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Archive
- Millwall Match Reports
Season
1995 / 1996
Click
on any one of the links below to view the match report, then use the <top>
link (at the end of every report) to return here.
Warning:
These reports are not official. In most cases they were written by players
or spectators and no attempt has been made to check the accuracy of the
reports, let alone to remove the swear words!
Chigwell on 26th August 1995
Chemical Bank on 3rd September 1995
Chigwell on 9th September 1995
Eton Manor on 16th September 1995
Barking on 30th September 1995
Haringey on 7th October 1995
1st XV vs. East London 14th October 1995
Basildon on 4th November 1995
Aylesford on 9th December 1995
Basildon on 20th January 1996
Hackney on 10th February 1996
Gravesend Gannets on 17th February 1996
East London on 8th March 1996
Ilford Wanderers on 23rd March 1996
Barking on 6th April 1996
MILLWALL ALBION RFC -Vs- CHIGWELL
RFC
Sat 26th August 1995
Match Report
After all the effort in training (especially the efforts dutifully made
at Calder’s Wharf) the day of our first match dawned bright and
fresh. A good turnout of about 24 players gathered and we duly progressed
(Kray style) in convoy to East London RFC only to find that the clubhouse
(and bar) were not yet open. Fortunately this obvious preplanned
opposition ploy was cunningly turned to our advantage as it meant there
was no risk of us succumbing to a bout of pre-match drinking. Quickly
realising the error, the clubhouse was promptly opened but by this time
all the players were clearly focused on the game ahead. Club captain Perry
Munton soon had everybody in the right mood and after a rousing dressing
room team talk, the players ran onto the field albeit the opposition had
yet to show up with our promised shirts. This latest psychological ploy
was again tinned to our advantage when the gear (accompanied by Chigwell)
showed up and we found that Terry was too big for even the largest of
their shirts. It is always a reassuring sight to soc one’s locks
bulging out of their shirts!
A short pause ensued whilst Chigwell warmed up and Millwall Albion rallied
together to generate what would Soon be evident as a tremendous sense
of team spirit, then the first match kicked off.
From the sidelines the concern was always that Millwall Albion would
be overrun in the first few minutes as we struggled to build a team pattern.
However, in minutes it was obvious that any shortcomings in that area
were being overcome by sheer hard work and close support. The forwards
were slowly beginning to come together and the backs looked dangerous
when the ball was fed out. After 10 minutes a good break down the line
saw Millwall establish a good stronghold in the opposition 22 when disaster
struck. A lucky gather of the ball allowed the ball out to a Chigwell
centre and with the Millwall line poised to run the Chigwell back was
able to score a breakaway try, against the run of play. For the remainder
of the quarter MillwalI were clearly disappointed by the set-back but
still held the upper hand.
The second quarter started brightly and after about 5 minutes Chris Underwood
drove up the field breaking three tackles before being flied by a twisted
ankle enforcing his early departure and also preventing a good chance
for an early retort. Shortly afterwards Chris’ brother Toby also
fell victim to a similar injury again forcing a number of positional changes.
The forced changes had a detrimental effect on Millwall's play for the
rest of the game as unfamiliarity with the new positions made itself felt.
Chigwell took advantage to keep most of the play in Millwall’s 22
but the team spirit showed through and it was tremendous that the goal
line siege was eventually lifted without the loss of any points.As the
third quarter started Tim’s continued ferocious display at flanker
began to have an impact as Chigwell found they were being denied clean
ball and Millwall also began to generate some second phase possession.
At this stage the game was very much fifty-fifty and it was evident that
something out of the ordinary was required to bring us back on terms.
Club captain Perry provided it when he intercepted an opposition pass
in his own 22 and burst forward. He broke through the opposition line,
closely followed by what appeared to be the entire Millwall team, anxious
to lend their support in the event the full back managed to stop Perry.
In the event Perry broke the last tackle and completed an end-to-end try
for MILLWALL’S FIRST SCORE!
