1. Freestone
2. Jones S
3. Howard
4. Bound
5. O'Leary
6. Cusack
7. Thomas #
8. Boyd @
9. Mutton
10. Coates
11. Price

    ---

12. Jones J
13. Morgan @(90)
14. Phillips
15. Jenkins #(74)
16. Keegan

 Millwall

1. Warner
2. Lawrence
3. Ryan
4. Tuttle
5. Dolan
6. Bubb #
7. Cahill
8. Odunsi @
9. Kinet
10. Harris
11. Braniff *

    ---

12. Gueret
13. Nethercott
14. Bowry @ (90)
15. Gilkes # (79)
16. Tyne * (76)

This one is etched in the memory as one of our most unenjoyable away trips, though that had more to do with our rather frightening journey home than with the game itself. But more of that later.

The Swans returned to a more familiar 4-4-2 line up today, with O'Leary slotting in where Smith should be at Centre-half, and Mutton replcing the injured Watkin up front. In the impressive New Den stadium, and an atmosphere that was intimidating to say the least, the home side started brightly. In the first minute, Kevin Braniff was set free by an excellent through ball but his shot was well saved by Freestone. Millwall continued to force the pace, with their direct attacking style, and particularly caused Howard and the semi-fit Jones a number of problems down the flanks, and also through the intelligent play of the excellent Braniff. We also struggled to cope with some vicious high balls, particularly from corners, with Roger unusually flapping at a few of these. However, despite their early pressure the Lions were unable to force any clear cut chances.

By way of response, the Swans were playing well on the break, particularly through the clever and pacy running of Tommy Mutton, who continues to improve with every game. Our first attack came as a result of a 40 yard run from Tommy finishing in a low cross. In his roving role he also set up Boyd for a shot which went narrowly wide. Boyd also hit a fierce deflected drive which almost caught out Warner in the Millwall goal. Our other efforts on goal in this period were 2 free kicks courtesy of top scorer Matty Bound, which failed to trouble Warner. On balance the first half was pretty even though the home fans would probably feel that they edged it.

In the second half, the Swans started the brighter, and through Thomas and Cusack began to control the midfield and display some impressive build-up play. Price also started to force his way into the game and began to cause the Millwall defence some trouble on their left flank. Indeed he delivered a couple of excellent low crosses having worked himself into a good position, but as usual there was no-one to provide the finishing touch. Both Mutton and Boyd also enjoyed plenty of possession, and one excellent run by Mutton led to a fierce drive which Warner fumbled almost to the feet of Boyd. Walter however, was out of sorts today, and failed to make a serious impression, although one excellent through ball to Price seemed to have set JJ in on goal, only to have his shirt tugged, which the ref chose not to penalise (possibly feeling that to award a penalty in the den could be a suicidal act!!) Unlike our recent win at London RD though, the home side did not succumb and gradually forced themselves back on top. As our defence began to tire gaps appeared. Millwall had the ball in the net once, but were penalised for a foul on Roger, and he was also forced into 2 world class saves, the second from a curling shot from Christophe Kinet. But from the resulting corner Millwall centre forward Neil Harris stole in unmarked and directed a fierce header past Roger, with just 2 minutes left. There was no way back from this, despite a wayward late shot from JJ.

Player ratings:
Freestone 8 - excellent saves to keep us in it
Jones 6 - struggled today, clearly carrying an injury
Howard 6 - as above but no injury
O'Leary 6 - competent in defence, which is a much better position for him than midfield, despite the rantings of the Evening Post after WBA game!
Bound 8 - carried the defence for long periods
Price 6 - a good second half
Coates 4 - no impression at all, his mum must be paying his wages to ensure he plays for the full 90 minutes!
Thomas 7 - battled hard until subbed
Cusack 7 - worked very hard, and led the team well
Mutton 7 - some great moments - lets hope he can find the scoring touch
Boyd 6 - worked hard for the first hour then the jet lag set in
subs
Jenkins (Thomas) 6 - battled away
Morgan (Boyd) one minute is not enough to make an impression

Summary
Once again we reflect on some good approach play and constructive football with no end product. We can't expect our defence, particularly if under-strength, to carry the team for a whole season. Boyd and Mutton both showed promise in different ways, but at present neither is doing the business as far as goals are concerned. It was also worrying to find that our only attacking options on the bench were Bari Morgan and Gareth Phillips, with Roberts dropped from the team completely and Casey and Appleby nowhere to be seen. We don't think the message needs spelling out any further! Of course we need to keep behind them, and we will be doing that at Meadow Lane on Tuesday, hopefully without the company of the travelling nutters who turned up today.