A real derby

Well ... what can you say about that?!? It was my son's first Charlton Millwall game and it had everything except the final result ... red card, a plethora of yellow cards, an over-officious referee who loved talking, two penalties, a packed away end ... ohhh, and 8 goals.

The threat by Millwall to bring a 'tsunami' of fans and overwhelm Charlton did not, as most of us expected, materialise. There were pockets of Millwall fans in the home areas, but to be honest not that many, and probably less than we had at Gillingham ... so well done to Charlton for sorting this out.

The pitch has taken quite a battering in recent weeks but all credit to Paddy Powell and his team, it stood up well.

Both the Mizzen and Knox families received a well deserved reception before the game and it is appreciated that both clubs, and sponsors, supported the initiative.

The match itself was fairly dramatic and certainly took an early turn for the worse when the Spanners went two ahead. For most of the 1st half, our defence and midfield did not look like they were functioning very effectively. Perhaps the occasion got to them?

Then ... a penalty to Charlton! And I am not convinced it was a penalty ... in any event, I doubt Mooney would have scored.

And then ... another penalty!! This time it was cast-iron, and Millwall had a player red-carded.

Deon put away both away extremely effectively to get us level again.

Half-time at 2 apiece was probably fair ... we never really got going.

Second half and almost immediately after the re-start, a wonder goal from Nicky Bailey sending the Valley (ok, not the Jimmy Seed Stand) into raptures.

Second half Charlton looked a lot better but Millwall never looked like they only had 10 men, proving to be very resilient and leading to their 3rd goal.

Incredibly, Charlton then went on to score a 4th, albeit an own goal by the Spanners. When 5 minutes injury time was announced to no great surprise, I must admit that I still thought we would win the game ... but it was not to be.

Farcical defending and goal-keeping meant that the Spanners came away with a point, although the way their fans celebrated you would have thought they had been promoted ... and you don't care about us? Of course, you don't ;-)

And a word about the Mooney substitution ... I've been one of those supporting Mooney but as far as I am concerned, he can now clear off back to where he came from. Leaving the pitch after substitution, he threw his shirt on the floor, walking away to the tunnel, and then completely ignored the applause of the Covered End ... don't bother coming back Mooney.

Elliot - did not command his area as much as I would have liked, and committed some misjudgements, but he was definitely up for this game.
Omozusi - contributed a lot to the game and never stopped running, a few errors but did well in such an atmosphere.
Basey - excellent game, did not want to let anyone get past him.
S Sodje - not at his best, but strong at times. Too many mistakes.
Dailly - one of his weaker games, possibly his first. But still did enough to frustrate Millwall at times.
Sam - was very concerned after first half that he would be sent off, he was a target for both Millwall and the ref, but did enough for a good display. His booking means he will miss the Swindon game.
Spring - not on long enough to contribute.
Semedo - no way near as strong as usual ... did the atmosphere affect him?
Bailey - strong, committed, and just the sort of player you want in a derby game ... brilliant goal.
Wagstaff - had a good game, never scared to get involved and worried Millwall a few times.
McKenzie - not on long enough to tell, but had a few good runs.
Mooney - see above ... very lightweight today.
A Sodje - not as effective as he can be when coming on as sub but was involved.
Burton - excellent game and my man of the match.

And the fans ... well, Millwall took advantage of the better acoustics in the Jimmy Seed Stand first half, but there were times during the game when they were more like kittens. The Covered End came into it's best during the second half and contributed to a great atmosphere.

I love real derby games!

Incidentally, I fully agree with Parky's comments about the ref:

"I thought the ref was the person who got carried away with the derby frenzy more than anybody,” said Parkinson. "For both teams, there were too many stoppages. Every challenge seemed to result in a free-kick. There were so many decisions which were called wrong. For their third goal, Jose Semedo won the ball cleanly in midfield and he gave them a free-kick. I was disappointed with the ref.”