Nationwide Division OneWest Ham United 1 Millwall 1
Sunday, 28th September 2003
by Ryan McGill
The more things change the more they stay the same.
If you went to any of last season?EUR(TM)s matches where West Ham ran the game for an hour before letting the opposition back into the match, then read no further as you?EUR(TM)ve already seen this match.From dominating a match that should have won by a couple of clear goals, the Hammers were hanging on, indebted to the reflexes of David James who denied Millwall what would have been a deserved first victory at Upton Park.
West Ham lined up in their now familiar 4-3-3 with Lee for Ferdinand the only change from the team who came back from the dead to beat Cardiff in midweek.
While this formation increases our goalscoring potential in the final third of the pitch, it can leave us short-handed in midfield against teams with genuine attacking width, as was demonstrated in the opening exchanges of this match.
Millwall had obviously identified Tomas Repka as the weak link in the West Ham back four, with the lofty Petters and the speedy Ifill regularly doubling up on the stand-in right-back. This combination forced a string of early corners allowing Dennis Wise the chance to reacquaint himself with the West Ham faithful.
The opening 10 minutes belonged to Millwall; with only a precisely timed sweeping tackle in the penalty area by Pearce prevented a certain goal for Ifill. Pearce?EUR(TM)s intervention was not without cost, as he endured a lengthy spell of treatment off the pitch, and spent the rest of the match nursing a sore back. To his credit, despite being in obvious discomfort for the rest of the game, Pearce?EUR(TM)s performance never dropped below his excellent recent standards.
Having weathered the early storm West Ham were coming back into the match, with Repka and Quinn supplying pushing forward from ful-back, and Rob Lee producing his most expansive performance to date in the claret and blue.
On 25 minutes it was Lee who produced the pass of the match, splitting the Millwall defence with a perfectly weighted through-ball from half way. Connelly took the ball in his stride before accelerating past Ward and producing an expert finish into the left side of the goal. It was a trademark Connelly dribble and finish, allowing him to equal Defoe?EUR(TM)s tally of seven goals for the season.
Millwall?EUR(TM)s response was immediate with Ifill whizzing in a cross from the right, which Pearce deflected across David James?EUR(TM) crossbar. This was Millwall?EUR(TM)s final venture into West Ham territory, as for the reminder of the first half it was one way traffic towards the Millwall goal.
Defoe used his speed and touch to create several good openings from the left side of the attacking trident which were all wasted by his insistence on shooting on sight rather than playing in a better placed team mate.
On the stroke of half time Defoe was presented with a great chance to double the lead when a poor Millwall back pass enabled him to round Warner and push the ball towards goal. Unfortunately the ball was cleared off the line and despite the best efforts of Connelly and Horlock on the follow-up the ball just would not go in.
The only negative during this period was a booking for Connelly (retaliating to a push in the back from Millwall left-back Craig) from the over fussy referee Mark Halsey. The Angry Ant will now join Defoe in the stands for the game against Norwich next month, leaving us with the unappealing prospect of Neil Mellor on his own up front!
The second half began with a raft of substitutions. Millwall replaced the defensive duo of Roberts and Dunne with the attacking pair of Harris and Lawrence, while in a move that surprised nobody Brooking brought on Alexandersson to replace the largely invisible Mellor. While this substitution did fill up the previously gaping hole on the right side of our midfield you do have to question the tactical thinking behind introducing a winger, while taking off your most effective header of the ball?
West Ham immediately picked up where they?EUR(TM)d left off using the increased attacking width to good effect. With five minutes of the half gone a long ball was headed by the Millwall defence to Defoe who?EUR(TM)s first-time volley was deflected into the path of Etherington. The Bobby Moore stand held it?EUR(TM)s breath awaiting the left-foot screamer which beat Warner, but unfortunately not the post. The ball bobbled around the edge of the area but not for the first time it bounced unkindly for Horlock on the follow up.
This missed opportunity was undoubtedly the turning point of the game, as an ?EUR~on-the-ropes?EUR(TM) Millwall team could not have come back from 2-0 down. However, the close escape energised the visitors, and the second half developed into an end-to-end affair.
The hour mark heralded a spell of unrelenting Millwall pressure with Cahill forcing an acrobatic save by James with a long range drive, Harris shooting over the bar, and the increasingly influential Ifill hitting the crossbar after some unconvincing defending from Quinn.
Millwall?EUR(TM)s Paul Ifill was now easily the most impressive attacking player on view, strong, creative and direct. Crucially he also has the intelligence and experience to know when to pass and when to shoot, and Defoe and Connelly could learn a lot from watching the match video of his performance.
On 73 minutes Millwall finally got the goal they?EUR(TM)d been threatening, when the outstanding Ifill supplied a cross from the right (proceeded by some comedy defending from Quinn and Etherington) which was forcefully headed in by Cahill.
After the restart things nearly got worse when Millwall threatened what would have been a deserved winner. Ifill shot from the edge of the area just wide of the far post, totem-pole striker Peeters had a header cleared off the line, and James saved a close-range shot from Harris.