Millwall were clearly raised by leveling
the match mid several minutes later it looked like we were about to take
the lead when Larry McCabe weaved past two defenders and then skipped
past the last back only to be penalised for hurdling. Unfortunately Larry ‘Cohn Jackson’ sustained a painful ankle injury a further
positional change.
In the fourth quarter Mike Marques was forced (literally!) to withdraw
with a bad leg injury. Mike’s reluctance to leave the field exemplified
the Millwall never say die attitude and. further changes ~e necessary.
By this time so many changes through injury had been forced on the pack
that hardly anyone was playing in the position he had started and Saint
Bill in particular was having a fine game at his converted position of
flanker. Jamie Rockman was also apparently becoming stronger and stronger
as the game went on as several Chigwell forwards would testify after being
unceremoniously ripped from several mauls. Unfortunately the sheer effort
was beginning to take it’s toll on the forwards several of whom
had been forced to play without break and Chigwell began to push forward.
the backs then showed their defensive qualities with Boris in particular
breaking up some dangerous attacks, only for the pressure to eventually
tell when Chigwell an overlap to break through and take the lead. Millwall
still refused to lie down and’ raised themselves for a last titanic
effort when they broke from the edge of their own 22 and the ball went
down the back line. Good covering by Chigwell from the kick and chase
but Tim was first to the ball and clear when the Referee incorrectly judged
the ball had gone for touch and called him back.
Although a case- tone of those things’ the decision was a bitter
blow just when Millwall seemed about to level the match and the point
was compounded when Chigwell went up the other end to score and clinch
the match. Nonetheless Millwall continued to fight competitively until
the referee blew no-side several minutes later and the players left the
field to hearty congratulations all round.
It is not possible to mention everyone by name (I don’t
know everyone’s
name yet!) but this was a great team effort by all 23 players involved
in the match and clearly a fine start with even better things to come.
Three cheers for Millwall Albion!
Brian mac hale
<top>
MILLWALL ALBION RFC -.V- CHEMICAL BANK
Sun 3rd September 1995
A heavy shower of rain on Saturday raised vain hopes that the ground would
be softened up but in return to East London RFC (again they cunningly
were not open for us’) brought some consolation when we found we
were actually going to play on a properly sized rugby pitch Apparently
the pitch on which we played our opening game was a full sized Gaelic
Football pitch not that I realised that, after all Pm only from Dublin.
A good turnout was made which was particularly encouraging as this was
not to be a trial game where several players were to be disappointed.
However team spirit showed again as unlucky U, be picked promptly buggered
off to play for the opposition (only kidding). We then immediately made
the same error as our opponents had made the previous week!!!; we donated
the crap shirts to the opposition thus making them look like a bunch of
reprobates and causing us confusion. As a result the first 15 minutes
saw a rather lack4ustre display before TRAGEDY STRUCK!!!
The author's contact lens was knocked out and hence was unable to see
the rest of the match with the result that this report was unlikely to
be completed! Fortunately the other players, players on the sideline and
some rather suspect camcorder usage enabled the gaps to be filled in.
However as certain of these ‘gaps’ were filled in the bar
afterwards the author cannot vouch for the accuracy of this report due
to the risk of mishearing [he means he was drunk; Ed.] MiIlwall’s
forwards began to work as a unit under the guidance of Danny Anson and
good work~ the props was helping Barrie O’Hare hook more than his
fair share. As the forwards began to bold their own in the lineout some
reasonably good ball was fed back to Paul O’Dowd who started to
link up to his back line resulting in a good back row move midway through
the first half which saw the whole line contribute to put Larry McCabe
away down the wing. VERY DISAPPOINTINGLY Larry refrained from displaying
his Golden Girl impression and surprisingly settled for the unadorned
completion of a fine backs move to score his first try for Millwall.
