Millwall - 3 (Harris pen 39. McCammon 43. Cahill 74.)
Crystal Palace - 2 (Freedman 22. Roberts og 49.)
Ifill then took a shot at goal, when he really should have passed to Neil Harris, the result of his shot seeing the ball sail well over the top of the bar. Dougie then got a cross in across the face of goal, but Tommy failed to reach it before Danny Butterfield's deep cross was put behind by Matthew Lawrence as Wayne challenged him for the ball. Shaun Derry fired in the corner that saw a good header by Steve just tipped over the top by the Millwall custodian, Tony Warner, and Nethercott cleared the following corner.
Alex Kolinko had to fly out of his immediate area to claim the ball off the head of Harris, and further pressure from the Millwall man meant Hayden had to head the ball back to Alex in goal. It was not long though before the first goal of the match arrived. Danny B took a throw that found Dougie, and as he cut inside Darren Ward he found some space enabling him to fire the ball low to the left of the keeper. Suddenly it was 1-0 to Palace, and we were on our way.
Tommy was brought down right on the edge of the area, and this time Shaun took the kick, which came off the defensive wall and flew out for yet another corner to Palace. This time the ball fell to Tommy, his shot being forced off the line by Andy Roberts, and then Julian Gray blasted the ball over the top, when he really should have done a little better.
Danny Granville and Tommy both made crucial tackles to stop the Millwall attacks that followed, and a couple of corners saw Robbie Ryan finally head wide of the mark. The first booking of the match followed as Dennis Wise flattened Danny G, and the resulting free kick nearly saw Wayne get free on goal, the ball running just past him as Tommy tried to play the ball in.
Alex then flattened Ifill, and of course a penalty was awarded, even though the ball should have been considered dead and play should have been waved on. Such is Palace's luck these days, and Harris made no mistake burying the chance to make the score 1-1.
As half time approached Mark McCammon somehow got free as Wise floated in a corner, and his header nestled neatly in the back of the net, to give the home side a 2-1 lead. Tommy tried to play Steve in when he would have been better advised to take a shot himself before Ifill made a great run, culminating in McCammon putting in a poor shot that really deserved better. To finish proceeding for the first stanza of play McCammon was booked for a foul on Danny G, and proceedings came to an end, the players trooping off for the customary half time pep talks.
At the start of the second half Ben Watson immediately took the place of Julian, and Millwall got things underway once more. Dougie was brought down by Ward, and suddenly Hayden and Tommy combined well, and as the cross came in ex-Palace man Roberts somehow turned the ball into the back of the net to even things up once more at 2-2. It certainly makes a change for ex-players to score for us; they usually manage to score at the other end! Danny G then put in a cross that somehow eluded the keeper and finished in the back of the net, but as all the Palace faithful were getting ready to celebrate they noted the flag was already up for offside. The "goal" might not have been meant, but we would gladly have accepted it.
Millwall made a change to their line-up, bringing on Tim Cahill for Lawrence, and this was going to prove notable before the end of the game. Wise brought down Tommy from behind, and though the entire Palace contingent roared for a yellow card, and thus a sending off, the referee merely indicated a free kick, and no booking for the player. A corner to Millwall was well dealt with by Shaun, and at the other end Wayne did well to beat a couple of defenders before winning a corner that Danny B fired straight at the keeper.
Darren Powell brought down Harris, and though many at the ground thought this could well be the second penalty of the match the referee somewhat bizarrely waved play on once more. Shaun played the ball to Wayne who picked out Tommy in the centre, his first time chip over the keeper looking destined for the back of the net before Ward managed to get a last moment touch on the ball, sending it safely away once more. Two more attempts by Tommy were well held by the keeper.
McCammon tried a shot at the other end that went wide of the goal before Ben was booked for a foul on Cahill that looked somewhat harsh. Ifill got on the end of the free kick, but Shaun headed his shot behind. Relief for Palace did not last long though, as from the corner Wise sent the ball in and Cahill simply headed it straight into the back of the net to make the scoreline read 3-2.
Harris nearly scored again almost immediately after, his shot going just wide of the post with Alex nowhere near the ball, and Millwall took the opportunity to make their second change of the afternoon, another ex-Palace player in the form of Steve Claridge coming on to replace Harris. Another corner to Millwall was turned away by Darren, and with only moments to go Gareth Williams replaced Steve. Surely he must start next match?
Three minutes was added to the end of the match, though there was very little football of note that took place in this time, and though Palace came away from the game with nothing to show for their efforts, it was at least a rousing affair, with 5 goals for the fans, and a performance from both sides that showed a little of what they both might be capable of.
Palace supporters will now look forward to the final home match of the season next Saturday, against Stoke City. Let's hope it is every bit as good as this match, with perhaps a slightly better result for Palace.
Colin Pryce
Millwall: Tony Warner, Matthew Lawrence (Tim Cahill 52), Stuart Nethercott, Robert Ryan, Darren Ward, Paul Ifill, David Livermore, Andy Roberts, Dennis Wise, Neil Harris (Steve Claridge 82), Mark McCammon.
Substitutes not used: Willy Gueret, Tony Craig, Kevin Braniff.
Crystal Palace: Alex Kolinko, Danny Granville, Hayden Mullins, Darren Powell, Tommy Black, Danny Butterfield, Shaun Derry, Julian Gray (Ben Watson 45), Steve Thomson (Gareth Williams 88), Dougie Freedman, Wayne Routledge.
Substitutes not used: Cedric Berthelin, Gary Borrowdale, David Hunt.
Attendance: 10,670
Referee: Mr P Prosser (Gloucestershire)