1. Freestone
2. Price
3. Jenkins @
4. O'Leary
5. Smith
6. Romo
7. Verschave
8. Lacey
9. Keegan #
10. Savarese
11. Roberts

    ---

12. Mounty
13. Fabiano #81
14. Bound @71
15. Cusack
16. Watkin

 Millwall

1. Gueret
2. Dyche
3. Nethercott
4. Lawrence
5. Ryan
6. Reid
7. Cahill
8. Ifill
9. Bircham
10. Harris
11. Sadlier

    ---

12. Warner
13. Tuttle
14. Kinet
15. Odunsi
16. Constantine

As I drove down the Kingsway at 11:55, there was the unusual sight of hordes of Swansea fans marching along the pavement. Their destination was the Potters Wheel where a crowd of at least 200 were standing outside the locked doors singing, "All we are saying is, give us a pint."

My destination was the Builders where a more genteel looking 20 were silently lined up outside.

After an unusually early pint, it was into the ground a little earlier than normal to beat the large expected crowd. I needn't have bothered as the kick-off was delayed for 15 minutes to allow the Millwall fans caught up in traffic congestion, a chance to arrive.

The pitch looked remarkably good considering all the reports I'd heard but there was a heavy wind blowing from the Mumbles which was obviously going to have an effect on the game.

Hollins kept almost the same team as last Saturday's by making just one change. Mike Howard was to be the subject of JH's displeasure (I believe bans come into effect a fortnight after the offence) and he was dropped to make way for Matthias Verschave. Boyd lost his place on the bench to Nicolas Fabiano.

Roger ran out to a chorus of cheers and waving of the '500 posters', but there was no official recognition of this, save for an announcement over the loudspeakers.

Millwall had not disappointed with the number that they brought down and the West Stand looked quite full - perhaps 1500?

Swansea started brightly and Romo repeated his party piece of last week when he shaped up to cross his free kick but shot at goal instead. Keeper Gueret was almost caught out but scrambled across his line to push the ball around the post for a corner.

Millwall were soon up the other end with Phillips looking dangerous with his off the ball runs. A shot from the left edge of the area had Roger beaten but Jenkins covering well, dived full length to head the ball out of the open goal.

The match was a bit of a midfield battle with the wind not helping as far as good football was concerned.

Millwall did get the ball in the net, but from the picture above, you can see that Freestone was clearly hit. Fortunately referee Dowd agreed and compulsory taunting of the Millwall fans' celebrations followed.

One noticeable thing even from afar away as the North Bank, was Boundy's body language. With Hollins having told Cusack, Fabiano and Watkin to warm up, Bound sat with arms folded and legs out straight with a look on his face that would turn cream sour.

Despite the bad luck we seem have to endured for the most part this season, today was a welcome change. Another period of penalty area pressure saw us come out of it with what looked like an accidental punch from Jenkins immediately followed by what was a most deliberate scoop with the hand from Price. The ref was totally unsighted but it was just 10 yards away and in full view of the linesman. A lucky escape indeed which Price repeated in the 2nd half when he challenged in the area with flailing arms.

This flailing has long been a failing of his when defending.

Half-time: 0-0

Playing against the wind would be beneficial for our forwards with the ball holding up and not running away as was the case in the first half.

A cross from the right led to Verschave trying to connect with the ball with his outstretched hand but it looked as if he'd missed. However, this had the effect of putting keeper Gueret off and his punch went upwards and towards the line where beefy Kris O'Leary was first to react in forcing the ball over the line with his chest.

Unfortunately the referee heeded the hand ball appeals of the Millwall defenders and the goal, like Millwall's in the first half was ruled out.

A bit more Millwall baiting ensued and a rush towards the North Bank resulted in police reinforcements arriving and the ref stopping the match for a minute.

One thing that puzzles me is why the police don't deploy two police dogs in the cage in the corner for these types of game? Have you ever seen anyone run towards a snarling police dog? If you have, ask him if he can still count up to ten. Seems a simple solution to segregation to me.

The game soon restarted and the next real interest for Swans fans was fierce shot from Lacey from the edge of the box which was pushed around the post for a corner.

Millwall were forcing no end of corners with their attacks and excellent deliveries led to Swansea conceding even more to keep them at bay.