The
score acted as a spur to Chemical who fought back to establish a position
deep in our territory and for a moment danger poised before Martin ‘Coop’
Cooper [who said originality in nicknames was dead] tackled ferociously
and picked the ball up on his goal line. Obviously feeling the effects
of the sun Coop decided his own goal line was a good attacking position
and promptly kicked the whole length of field to find before feeding the
supporting Phil Antenbring. Fortunately Phil was going so fast that his
sliding dive carried him to the edge of the line earning him a well deserved
try and carrying Millwall through to 10-0 half-time lead. Then the forwards
started to work well and tremendous work by Mike Marques saw the pack
maul from the halfway to the edge of Chemical’s try line. A reasonable
appeal for a penalty try was turned down and Jamie Rockman got over the
line only to be denied by a Chemical forward getting underneath him. The
forwards were not to be held for long and shortly afterwards a take against
the head saw Paul O’Dowd and Dale Adkins linking to feed Periy Munton.
Taking the crash ball Perry ploughed through the Chemical back line to
score a fine try.Relaxing at this point proved a fatal mistake as Chemical
fought back fiercely and scored two quick tries. [the less said the better;
ed]. The forwards were continuing to do well in the scrums but loose ball
was not being controlled and Chemicals excellent outhalf and centres were
causing problems; until Dale ‘yes, those are my real teeth’
Adkins took a good pass from Paul O’Dowd to burst down the wing,
chip the fullback, and collect to score in the corner.
The game was not
yet won however as Chemical came back to score again, and get within
3 points of MillwaIl. Suddenly we were looking tired and the problems
were
compounded when Barrie O’Hare and Danny Anson were forced to retire
with injuries. The two Billies [who needs the t~ Ronnies; ed] to the rescue!
Bill Canaway and Billy Lancaster came on to bolster the forwards tiring
limbs ably supported by the ubiquitous Scan McCann and Mike Marques. The
forwards gradually regained control although a late break ‘appeared
to give Chemical an opening. Phil Antenbring thought otherwise and a tremendous
tackle stopped the embryonic move and ended the hopes of Chemical.
Particular credit is due to three of Millwall’s best players. Unfortunately
the TRAITOROUS BASTARDS produced their star turns for the opposition!
James Burns distinguished himself by playing competently in almost every
position in the pack, Nigel ‘Flex’ Webb showed his rugby brain
to score a clever try from a quick penalty and Gareth ‘what’s
offside?’ Batley had a quite superb match in the opposition pack.
Well played Gentlemen, but next time do it for us please. Special thanks
also to the ladies especially Danielle Munton, Tracey Canaway and Julie
Lechlcy for providing a fine feast in the bar afterwards.
Finally a memo. about St Bill...obviously overcome with delirium after
seeing his hard work culminating in our club’s first victory,
St Bill joined in the drinking games with gusto. But has anyone seen
him since
he ran through the foot tunnel to Greenwich? We dearly miss him and please
return him if he is found.
brian mac hale
<top>
MILLWALL
ALBION
RFC -V- CHIGWELL
1 Mark Scot
2 Tony Smith
3 Bill Lancaster
4 Bill Canaway/James Burns
5 Mike Marques
6 Gareth Batley
7 Tim Parham
8 Sean McCann
9 Dale Adkins
10
11 Dave Clarke
12 Phil Antenbring
13 Martin Cooper
14 Larry McCabe
15 Nigel Flex
We ended up on a rugby field in the
midst of a camp of enemy pitches inhabited by, dare we spit it?, soccer
players. Undeterred our brave lads entered the row of changing rooms,
albeit keeping their bums firmly pressed against the wall. It was noticed
that certain of the heavier forwards were dwarfing the author’s
fat gut, although it was felt that the forwards were compensated due
to
the fact that they were actually fit.
Calmly resisting the on of a rousing chorus of who ate all the pies, Perry
Munton gave a strong team talk (amidst a rather energetic warm up by St
Bill) with the pack stressing the need for heart and fire to overcome
the obvious weakness.
