
Anthony Chiplin
Will agree there first half was shit second half prob most entertaining half of footie ive ever seen shit defendin and worse keeper cost us big 3points there .
2 hours ago · Like
Re: " Match Report Millwall v Cardiff City 19th March 2011 " "
Mon Mar 21, 2011 4:26 pm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/footbal ... 430903.stm
Silly keeping by Bywater, he didnt need to come out for that 3rd but a great finish
Silly keeping by Bywater, he didnt need to come out for that 3rd but a great finish
Re: " Match Report Millwall v Cardiff City 19th March 2011 " "
Mon Mar 21, 2011 4:32 pm
Mate, I cannot fathom what he was doing then.
Similar happened at the beginning of the Palace match. Someone on here said he's had 15 shots on goal at him, and he's let in 9. Shocking if true
Similar happened at the beginning of the Palace match. Someone on here said he's had 15 shots on goal at him, and he's let in 9. Shocking if true
Re: " Match Report Millwall v Cardiff City 19th March 2011 " "
Mon Mar 21, 2011 5:51 pm
another good report
Re: " Match Report Millwall v Cardiff City 19th March 2011 " "
Mon Mar 21, 2011 6:29 pm
Well summed up Ian, I can relate to all of that, 'cos I was there, a long day but a great day. 
Re: " Match Report Millwall v Cardiff City 19th March 2011 " "
Tue Mar 22, 2011 7:09 pm
great report mate,
thanks for the mention, LOL
dont think u missed anything apart from the dodgy scotch eggs that were handed out by Fish
thanks for the mention, LOL
dont think u missed anything apart from the dodgy scotch eggs that were handed out by Fish
Re: " Match Report Millwall v Cardiff City 19th March 2011 " "
Fri Mar 25, 2011 8:43 am
Cheers Ian Look forward to the Derby Match Report