BFTG - Millwall (a)

[sandman]

Great away day and a well deserved victory.

Millwall, less a lions den more a pussycats basket. LOL at the tw@t in the Dockers stand during the first half giving it large on his own. Bring some friends next time pal.

Williams MOTM.

[The Real Sandhurst Royal]

A very comfortable win in the end.

Williams had a tremendous second half.

[Christof]

Good win bearing in mind we didn't play particularly well. Standouts were Pog and Williams, their no. 11 was decent, and Bywater at least deserves credit for acknowledging his mistake when running out for the second half.

Fight: saw the aftermath, some bloke had taken a punch by the looks of it, and there were a lot of OB, stewards and medics around. Also at h/t saw some fella squaring up to a guy in a suit who had allegedly been trying to film the 'fight'.

Spotted: Stuka in the row behind us first half, would have said hello but had to sort refreshments at h/t for Jr.

As ever, a top away day.

[Colin Cheeselog]

Pearce - Still looks dodgy with the ball at his feet, and a few too many aimless hoots, but outstanding defensively and his celebration after the goal is one that I will savour. He loves this club and I love him. 8

I thought we hated Pearce and that he was a rubbish money grabbing mercenary who thought he was too good for us? I just can't keep up.

[winchester_royal]

Fans - looked like a decent turnout from where I was stood. Loud enough, especially compared to the massively disappointing Millwall fans, but sadly there were a few fisticuffs towards the end of the first half which resulted in one fella catching a nasty right hook on the mouth. Blood and police everywhere. Tut tut.

.

Lol. Where was this? The right side?

Yep. I can assure you all I'm not making it up. A guy in a yellow coat was treated by ambulance guys and then carted down the stairs in a wheel chair type thing. It was block 25 for the doubters.

It only involved a couple of guys but it was a decent scrap.

[Loyal royal 247]

Re: the 'fight'. A fan broke his ankle after falling after being punched. Not sure what it was about?

By a reading fan? If so it's embarrassing

[paultheroyal]

Ah, I saw a guy wheeled off in a chair, knocked me flying as I was stretching my hamstring!

Decent away day.

Williams excellent as was Pog.

McCarthy kicking is atrocious but his handling at corners is exemplary.

Heard a lot of people on train etc being called by their Nobbers names which drew a smile from me but I kept my head down.

[winchester_royal]

Pearce - Still looks dodgy with the ball at his feet, and a few too many aimless hoots, but outstanding defensively and his celebration after the goal is one that I will savour. He loves this club and I love him. 8

I thought we hated Pearce and that he was a rubbish money grabbing mercenary who thought he was too good for us? I just can't keep up.

He may not be the most talented player we've ever had, but he always puts everything into his performances, and connects with the fans on a level that most footballers struggle to. Anybody who accuses him of being a mercenary is exceptionally thick. Imo.

[winchester_royal]

Yep, left side was a good natured affair. Not sure why winch would make it up though

Don't think he would make it up... but police everywhere? Rubbish, I barely saw any at the game in the concourse.

Met and TWP were grouped around gate 25 at half time.

[winchester_royal]

A really good win. Very scrappy first half in which we struggled to control the game as the Millwall players were running about like mentallists to put 5 men on whichever of our players had the ball. Obviously they couldn't keep this up for 90 mins and once we got the first from a Bywater error they noticeably dropped off and we looked a threat every time we came forward. Second half produced some excellent stuff and we could have had 5 by the end. It was a scrap, the pitch was bobbly and the Millwall players were predictably fired up, but we came through it comfortably in the end with a committed performance that didn't lack quality.

No score for Pog?

Surprised with your Gorkks score based on the radio commentary - sounded like he made a few howlers on clearances, but if you were there watching it then who am I to complain. 3-0 away from home is just what we need.

Pog gets an 8.8

I may have forgotten a few minor mishaps, but in terms of the general flow of the game our centre backs dealt with the early Millwall threat very effectively. Certainly relative to the leaky defense we had earlier in the season.

[Lacoste]

A really good win. Very scrappy first half in which we struggled to control the game as the Millwall players were running about like mentallists to put 5 men on whichever of our players had the ball. Obviously they couldn't keep this up for 90 mins and once we got the first from a Bywater error they noticeably dropped off and we looked a threat every time we came forward. Second half produced some excellent stuff and we could have had 5 by the end. It was a scrap, the pitch was bobbly and the Millwall players were predictably fired up, but we came through it comfortably in the end with a committed performance that didn't lack quality.