The game kicked off and the forwards got straight in, catching the opposition
by surprise; for the first fifteen minutes this had the effect of keeping
them on their back foot, giving our backs time to bed until the blow
of
losing Bill Canaway after 10 minutes. Fortunately James Burns proved
a suitable deputy for Bill’s muscles (ooh you big boy you). After
the opening blows had been exchanged Chigwell had the temerity to launch
an attack; silly baggers! Stopping the attack in it’s steps by
good back line coverage Chigwell were forced to spill the ball on our
10 yard
line and Phil Antenbring seized the chance to run most of the length
of the pitch. Remarkably managing to stay on his feet this weekend Phil
took
the ball in to give Millwall great start.
Millwall started to dominate the game at this point but the
opposition pack were gradually to make their weight tell. A rare foray
into Millwall’s
half after about 30 minutes resumed a sawn inside our 22. Taking a good
heel Chigwell set up a break leading to a well taken fly under the posts,
promptly converted to level the scores at 7 aside. A tremendous blow
and
clearly a potential turning point, so Phil Antenbring races up to the
other end to get another special try!
Millwall12 Chigwell 7. Nah nah na
nah
nah.
The second half kicked off and within minutes the pack were confining
Chigwell to their own 22. Although Chigwell had the advantage, we were
pushing through their line and spoiling superbly. Then we won a clean
ball from a lineout on their own 22. Chris Underwood spoiled as our pack
poured through and Mark Scott grabbed the ball from the opposition scrum-half
and broke free to score. Millwall’s first try and conclusive proof
of the good that week in Ireland can do for you (a few places at MacHale’s
B&B still available special discounts to all Millwall players) Well
done Mark! Not to be outdone the breakaway unit were showing more and
more and shortly afterwards good foraging by Gareth ‘Paisley’
Batley (offside having previously been calmly and lucidly explained to
him by Perry in the changing rooms) saw Tim ‘you’ll not catch
me out in any drinking games’ Parham (oh yes we bloody well will;
ed) break free from a maul to feed Sean McCann to score under the posts
for yet another try (conclusive proof of the good a lifetime in Ireland
can do for you, still some vacancies at MacHale’s B&B etc etc).
The involvement of Tony ‘my BMW is only 6 millimeters off the ground’ Smith
did net go unnoticed either.
At this point the backs got fed up with all the glory being hogged by
the forwards and Larry McCabe. With Dale Adkins doing a superb job in
clearing the ball from scrum, and wider pressure from Millwall’s
forwards the ball was being fed out and both Larry and Boris came close
to overlaps only for tight marking to reign them in. The pressure was
telling on Chigwell however and a loose garryowen was collected by Phil
‘only spectacular tries will do’ Antenbring in his own half
to launch a counter attack. Ably supported by Perry, Phil was able to
beat the Chigwell defence on his own to complete his hat trick! Well,
what can you say about a — who scores three tries in one game?
(Pass the ball you greedy bastard is one option; ed)
Having sowed his share Phil then started linking the back line together
and shortly afterwards fed Coop far the most deserved try of all. By
this
time Chigwell were badly demoralised and Millwall have been excused for
feeling some sympathy. Clearly wishing to spare his exhausted forwards
further work, and wishing to let the Chigwell backs have a look in, Perry
opted to run the ball. Perry beat them all, then his second then...oh
sod it I don’t have it .The day he beat the whole bloody let of
than aid scored a superb try under the posts and do I get picked for
next
week now Mr. Munton. Shit! Millwall 47 (forty seven hehehe) Chigwell
7.
After being completely trashed Chigwell raised themselves for a final
effort and courageously battled up due field to score a consolation try.
Some bastards just have to have the last word.
It is indicative of how dominant we were when you realise that Flex can
tackle a charging rhino, he did not once have to put am opposing back
in hospital. Never mind Flex there’s always this week.
Man of the Match; Phil Antenbring,3 in half an hour.
