Right then, as promised.
We were poor throughout. We perked up after the sending off, but otherwise were under the cosh. Our goal came completely against the run of play and a Millwall goal felt inevitable. I'm not sure they completely deserved to win, but they did more to earn it than we did.
Watt's brightest moment came in the first minute when he scampered away from his marker down the left; beyond that he did very little. He so rarely passes the ball, which isn't a problem when he manages to get past the defenders and create something. Today, though, he lost the ball far more often than he kept it. Igor struggled too against the agricultural Hooiveldt and Nelson ('Sid Nelson' is surely the most Millwall name ever), meaning that up front we packed very little punch. Eagles snuck round the back from a ball over the top but, on the stretch, was beaten by the angle as the ball went into the side netting. At the very end of the half Diarra had a chance from a corner that he might have done better with, though I may be being harsh as it was at the far end.
By then we were down to 10 men. Solly had already been booked after what looked like a headbutt, but received a straight red as he blocked a goalbound effort with his hands. My impression was that it was the right decision, though I'll wait to see the highlights. Henderson, however, saved what was frankly a rubbish penalty, and the celebrations in the away end were as manic as they were when we scored. Eagles was taken off for Bikey and Gomez moved to right back. Between then and half time was our best period, though we still lacked any real threat. Cousins and Diarra were struggling to impose themselves in midfield and Gudmundsson was quiet.
The second half began with Millwall again on the front foot. Just as I was resigning myself to falling behind, though, we edged in front. Fox nurdled his way down the left and played a low ball in for Diarra to flick into the far corner. Daylight robbery was on the cards, something the people of South Bermondsey are certainly familiar with. Alas, it was too good to last.
A long-range effort was blocked, but the ricochet fell to Gueye on the left-hand side of the penalty area. He drilled unerringly into the far corner and The Den roared its approval. Watt and Vetokele made way for Church and Bulot, but neither could really make an impression on the game. A Church header was our only opportunity to regain the lead, and I can't tell if the cross was just too high or if he timed his jump poorly as the ball dropped agonisingly wide. Eventually, the Millwall pressure told. A cross-shot from inside the area found Hooiveld, and he prodded home. Even a generous 6 minutes of added time wasn't enough for us to fashion another serious chance, and that was that.
Man of the Match was undoubtedly Henderson, not just for the penalty save, but for a succession of confident catches under pressure. No-one else can say they had a good game, and perhaps today was a combination of the levelling factor of derby day and a side in more need of points than us. My overriding emotion will depend on whether Millwall use this as a springboard to go on a run and survive; if, as I hope and expect, they do go down, I won't be too frustrated. If they do stay up...