From one of these sieges, we witnessed the move of the match. A quick break out saw the ball rapidly fed to Romo on the right wing and his measured cross was perfect for Verschave who had lost his marker, but from 2 yards out, he headed over. Savarese who was a yard beyond him held his head in his hands as he wondered why the ball hadn't reached him to almost certainly register his 12th strike of the season.

A couple of substitutions in the last 10 minutes when first Bound came on for the injured Jenkins and later Fabiano replaced Keegan.

Roger marking his 500th league appearance was to play an important part in gaining Swansea the point. In the dying minutes a shot from the left had Roger diving low to his near post but he could only parry the ball towards the spot. The marauding Millwall player was first to it and only the intervention of Roberts, who threw his body at the shot, prevented a goal. The ricochet fell invitingly on the right and for the second time in less than 5 seconds, he was down low to beat out the 3rd worthy attempt.

A hard fought out draw against the table toppers was nothing to be ashamed of. But, our profligacy in midfield led to tremendous pressure on our defence. This not being able to hang onto the ball in the middle for more than a couple of seconds is a recurring theme and needs addressing on the training ground.

Player ratings:
Freestone – 9 – excellent and some great saves at the end to keep us in the game
Price – 7 – good with some of his old runs at the defence
Smith – 9 – a rock giving 100% as usual
O'Leary – 8 – a very committed game again. Shown up for pace once or twice
Jenkins – 6 – not his fault but cruelly exposed as a full back
Romo – 6 – good free kicks but not enough of a contributor in the battle
Keegan – 6 – disappointing compared to his Bristol City performance
Lacey – 6 – some good combative stuff first half but distribution was poor
Roberts – 8 – liveliest of the forwards but forced to play on the left which is not his favourite position
Verschave – 7 – looked lively and had some good flicks early on. Was up against some very good defenders today
Savarese – 6 – largely anonymous today

Subs:
Bound – 8 – made a difference and looked out to prove a point with some crunching tackles
Fabiano – 6 – some tricky runs but as pointed out after Thursday's game, final ball was often dreadful

Summary:
A good defensive performance with Millwall having the lion's share of the game. We need someone to hold the ball up when we eventually come out of defence just to give the back four a breather. This is not happening and causing further pressure which was critical last Saturday.

The midfield played their part too in a gritty sort of way but there was very little creation. Perhaps the difficult conditions were to blame. We need to start with our strongest team and I can't see why Romo is keeping Cusack out of the team?

Just some quick observations from the game.

The '500' posters were in prominent display when the teams came out. Any ideas who stuck the huge one at the back of the NB? Whoever it was - thanks. And thanks to all that helped hand them out prior to the game and apologies to Rich Lillicrap for taking his 'punters'!!

Onto the game - early chances for both sides the clearest being for Neil Harris who beat Rog but was denied by a flying Lee Jenkins.

Savarese and Verschave seemed promising up front - Vetschave should have scored second half with a header but put it over.

Jason Smith was a very big rock at the back today - missed nothing and as such gave the dangerous Harris little change.

The midfield still needs someone like Cusack or Thomas in there to add a bit to it and Stuart Roberts is wasted on the left wing.

Sorry this isn't a match report but I am (very) hungover and do not have the memory of others so I'll leave that to them!!

In all 0-0 against the league leaders cannot be complained about too much. A good result and one we deserved. It's the fact that we have lost at home to teams such as Port Vale, Oxford and Bury that makes it more important to win games.

And as Gary posted - next Saturday is a Must Win match - no other result is acceptable.

Swansea gained a vital point in the their battle against relegation when holding leaders Millwall to a goalless draw.

The kick-off was delayed 15 minutes to help travelling fans who had been caught up in motorway delays to get to the ground at a sodden Vetch Field.

And Swansea almost made up for the lost time when David Romo brought a fine diving save from Millwall keeper Willy Gueret in the second minute with a 30-yard free-kick. But the Lions came back strongly and Neil Harris got in a shot that Lee Jenkins did well to clear.

Roger Freestone, making his 500th Football League appearance, then dropped a Steven Reid corner under pressure from Harris, only for the referee to award a foul just as the ball crossed the line.

Kristian O'Leary forced the ball over the Millwall line after 54 minutes but he, too, was pulled back for a foul on the goalkeeper.

Gueret then dived full length to push away a 25-yard effort from Damian Lacey.

Millwall pushed forward in pursuit of the winner but they were kept at bay by Freestone who saved at point-blank range from Harris.