<top>
MILLWALL
ALBLON RFC V ETON MANOR
Sat
16th September 1995
1 Mark Scott
2 Danny Edson
3 Bill Lancaster
4 Terry Barthram
5 Mike Marques
6 Guy Lether
7 Sean McCann
8 Chris Underwood
9 Nigel Webb
10 Perry Munton
11 Dave Clarke
12 Phil Antenbring
13 Martin Cooper
14 Larry McCabe
15 Gareth Batley
We enjoyed a raw experience
on Saturday; rain, worse perhaps for the spectators than the players but
why didn’t some bastard tell the author there was a bridge over
the stream?
The first thing that came to mind on arrival was the Blues (John Lee Hooker
was never like this Ed), or me specifically the fact that Eton Manor had
chosen to wear the same blue as we were sporting. What a crew of tossers!
Did the silly buggers think we would be confused?
Realising they had misjudged us they then chose to pretend they were short
a couple of players (as opposed to a couple of marbles; Ed), an obvious
further ploy to spread dissension in the ranks. Bravely Millwall Albion
players chose to step forward with their love of the game and John accepted
the invitation to participate with the opposition, where he gave a good
account of himself.
The game kicked off and Eton Manor (henceforth to be known as EM as I
cant be bothered; author’s note) quickly displayed great cohesion
within their forwards and a good link with their scrum. E.M.’s good
spirit and grilling by Millwall’s forwards denied their out half
good position. The first fifteen minutes passed in a forward stalemate
as both back lines were starved of ball. At last the persistence of the
Millwall pack paid off when they established a front on the EM 22. Although
EM won the resulting scrum Flex (if they’re old enough to....etc)
put in a driving tackle on the scrum half who spilled the ball as a result.
Millwall’s back line pounced and Perry collected the loose baIl
to feed Phil Antenbring under the posts. Millwall were in the lead because
people had gone to work!
EM back strongly but were unable to establish a position in the Millwall
half. Several speculative kicks were well taken by fullback Gareth
Batley
(strangely onside for a change) and good play under the high ball denied
the opposition a chance to establish a bridgehead in our half. However
the dose linking of the opposition pack was causing concern so our
backs
decided to score another try to keep them quiet. To tell the truth I
can’t
remember who scored although it might have been a lightly haired chap
taking his record to a try in every match which he then converted. Perry
had given us a 12-0 half time lead but would it be enough? On the sidelines
the consensus was that we deserved our lead but we were going to be challenged
in the second half. In other words the game was far from won. So what
happened? 1 will not spend ten pages describing it. Not because I don’t
want to, but St Bill would charge us six ~fid for the programme. Every
player played with guts, you fought the pain, you kept on fighting; backs
and forwards, Millwall Albion played as a team. The scores were taken
by Perry and Phil who finished with three tries each, all well taken by
two backs at the top of their game. But both players have been the first
to say how much support they had around them. So here goes;
Bill Lancaster; kept much of it going to the very end (the shorts have
got to go)
Mark Scott; took several against the head and was always in the thick
of it.
Danny Edson; pack leader; showed his quality in the second half.
Terry Barthram; the push is there and was invaluable. He sacred me and
I was on the touch line.
Mike Marques; He had worked hard but still worked today. Like Lomu you
need to shoot him to get him off the ball.
Guy Leather; Flu, just back from holidays yet still there and never beaten
by his opposite number.
Sean McCann; Ubiquitous (what does that mean?; Ed).
Chris Underwood; Gave direction to the back row and added immense push.
Nigel Webb; See below.
Perry Munton; three tries and collared their out half. Enough said.
Phil Antenbring greedy bastard (still!; Ed) (I know !; author’s
note)
Dave Clarke; aka pap to me, you bastards, always available particularly
when the Ralgex was out.
Martin ‘what the bleedin’ hell is that on your head?’ Cooper;
Fast as a back, mean as a forward, I'm glad he’s not a flanker.
Larry ‘five times a night’ McCabe; took it on the chest,
as distinct from someone else’s, went close several times, still
not been beaten by an opposition back
Gareth ‘1 could drive a fucking train through it’ (tell it
to the flock; Ed) Batley; Did not drop any balls, cleared his lines and
joined the backs. (keep the bastard at full back; author’s note).
