The Lads headed south of the river, presumably prepared for another 90 minute physical assault, got one, and scrambled a point after seriously losing their way at about half three. In a game featuring several moments suitable for a football bloopers video, the most obvious of fouls on Clarke gave him the chance to level in the second half after our left side had been carved open in the dying embers of the first.
The relief at the relaxing of rail strike impact was diluted somewhat when an already packed train was boarded by horses at Durham .and Darlo, and York. By the time we got to Donny there wasn't even any floorspace so only a couple could actually get on. After a half hour wait as staff placated those stuck on the platform, we trundled on with a couple of unscheduled stops between stations, presumably to roll off the bodies of those who'd found having a stranger's arse in their face for a couple of hours too much. Anyway, we got to the Market Porter and had a great chat with a Swedish couple - even if they didn't like football - who will now look out for our results.
A catch-up with Mr Bambrough at the ground revealed that it's quicker to get there from Belgium than Durham, and our manager's future was discussed - as you do when you've lost a couple.
Patterson
Hume O'Nien (c) Ballard Huggins
Neil Ekwah
Ba Ouachiche Clarke
Burstow
… and a bench of Bishuuurrrp, Dack, Pritchard, Roberts, Mayenda, Bellingham, Triantis, Hemir, and Taylor.
In the stripes, we defended the end in front of our fans and Millwall set things away, quickly going for the long one down their right. Old boy Honeyman was in their starting eleven, but thankfully isn't the sort of player to have too many shots so the likelihood of the curse of the former player was reduced. Clarke, as usual the target of a series of balls out to our left, won an early corner which we took short and saw the eventual cross cleared. A foul on Ba near the corner of the box on our right was played shortish to Neil, who curled a right-footer just over the far angle. Luke, the subject of much abuse from the bloke behind me (although, to be fair, only Patto escaped being called worse than sh##e for the entire 90 minutes), hit Clarke a couple of times with 70 yard diagonal balls which set our main man away.
Twenty minutes in, Ba was walloped for the third time and we worked the free to Neil, who hit a low left-footer from the edge that was delt with comfortably, and a couple of minutes later Burstow was booked for a challenge in the centre circle that didn't look like a foul to me, and to add insult to injury, he was booked! Haway man ref, that was just daft. His alleged victim was treated on the field, but didn't go off - have they changed the rules? What about the 30 second nonsense we've been subjected to lately? A cynical clip on Neil was deemed unworthy of a card on the half hour, then Neil was booked for a high foot as their man ducked to head the ball.
Let's just say the ref was crossed off a few Christmas card lists, especially when Patto was flattened and the free given - as yellow a yellow as you'll ever seen - but no card was shown. All of this made the ironic cheer when a free was given our way after Adil was fouled all the more inevitable. What looked like a clear trip on Clarke, our main outlet, went unpunished before Millwall broke but their cross flew across our goal with no home boot able to get to it, and as the half hour passed we seemed to lose out way. We'd had all the usual stuff we've got used to, with all the neat passing around midfield but Burstow unable to make anything of any ball we got in to him, and Clarke drawing a couple of defenders out to our left - but we just didn't have anybody to take advantage of the space that created. Millwall hit a really fierce drive from fully thirty yards that Patto watched fly a yard wide of his right hand post. To be fair, whatever happened a few minuets earlier had knocked us out of what stride we had and we looked really ragged from around the half hour mark. We needed some muscle from Ballard on 42 to force their man off the ball as they broke down their inside left channel into our box.
Unfortunately, Big Dan's next contribution a couple of minutes to go to the break led to the opening goal. as he fouled their man on halfway towards our left, but as he and his victim rolled around, Millwall burst down our left and the inevitable cross was met unmarked at the back post and volleyed into the ground and past the helpless Patto. There was a retrospective if unsurprising yellow for Ballard and three added minutes were announced as another home player received treatment but didn't leave the field. Haway man ref - what's the rules?
We ended the half with a ball from Luke that could have been either a shot or a pass into the box, much to the chagrin of the gadgie behind me who eventually left off abusing Luke to launch into Mowbray.
Did we deserve to be behind? Well, we'd only managed 58% possession, about 10% down on the norm, but the opposition's only shot on target had yet again been effective. Why can't we do that? Asking for a friend.
There were no changes for the second half, and we continued with the obvious but entirely understandable of getting it to Clarke at every opportunity, and he won a corner which we took short only for Jack to be fouled when the ball came back to him. Ouachiche's curler was punched clear and Ekwah could only bang the loose ball wide when it fell to him twenty yards out, prompting Mogga to ring the changes. Barely ten minutes into the half, on came Dack, Pritch, and Roberts for Burstowm Ba, and Ouachiche. Those new faces might well have surprised those left on he field, as some comedy defending more suited to a Sunday morning let them in again, but we somehow got it away. Away we went down the right, but Paddy's cutback was too strong before Pritch and Dack made some lovely interchanges, but basically tried to walk it in instead of just hitting it. Clarke was clambered over and Pritch dinked the free to the back post only for O'9 to flick his header wide.
Again, Clarke was fed by Pritch and galloped along the line only to see Dack poke his pass the wring side of the near post, but we needed Patto to tip a cross-shot wide from low at the near post. Livened by this, we won corner thanks to a comedy slice - but when it fell to Ballard, be showed why he plays at the back and blootered it over the bar when a goal looked certain. Oh, Dan man!
On came Mayenda for Neil to add more presence up top, and he had a few chances to run at and beyond the home defence but could never quite get away into space. Their keeper was booked for wasting time, Honeyman went off and Watmore came on - but instead of the curse, he got booked - and we flooded forward but steadfastly continued to want the perfect goal. When Pritch set Clarke away, he once again ran along the line and their lad committed what looked like the most obvious of fouls (although TV later in the day showed he might just have got a bit of the ball) and it was a penalty, The home defenders tried to disrupt things by wandering around in the box but it didn't bother Jack. He hit it low and just beyond the keeper's dive to his right, Nice one, Jack, and we celebrated by making lots of those West Ham signs that Pritch had introduced last season. He then showboated with a lovely bit of keepy-uppy to get him space to the left of their box, and hot a volleyed cross that allowed Mayenda to get in a shot that was blocked. The ball did get into our net, but the linesman already had his flag up - thankfully as the ball loped across Patto. O'9 then hit a free in our own half straight to a Millwall player, forcing some good defending from Ballard just as the four added minutes were announced.
1-1, and I'll take that. It was far from a good performance, but at lest we showed character to battle back after slack play had led to their goal. Did the point save Mowbray's job? Far from it, as I don't think it was ever in danger. Please, no knee-jerk reactions.
Man of the Match? I thought Ballard was the pick of our back four (or three, or two in the later stages) with a couple of muscular and vital interventions, we were once again pretty in the middle third but weak up front until the mass changes on 57. I'm sorry, but it’s just not working for Burstow, perhaps we'd see the best of him if he had a partner up there. I thought Neil did well, but as we kept giving him the ball and he kept scaring the bejasus out of the home defence, won the penalty and converted it - it has to be Clarke again.
Only the one point, but it's way better than getting beat, and that point was celebrated on a massively overcrowded 18:00 (reached by some miracle of public transport) by some hideously out-of-tune singing and a bit of arguing over who deserved a seat the most.
