Millwall - West Ham United

Pre-match thoughts (context and analysis)

It's been a turbulent few weeks for Millwall. We've played seven matches: won three, drew one, lost three. We've seen the highs (beating Norwich 3-0 and Bolton 4-0) and the lows (losing 5-1 to Southampton and 3-0 to Wrexham). To add insult to injury, we've had as many as eleven players out with injuries at one point, and we're only in September. It's been quite the ride, and I'm feeling nauseous. 

The good thing is after our next game, kicking off in about half an hour, we'll have three weeks off, thanks to an extended international break. That's more than enough time to plan ahead, hope the injury list gets shorter, and kick on for the rest of the season. The bad thing is that game is against top of the table West Ham.

We've got quite the history with our neighbours up in Stratford. Back when Millwall and West Ham started out, we were far closer to each other - we were in the Isle of Dogs, they were down in Canning Town - with supporters working for rival dockyards. It's said that Millwall fans disobeyed the 1926 General Strike, continuing to work whilst West Ham fans headed to the picket line. That's not true, by the way, not even in the slightest. There were no rival dockyards in 1926. But the claim lives on, one hundred years later.

That's before you throw hooliganism into the mix, with various brawls between opposing firms, sometimes leading to the deaths of innocent supporters. The Upton Park riot of 2009 resulted in a pitch invasion and one Millwall fan being stabbed, for example; since then, the Met Police have always been wary of a match-up between the two sides. However, it's never been that likely Millwall would face West Ham, not for a while at least.

That is, until last season, when West Ham were relegated. I have to admit they're a pretty good side. They've managed to keep a good chunk of their players, some of whom are far too good for the Championship. They've won their past four matches, and sit top of the league. We're only four points behind them, admittedly, but I fear this game might be a foregone conclusion.

Either way, I'll be there. I managed to buy a ticket, albeit I needed to be quick to do so. Tickets were on sale three weeks in advance, for crying out loud - everyone wanted one. I was refreshing my page as soon as they were on sale, and managed to secure one within five minutes. Not long after, they were already sold out. Guess that means I've got to turn up, either way - this could very much be a once in a lifetime opportunity to beat the bastards.

Post-match thoughts

Well, it ended up going alright. We ended up drawing 2-2 in what was probably a fair result, although I really wish things turned out differently.

You see, we actually started out tremendously. I knew things were going to pan out well for us as soon as one of our players launched into a sliding tackle, just 22 seconds in. The first half itself was exhilarating, with Millwall in constant counter-attacking mode, from start to finish. We were by far the louder fanbase too, with the West Ham fans (about a thousands worth) reduced to mostly muttering. Part of that was probably down to us scoring twice, though, both from smart free-kick manoeuvres. First, Caleb Taylor struck at the backpost in the 16th minute, before Camiel Neghli snuck one in on the stroke of injury time. West Ham (formerly Premier League) could only muster a single shot in those forty-five minutes. Jarrod Bowen (twenty-two caps for England) was nowhere to be seen down the right flank.

I suspected West Ham were going to come out fighting, and they did. Bowen unfortunately turned out to be way more effective, and we struggled dealing with their attack. We looked more tired than before, and we probably couldn't keep up with our high intensity play, so instead we turned more cautious, hoping for the best. Luckily for us, Filip Marschall, on his first game for us, was great in net, managing various important saves to keep us in the lead.

However, it's hard resisting a full-on attack, and we ended up falling to two set-piece goals from West Ham. Mohamadou Kante struck first, before Konstantinos Mavropanos equalised, and suddenly the West Ham fans remembered they could chant again. From here, the match turned a bit turbulent again, but sadly we couldn't pull ourselves back in the lead. There was one chance late on for us where substitute Kyrell Lisbie was one-on-one with the keeper, and right as he was about to take a shot, was tackled by Kante, who ultimately got a red card. Bit of a scummy move from him, can't lie, though I'm sure West Ham will claim it was "tactical".

On the whole, I'm pleased with how we played, even if we only have one point to show for it. Sure, the West Ham fans can goad us and claim we fucked up a 2-0 lead. That said, we've never sold out to a larger, more soulless stadium down in Stratford. We've also never won a third-rate European competition, only to get relegated three years later. 

Okay, I am a bit bitter. That said, we've done amazing considering half our squad is out with injuries. I'm especially pleased with Lyndon Dykes, who seems to have fallen in love with Millwall - he was always front and centre in all our goal celebrations. Zak Sturge at left-back was tremendous, often making deep runs into midfield, before passing the ball onto our attack. In the end, we dominated a side most people claim is far too good for this league for half the match, which isn't too bad. 

With three weeks off, we're 11th in the league. Not the worst start in the world, honestly.