This is the last time I go through every player’s performance. We
played as a team on Saturday and everyone was a hero BUT!; Now we are
playing against good sides. We have to work as hard today, and then we
will win, but only if we give it everything for eighty minutes. Let’s
go to work.
Man of the Match NigeI Webb. It is not how well a player
does,
it is sometimes how well a player performs as an individual. On a day
when everyone played brilliantly Flex beat his opposite number (who
was a competent player) in a position where he has limited experience.
Men of the Season Dave Clarke (for surviving). Perry Munton (for shaving
his head without anyone noticing the difference).
brian mac hale
<top>
MILLWALL ALBION RFC -V- BARKING
Sat 30th September 1995
Match Report
1 Tony Smith
2 Barrie O’Hare
3 Bill Lancaster
4 Terry Bartbram
5 Mike Marques
6 GuyLether
7 Sean McCann
8 Chris Underwood
9 Nigel Webb
10 Perry Munton
11 Larry McCabe
12 Phil Antenbring
13 Martin Cooper
14 Gareth Bailey
15 Steve Nicholls
Every Saturday seems to bring us together in a different way but last
Saturday was particularly special; our team shirts arrived and we looked
COOL!
I don’t know if it was simply our new strip but as soon as the game
got under way we appeared like a team for perhaps the first time. It wasn’t
a set of backs playing good rugby or a set of forwards trying to win the
ball; what I saw was a set of forwards hying to win the ball to ENABLE
their backs play good rugby. The first mentioidtas to go to Terry flarthram
who wá7s clearing loose ball and feeding it back to Flex to play
out. We always knew Terry could push, now he is learning to play rugby;
Millwall’s Jason Leonard?
The first half was fascinating as both sides enjoyed long periods of
dominance. Millwall started off the better side and controlled the
first fifteen
minute only for competent Barking dcfrnce to deny us any real opportunities.
Then injuries to Perry (dislocated thumb) and Gareth (mutilated hand
forcing
retirement) disrupted our rhythm and allowed Barking back in. They pushed
us back for the next fifteen minutes but good play at the set pieces,
highlighted by genuinely good hooking from Barrie, kept their chances
to a minimum. When they did win good ball the back row got stuck in.
Any
breaks were competently dealt with by our half backs and three quarters.
Slowly we regained our rhythm and were unlucky to be denied a try when
Chris, aided by Scan, surged over the Barking line only to be denied
by
an earlier knock on by another player. We also finished the half strongly
with two penalties which Perry mealy put over. Half-time arrived with
the score at 0-0 and we were justifiably disappointed not to be winning.
It was during the half time break that we noticed a bucket of sand
beside
the Barking supporters. Not that we would have wanted to borrow it for
the penalties; thanks guys.
Barking started off the second half as if they meant business and established
early control but could not break our line. A number of ganyowens were
attempted but were weli dealt with by Larry dropping back with Mike also
providing good coverage. We never knew Mike could play at full back! Unfortunately
after about ten minutes Barking managed to break and with limited coverage
at the back they scored in the corner. Millwall roared straight back
into the game and were showing every sign of clawing back the lead when Barking
managed to break away in numbers. An admittedly good attack by Barking
provided them with a three man oveflap running down on Steve Nicholls.
Granted that we knew it would be next to impossible to stop the try but
with three men to tackle we could have made them work a little harder
for it. After 65 minutes of very hard work this was a bitter blow and
was less than our effort had deserved.
Happily our fighting spirit showed as we came right back at Barking. Tony
and Danny were as ever giving Barrie good support at the front and a
good forward platform was beginning to feed more and more ball back. Another
disruption was suffered when Mike was fbrced to retire after receiving
an extremely heavy blow to the head.. Every cloud has a silver lining
however as this allowed John Guy to make a well ean~d debut for MlIIwall
Albion RFC.
