Millwall

Ground: The Den

Visits: 2

Date: 7th January 2006

Match: Millwall - Everton 1-1 (FA-Cup)

Attendance: 16 440

Date: 28th March 2016

Match: Millwall - Burton 2-0 (League 1)

Attendance: 8 012

Report (Millwall v Everton):

Being on the Fulham stadium tour earlier in the day and that not ending until 1.35 I didn´t arrive at South Bermondsey until 2.40. However, having been there early in the morning to collect my ticket, I knew the way to the ground. When I entered the ground just before kick-off the atmosphere was cracking. It must have been really intimidating for the away fans, since the most hostile Millwall fans seem to be in the upper wings in the West and East stand. Everton missed a really good chance in the beginning and looked the better side but Millwall played better and better and got the first goal just before halftime. The atmosphere went from suberb to electric and I wondered how Everton were to react in the second half, if the atmosphere stayed like this. Even if Millwall had an early chance in the second Everton controlled the game more and more and the equaliser must come eventually. 11 minutes from the end Everton scored the important goal, after some stunning saves from the Millwall keeper. At that point I thought Everton would score again but Millwall hold out for a replay.

I, as a neutral fan, enjoyed the match and the atmosphere at the Den but if I had been in the away end I would have been a concerned for my safety after the game but the police seemed to know their stuff and as far as I know there were no troubles.

Report (Millwall v Burton):

Our second game of the day was Millwall v Burton at The Den. From The Hive, the home of Barnet FC, the journey to The Den is relatively straightforward. The Jubilee line brought us all the way to London Bridge where we said good.bye to Si. From London Bridge it is then only four minutes by train to South Bermondsey, from which The Den is only a short walk. We didn´t get to South Bermondsey straight away though. Having not eaten since 12 we headed for a local restaurant where we all ordered lasagna. At 19.10 our train left London Bridge but despite being this late there was no need to worry about tickets. The Den has a capacity of 18 000 and for this televised game the attendance would be 7-8 000. My previous visit to The Den, for the FA-Cup 3rd round tie against Everton, was in 2006. That game was more or less sold out and had a fantastic atmosphere. Tonight I ended up in the same part of the ground as I did in 2006. £30 for the seat seems a bit steep though.

This was an important game for both teams. Burton Albion, managed by Nigel Clough, are top of League 1 and might head for an unlikely promotion. Millwall are fifth in the table and will most likely end up in the play-offs. Burton brought 244 fans to The Den this Easter Monday. In total 8 012 was at the game and those of us present could watch Burton starting the game the better team. They failed to score though and instead it was Millwall who scored the first goal, 1-0 in the 12th minute after a brilliant counter-attack. Six minutes later it was 2-0 and the atmosphere was by now quite good. I especially the "No one likes us" song and even though the atmosphere was nowhere as electric as it was back in 2006 this was still a nice end to our day. After the game we stayed behind for a few pictures of the empty stands but we still made the 21.59 train back to London Bridge without any problems. Tomorrow I will finish off my trip with Coventry v Colchester at the Ricoh Arena.

millwall fc2