Game 06 – Millwall

First home game under new management and a promising start from the team – shades of what we used to see at Layer Road. The players were acting like a single unit. Far more effort through the whole team especially Yeates who has discovered he is part of a team. Baldwin played like he wanted to be there although I still feel he needs to be the junior part of a partnership as he’s not a natural leader. When not under pressure he doesn’t really know what to do.

The half-time entertainment started early, before the first half had finished. With the announcement that there were two minutes of added time the video screen announced just one minute (and this I guess was a prepared view from earlier in the game when I saw the same ‘1 minute added’ message flash briefly on the screen in smaller letters). For the real thing there was a welcome return of some competitive half-time entertainment in the penalty competition.

Another good crowd (5,506) but obviously bolstered significantly by the travelling support from Millwall (‘nobody loves us – we don’t care’ was the familiar cry). Despite going 0-2 down following some typical defensive lapses the performance of the team continued throughout the match. Passing was a feature to behold. White seemed content to boot the ball upfield every time he got it instead of linking through the midfield.

Then came a goal that wasn’t! Even a solitary firework exploded above the ground to hail the effort, but a United player had actually dragged the ball out instead of putting it in the net. I believe even the celebratory music was a bit premature too. A damp squib after all.

I said in my last blog I wanted to see a repeat of the 2-1 scoreline. Well I got it, but the wrong way round. Still, a repeat of the effort shown tonight will bring its rewards. That was the best team performance at home for a year and a half.

Tags: cuckoo farm, cufc, league one, millwall