As time began to run out Millwall staged a titanic effort and fine play
by Larry allowed Perry the chance to beat the Barking defence and score
in the corner. To our the try was ruled our for a foot in touch which
seemed a tight decision but never mind ref! We immediately took the ball
from Barking’s lineout and scored a deserved try. General consensus
was that the honours went to Danny but Tony is certainly entitled to claim
an ‘assist”.
Unfortunately there was no time left to mount a come-back and earn the
draw which our efforts had merited. So in the end a slightly disappointing
result; but on the other hand this was by far our best performance and
every player had a right to feel proud of his achievements. Well done
one and all, you went to work!
Man of the Match; A very tough call but I would go with Chris Underwood
overall. Equally every player on the team could argue that they deserved
this award!
Man of the Clubhouse; Gareth Bailey. After severely injuring his right
hand Gareth had no option but to find an alternative source of relief.
They say necessity is the mother of invention...
brian machale
<top>
MILLWALL
ALBION RFC -V- HARINGEV SECONDS
Sat
7th October 1995
1Tony Smith
2 Barrie O’Hare
3 Bill Lancaster
4 Terry Barthram
5 Bill Canaway
6 Guy Lether
7 Sean McCann
8 Chris Underwood
9 Nigel Webb
10 Steve Foster’s is crap
11 Nick May
12 Phil Antenbring
13 Martin Cooper
14 Gareth Batley
15 Perry Munton
Ok it’s Saturday afternoon and
we are getting warmed up for what we know will be a tough match, probably
our toughest yet; time for a captains team talk.
Perry; “Right boys, we’re going to have to work hard because
Haringey are a good side, after all their firsts play in Courage II, so
these lads will certainly make us run around” Millwall “eh
club captain? Which of their teams are we playing exactly? The fifths,
the IV Extra B?” Perry ‘[sotto voce] their second? Millwall
“Do what? I thought you said their seconds” Perry; “(more
confidently} their seconds and it won’t be a problem. will it”
Millwall ‘Their seconds? MUMMY!!!
Ok it didn’t quite happen like that but it would have been understandable
if it had. When Haringey came at us from the kick-off it was immediately
obvious that they were a different class to any side we had played before.
in the first two minutes they drove down our left flank and laid siege
to our line in the corner. When good defence enabled us to clear that
attack, they went down our right flank and penned us down there. The first
ten minutes were probably as tough as any full 80 minutes we had played
before and it was little surprise when they prised us open to open the
scoring with, a try wide on our right courtesy of some fine play by their
winger (was that Simon Geoghan?) I could have sworn that was Simon Geoghan...).
Having scared early on they continued to press hard and their line was
running at us aggressively. In this period only truly outstanding tackling
by Phil Antenbring prevented them from repeatedly breaking through onto
our fullback.
(Don’t worry Phil, it’s Perry back there this week). There
is only so much a team can do however and Haringey broke through to score
again in the latter part of the first half Ferocious play by an eight
man pack (and that is the first time I have been able to legitimately
use that phrase so well done lads) aided by some tigerish tackles by Flex
(the argumentative man) was the key to preventing the score from mounting
further.
At the start of the second half injuries to Billy the Fish and Bill ‘eat
my shorts’ Lancaster allowed the entrance of Danny Adson and Big
Trev. I don’t know his full name but Jesus! This guy is bigger than
El Tel.
The second half started off with Haringey still in the ascendancy but
Millwall’s resolve had firmed. The basic attitude was that we were
not going to lose this match. We might get beaten by them but they would
have to earn their victory. Fortune did not favour us when a slightly
fortuitous move allowed Haringey to gain a break and score a third try.
The real killer was that their out half popped the conversion over again
from an acute angle. 21 -0 seemed very unfair, even 15 - 0 would have
been harsh. With 30 minutes to go and all of our players clearly fatigued
thing were looking bleak.
Call it will to win, indomitable fighting spirit, dogged determination
or whatever.