Then a funny thing happened. Having spent the entire second half launching hopeless high balls towards the midget strike force of Connelly and Defoe, James started bowling the ball out to the full-backs and suddenly the Hammers were back in the match, creating numerous chances from wide positions.
This change in approach presented Defoe with the opportunity to create what would have been an undeserved winner in the dying seconds of the match. With Millwall committing numbers forward in search of a winner the ball broke to Defoe who danced in behind the Millwall defence, but crucially chose to shoot from an impossibly tight angle rather than roll the ball to the unmarked Connolly who had an open goal to shoot at. Warner saved easily.
Seconds later the final whistle blew. The West Ham players looked crestfallen while Millwall?EUR(TM)s players and fans celebrated with gusto, an odd reaction when you consider how close they?EUR(TM)d been to winning the match?
Despite surviving the second half Millwall onslaught, this was a draw that felt like a defeat.
Millwall?EUR(TM)s team were so technically deficient that if West Ham had persevered with the ball on the floor (as they?EUR(TM)d done in the opening hour) then the arrival of a winning goal was surely just a matter of time. Instead the Hammers panicked under pressure and adopted a long ball game that suited the visitors far more than the home players.
The questions have to be asked why did it take so long for David James to realise that his punts up the park were only being returned with interest? Why wasn?EUR(TM)t Ifill (Millwall?EUR(TM)s only quality creative player) man-marked in the second half when he was threatening to win the match on his own? Why was Defoe allowed to continue on his mission to turn the team into his own personal one-man-band?
It?EUR(TM)s not fair to expect Trevor Brooking to come up with the answers to the above questions. He?EUR(TM)s only minding the store after all, and is doing a very effective job of picking up points along the way, but these issues will have to be addressed by the incoming Pardew if he wants to get the maximum out of a talented group of players.
Despite the disappointment shown after the match by the home supporters this point did move West Ham up into 5th place in the table, just three points behind the new leaders Sheff Utd. There?EUR(TM)s no need to panic yet, as if Brooking?EUR(TM)s mission is to hand the team over to Pardew in a good position to push for promotion, then he is well on course.
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Click to view all West Ham United vs Millwall match reports Click to view all match reports by Ryan McGill Like to share your thoughts on this article? Please visit the KUMB Forum to leave a comment.Player Ratings
David JamesSome awesome saves late in the game to protected a barely deserved point, but his goal kicks towards ?EUR~target man?EUR(TM) Defoe started every Millwall attack in the second half.
Wayne Quinn
Promising start, linking well with Etherington and Horlock on the left-hand side, but faded horribly as the game went on. Never got to grips with the lively Ifill.
Ian Pearce
Didn?EUR(TM)t let early injury restrict him from producing a man-of-the-match performance. Didn?EUR(TM)t lose one challenge.
Christian Dailly
Went close with a couple of corners, but once again our Captain failed to address the obvious on-pitch problems when we were under pressure.
Tomas Repka
Targeted by Millwall early on, but provided a more stubborn barrier than Quinn. Increasingly solid in defence but offers little going forward.
Kevin Horlock
Quietly effective, and unlucky with the bounce when presented with some half chances around the edge of the Millwall box.
Rob Lee
Energetic performance, and produced a great through-ball for Connelly?EUR(TM)s goal. Perhaps he should have been replaced with a man-marker for Ifill?
Neil Mellor
Once again made no impression, but would you want to play up front with Defoe and Connelly? Needless to say, received no service.
Jermain Defoe
David Connolly
Scored a trademark goal, and never stopped pressuring Millwall?EUR(TM)s defence.
Matthew Etherington
Desperately unlucky to see his second half shot come back off the inside of the post. A confidence player who reacted badly to the crowd?EUR(TM)s frustration late in the game.
Substitutes
Niclas Alexandersson(Replaced Mellor, 45) Replaced Mellor. Looked good in defence and attack, balanced the midfield, and it made a refreshing change to see someone more interested in creating than finishing.
Anton Ferdinand
(Replaced Pearce, 80) Replaced Pearce. Showed athleticism and adventure when going forward, should have come on earlier.
Stephen Bywater
Did not play.
Matthew Kilgallon
Did not play.
Richard Garcia
Did not play.
Match Facts
West Ham United: David James, Wayne Quinn, Ian Pearce, Christian Dailly, Tomas Repka, Kevin Horlock, Rob Lee, Neil Mellor, Jermain Defoe, David Connolly, Matthew Etherington.Goals: David Connolly 25 .
Booked: David Connolly 43 Wayne Quinn 89 .
Sent off: None.
Millwall: Warner, Cahill, Nethercott, Ifill, Livermore, Ward, Roberts, Wise, Dunne, Peeters, Craig..
Subs not used: Gueret, Whelan, Hearn..
Goals: Cahill (73).
Booked: Craig (39), Peeters (44)..
Sent off: None.
Referee: M.Halsey.
Attendance: 31,626.
Man of the Match: Ian Pearce.