McCarthy - One excellent save early on but wasn't otherwise stretched. Dominant at corners. Distribution poor though. 7
Gunter - Mr Consistent. Wonderfully understated performance. 8
Pearce - Still looks dodgy with the ball at his feet, and a few too many aimless hoots, but outstanding defensively and his celebration after the goal is one that I will savour. He loves this club and I love him. 8
Gorkss - His renaissance continues. Excellent. 8
Obita - This was perhaps his first real defensive test, with Feeney getting the ball in space wide and often, but he came through it pretty much unscathed and once again offered width and adventure down the left. Took a real thump for his troubles in the build up to the third but looked to be okay. 8
McCleary - Like most of the attacking players he struggled to get into the game in the first 30 mins but once he got going he always looked threatening. Lacked end product today though. 7
Akpan - Seemed to be going along quite nicely before coming off. Shame. 6
Williams - Seems to be able to run the middle of the pitch by himself. He was everywhere, both in defense and attack, and definitely deserved his goal. 9
McAnuff - A real captain's performance. Picked the team up after a difficult first 10 and was a constant outlet on the left. As good as I've seen him in a while. 8.5
Pog - His battle with Shittu was perhaps my highlight of the game. Neither of them gave an inch all game. Pog arguably came out on top in the end though, and his work in holding the ball up was crucial to the win, as well as his opportunistic goal.
Alf - A tad ineffectual up top, but worked hard and even managed to win a couple of aerial battles with Shittu. 7

Taylor - Did well stepping in for Akpan. Didn't really stand out, perhaps a little overshadowed by Williams' performance, but did what he had to do effectively enough. 7
Hal and Nick - Both looked sharp when they came on, without really doing much. 6

Fans - looked like a decent turnout from where I was stood. Loud enough, especially compared to the massively disappointing Millwall fans, but sadly there were a few fisticuffs towards the end of the first half which resulted in one fella catching a nasty right hook on the mouth. Blood and police everywhere. Tut tut.

Anyway, a performance that probably won't still be being talked about in a year's time, but in its own way every bit as impressive as the last couple of home games. It's on.

TBF as much of a nerd as you are, thats not a bad write up. I live in a different country so thanks..

[wally bassoon]

I think the guy who got hit was with benreading, somebody (may have been same bloke) got a broken ankle.

Looks like some scumbag was showing off to his Millwall hero's!

[Schards#2]

Not too much quality on display today but, perhaps more importantly, there was a more palpable will to win than I've seen before in an Adkins team. Hopefully, at long last, the dressing room is all singing from the same hymn sheet and that spirit can be maintained for the rest of the season.

It was a tough and scrappy games that we would probably have lost earier in the season, it was won by the the spine of the team in Gorkks, Pearce, Williams and Pog standing up to counted and winning their battles. I hope the Akpan injury is minor as he's been pivotal in our change of fortunes and I'm not sure Taylor can fill that gap whilst Guthrie, although talented, doesn't naturally fit into this new style of play. Guthrie's a quality player but the challange is to have him work effectively in this team.

Hopefully we can put Sheff Weds away next week which would make QPR the big test of our new found momentum. Win there and anything's possible

[sandman]

Re: the 'fight'. A fan broke his ankle after falling after being punched. Not sure what it was about?

By a reading fan? If so it's embarrassing

Particularly for Millwall given that an away fan got hurt at the Den and they weren't responsible for it.

[Colin Cheeselog]

Pearce - Still looks dodgy with the ball at his feet, and a few too many aimless hoots, but outstanding defensively and his celebration after the goal is one that I will savour. He loves this club and I love him. 8

I thought we hated Pearce and that he was a rubbish money grabbing mercenary who thought he was too good for us? I just can't keep up.

He may not be the most talented player we've ever had, but he always puts everything into his performances, and connects with the fans on a level that most footballers struggle to. Anybody who accuses him of being a mercenary is exceptionally thick. Imo.

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=115854

[muddyfeet]

Would say Pog was man of the match for me - never stopped running around and trying. First half was a bit "meh" but once Millwall gave up after the second, it was a one-way street really - we didn't play particularly well and Millwall were absolutely rubbish tbf - as were their fans.

Was too bloody cold for me though

Was freezing

Stewards were over the top as well

[paultheroyal]

Stewards I encountered were good as gold.

[bobby1413]

Stewards I encountered were good as gold.

Ditto

[peterroyal76]

Stewards I encountered were good as gold.

Ditto

+2

[Maguire]

I hope benreading managed to capture the punch up on his helmet cam