Millwall - 1 (Peeters 90.)
Crystal Palace - 1 (Watson 67.)

So, still top of the table, but we would certainly need to win this one to stay there. Millwall, at The New Den, would have different ideas to that, and we need to look back to season 1995/96 to find the last time we beat them on their home patch. With Millwall lying 5th in the League, they will be more than keen to beat us, and with three ex-Palace players in their side (Noel Whelan, Andy Roberts and Kevin Muscat) it promises to be a cracker of a game.

Millwall kicked off in the first half, and as Neil Harris sent the ball into the centre Jamie Smith was on hand to clear the danger. Whelan made a forward run, but Danny Butterfield managed to put the ball out of play before Andy Johnson played a good ball through to Wayne Routledge, though he ran out of space in the corner. Tommy Black took a corner to Palace, and as the ball came wide to Danny he fired a shot that was deflected behind for another corner kick. Hayden Mullins headed this one wide.

Hayden ended up as the first name in the book for the afternoon, for a foul on Harris, the subsequent free kick being played in by Dennis Wise, with Tim Cahill failing to reach the ball as it went behind for a goal kick. A Paul Ifill cross was put behind by Darren Powell, but the corner set piece broke down as Millwall were penalised for pushing in the box. A free kick 25 yards from the other end saw Shaun Derry hit a shot high and wide of the desired target before Wise had a shot deflected by the Palace defence, the corner being cleared by Hayden.

Ben Watson beat a couple of defenders before putting an inch perfect pass through to Tommy. His shot brought a good save by Tony Warner in the home goal, and a few moments later Cedric Berthelin was called into action at the other end as Harris fired a chance goalwards, Whelan and Cahill both missing the chance to poke the ball home as it slid across the face of goal.

A couple of corners to the home side were easily cleared by Palace before Roberts found his was the next name in the referee's book, presumably for flattening Tommy. Jamie stopped Ifill as he headed goalwards, then Tommy was booked for a foul on Ifill, who fell to the ground in a most theatrical manner. With very little further action the half came to an end, the sides went to the sheds with honours even, but neither side had really looked like breaking the deadlock.

Presumably, considering the changes we were forced to make from our last match, Steve Kember should have been fairly pleased with the effort shown so far. It could well be that a single goal could settle this match, in which case we had better ensure that it is Palace that scores it!

Palace got the second half underway, and a free kick to Millwall saw Cedric punching the ball clear of our area. Apart from a couple of corners the first 15 minutes or so of this period brought little action for the fans, but this dramatically changed moments later as Tommy was booked for a foul on Muscat, and as it was a second offence an automatic red card was shown, and he was off for an early bath. How many more players are we going to manage to get sent off this year?

Millwall made a change to their line-up, Charley Hearn taking Whelan's place. Wise was found guilty of bringing AJ down about 20 yards out from goal, and Ben took a great free kick that went over the wall and into the back of the net before the keeper could even start to think about moving. 1-0 to Palace, and once again it was the 10 man side that took the advantage.

Harris fired a shot over the top of the bar from close range, and another free kick to Palace for a foul on Aki Riihilahti by Cahill saw Ben try to repeat the feat, his shot this time hitting the wall. Cahill was booked for a foul on Wayne, and Millwall made a change that was to prove significant, Tony Craig making way for Bob Peeters. Harris fired in a shot that Cedric kept out with a dive to his right, and though he conceded the corner, he claimed both that attempt, and the resulting free kick, with little worries for the Palace faithful.

Danny did well to keep Harris away from the danger area before Cahill headed the ball over the top when unmarked - he really should have done better with that chance. A corner to our hosts was cleared by Danny, and as we entered injury time the Palace fans started to think that, just maybe, we could hold on for what would appear a hard fought win.

Of course, all the pressure was on our goal, and our hopes were not to be founded, as Peeters got on the end of a cross and headed the ball into the back of the net before anyone could blink. He nearly scored again, and Harris forced a good save from Cedric before the match came to an abrupt end, and we all regretted the two points that got away. We may well have settled for a point before the match, but after coming so close we would all have welcomed three points. It would have been so much sweeter.

Ah well, there is always next week!

Colin Pryce

Millwall: Tony Warner, Kevin Muscat, Stuart Nethercott, Darren Ward, Tony Craig (Bob Peeters 77), Paul Ifill, Tim Cahill, Dennis Wise, Andy Roberts, Neil Harris, Noel Whelan (Charley Hearn 61).

Substitutes not used: Willy Gueret, David Livermore, Paul Robinson.

Crystal Palace: Cedric Berthelin, Darren Powell, Shaun Derry, Hayden Mullins, Danny Butterfield, Aki Riihilahti, Ben Watson, Jamie Smith, Tommy Black, Andrew Johnson, Wayne Routledge.

Substitutes not used: Lance Cronin, Gary Borrowdale, Curtis Fleming, Gareth Williams, Tom Soares.

Attendance: 14,425

Referee: Mr H Webb (South Yorkshire)