Millwall 2 - Chesterfield 1 (Back to Report Lists) Dockers’ day at the Den all went according to plan. The Millwall fans and players from yesteryear turned out to witness another battling display by the latest crop of Lions who made amends for the 5-1 thrashing by the Spirites earlier in the season by seeing off the challenge from Chesterfield in a good, honest, workmanlike performance that emphasised how far we’ve come since that godforsaken day last year. We needed to capitalise on the win at Yeovil by ensuring we took all three points from this game and although oor Wullie had to make a couple of enforced changes, the team looked capable of winning this encounter against a Chesterfield side that oozed mediocrity from every pore. Pidgers in goal had a back four of Robbo, Phillips, Senda and Craig in front of him with the ‘Yeovil’ diamond midfield consisting of Brammer, Elliott, Harris and Brighton in for Ardley leaving Baby Boy Byfield up front with Marv Williams as his partner, replacing the B & Q bandit, Ben May. We started off at a cracking pace and it soon became apparent that the Chesterfield side that thumped us was no more. If they thought they could turn up and encounter the same sort of team that rolled over expecting its belly to be tickled then they were soon put right. It only took nine minutes to break the spell. A sublime piece of quick passing with adhesive control saw the combination of Brighton finding Elliott who in turn chipped over an inch perfect cross for Baby Boy’s eager head and "his stroppiness" made no mistake, finding the net with what is becoming a very welcome regularity. 1-0! To say we were delighted is akin to saying that oil billionaire, J Howard Marshall is reasonably happy that his wife has joined him in heaven. By the way, I bet she is as pleased as the Chesterfield fans were at going 1-0 down. Eternity is a fuckin’ long time, Ms Nicole-Smith!! But I digress. It was all Millwall as we piled on the pressure, baby Boy nearly added a second after about a quarter of an hour, his shot whistling past the upright with keeper Jordan well beaten. A quick word about new man Brammer. He is looking the part so far. He does a proper midfield job, directing passes, cajoling players, breaking up the oppo’s attacks. He also created a couple of decent chances for Williams and Harris who both saw their efforts saved by Jordan. Although we clearly dominated proceedings, when referee Hegley blew for half time, I suspect I was not alone in feeling that one goal was not enough. A decent turn out of MISA regulars was in amongst the nine and half thousand lion’s fans and as usual they are all entitled to a mention as long as I’ve seen ‘em. So, in no particular order, except family first, me & MrsB were joined by NickB & Cojster along with Scott, Essex Exile, Elmoputney, CharlieMFC, MFCTom, Five bells and his missus, Dalboy, Smiffy05, JW and Mick, Knighty….yes, Knighty and Orange saw me before the game..hold it,... I’ve missed someone…I’m sure I have…let me know who I missed and I’ll update it…..hang on…where was Millwall’s greatest fan? No, not Dartford, he’s in Florida, not Nez, he was away enjoying new fatherhood…..HPS…where was he? He is becoming the elusive pimpernel of Millwall home games….. The second half was soon under way and a feeling of trepidation began to creep over us as we watched incredulously as referee Hegley decided to show us his true colours. A more blatant penalty you will never see as Bomber picked up a loose ball and hit a slide rule pass into the path of the marauding Williams. Young Marv left his marker in a cloud of four star as he raced into the area. Baby Boy was matching Williams run and gleefully accepted the unselfish pass that came his way. It had goal written all over it until a cumbersome great oaf called Critchell made no attempt whatsoever to disguise a perfect rugby tackle, bringing baby Boy down in a heap as his right boot connected with the ball. The ball flew harmlessly over the bar and as we all waited for the anticipated red card followed by a penalty scenario, Hegley pointed manfully for a goal kick. Incensed is not an adequate description of every Millwall fan in the ground. Relieved also is not an adequate description of the Chesterfield team and 200 odd Chesterfield fans, also in the stadium. Chesterfield sensed that this buffoon of a ref might actually be on their side and suddenly their confidence was magically restored. They became more ambitious and as is usually the case in these matters they had yet another stroke of good fortune. On 58 minutes, disaster struck. Substitute Hall, who was, to be fair, easily the best they had on offer, picked up a wayward pass from Ward, and attempted to hit a shot hard and low towards the Millwall goal. Pidgers anticipated the flight of the ball and went low only to watch in horror as it deflected up off Phillips and looped high into the net. 1-1. Our deva had never been so stated. It could have been worse but for the timely goal line clearance by Marv Williams from a Hazell header from a corner kick.. It was all beginning to look a little bit shaky as we looked on in utter disbelief as another stone wall penalty appeal was turned down by Hegley. I know I have accused Baby Boy of spending more time on his back than on his feet but not this time. He was getting no help from the ref at all. Something needed to be changed and oor Wullie is no shrinking violet when it comes to substitutions. On around the 70 minute mark he made a double change with Harris and Williams making way for Hackett and crowds favourite Pubertz. A third penalty shout for hand ball again fell on deaf ears and we needed some inspiration from somewhere to grab the deserved three points. Two Words. Chris Hackett. This boy is a gem. Why he is cooling his arse on the subs bench, I’ll never know. He is a class above almost anything else in this division. If you had to guess who would create a chance to score then you would look no further than Hackett. He collected the ball out on the right wing and flew past the ragged defence. He whipped in a killer cross and all Pubey had to do was stick his head on it. 2-1!! Cue pandemonium. 5 minutes left and the Great Dane had come good again! E-I-O’s rang out all around the ground and despite the refs best intentions towards Chesterfield, they had had the stuffing well and truly knocked out of them. A 90th minute substitution saw Byfield go off to be replaced by Morris but that was just a time wasting tactic and also to allow Baby Boy his traditional quick exit SO THAT THE UNGRATEFUL BASTARD DOESN’T HAVE TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE FANS! Strange to see Tom Brighton, clearly struggling, get over looked for the substitution. he was signalling for ages that he needed to come off, he was basically shagged and might have been carrying an injury, but oor Wullie decided he should finish the game and it looked like the fuckin' game nearly finished poor Tom as he collapsed in a heap at the final whistle. After the whistle there was the curious episode of one of the Chesterfield players making his way towards the corner of the ground at the CBL/East stand section to, it seemed, have a pop at someone. He got s and then decided that whatever was bugging him could be forgotten and he turned around and went on his way. So…we are now up to 14th place….fuckin’ hell we’ll all be getting nose bleeds soon if we go any higher! What next? Only a visit to Oldham who happen to be top of the league at the moment…it doesn’t get any easier, does it? I hope to see some of you up there?