But against all the odds Miilwall Albion started to take the fight to
Haringey and as the minutes went by the pressure was maintained. Eve
the
loss of Perry to a shoulder injury did not disrupt our momentum. Good
penalty kicking by Nick enabled us to gain a foothold in their 22 and
after repeated drives at their line Danny Adson finally went over to
give
Millwall a thoroughly deserved score.
After the supreme effort that went into our score it was understandable
that there was nothing left in the tank and Haringey took advantage of
their experience to sneak a fourth by late on but this could not take
the gloss off a genuinely brave display. As Perry said after the game, ‘if we play like that in every game we will not loose another game
all season’.
Man of the Match; Phil Antenbring. We know he can score tries, now we
know he can tackle as well. All he needs to do now is buy a decent car.
Man of the Clubhouse; Mike Marques for hearing a taxi a hundred yards
away from around a corner after having drunk about fifteen pints.
Brian Mac hale
<top>
MILLWALL ALBION RFC -V- EAST
LONDON Ill
Sat 14th October 1995
Tony Smith
Barrie O’Hare
Jamie Rockman
Terry Barthram
Trevor Barclay
Sean McCann
Tim Parham
Chris Underwood
Paul O’Dowd
Perry Munton
Larry McCabe
Phil Antenbring
Martin Cooper
John Guy
Nigel Webb
Our first home match and everyone was eager to get on the field. Sadly
only fifteen could start and those that were on the field established
an early position in the opposition 22, thanks mainly to some entrepreneurial
spirit on the part of Tony Smith. Keep taking those tablets Tony, and
we’ll move you to jumper in the lineout.
Unfortunately something was not right and it quickly became apparent that
the ball was not getting out to our backline. Millwall were playing like
headless chickens up front. The ball was going in but was not being recycled
meaning that we did not use it and so lost it. This continued throughout
the first half enabling East London to gain an undeserved foothold in
our territory.
When the backs got good ball they showed they could take the East London
cover.
Perry was unlucky to be denied a try when he was tackled just short of
the line and Flex showed he could run the ball out of defence when given
the chance. We know Flex has no fear and we know he can play on the ball.
I KNOW Flex can catch the ball (he has done it in training with no bother
when wearing his glasses; Flex BUY a pair of contact lens; I did and it
turned me from a 7 stone weakling with a low I.Q., poor charisma and B.O.
into the fine strapping man you see today, on the other hand now that
I come to think of it...). Larry had yet another try disallowed after
a break down the wing by John Guy was halted in their 22. Hard luck Larry
but there were better things to come!
The first half ended with a good old fashioned kick in the teeth (except
for Chris Underwood who would have probably preferred a punch in the mush
to what he actually got). By dint of doing a far better job than us on
second phase possession East London established a place in our half. A
poorly conceded penalty and we were 3-0 down. We were not happy bunnies.
At half-time Nick came on for John Guy and Jamie stood aside for Bill
Lancaster. However the first fifteen minutes did not see a reversal of
fortunes as East London were actually getting on top of us. We were damn
lucky that the back line were working overtime and providing good cover.
If not we would have conceded two tries in this period and the game would
have been over.
Gradually the pattern began to change as the forwards started to think
about what they were doing and the fitter players began to make their
presence felt. The addition of Bill Canaway helped to provide added push
in place of the unfortunately injured Sean McCann. More ball was being
won and East London were only taking their ball under pressure, forcing
them to kick more often which was meat and drink to Nick. A light interlude
from the hard work was provided by Larry’s “bicycle kick”.
I will hear no criticism, he caught it himself but what bastards were
making reference to a trial for Celtic; surely the trial would be with
Glasgow (3-0 down after nineteen minutes) Rangers?
Basically we were getting better but there was no sign of a breakthrough.
Then Tim Parham scored a classic flanker’s fly (‘classic’
means he was offside; ed.) from the back of a lineout. Not content with
this bit of glory-seeking he then intercepted a back move on our 22 from
the resulting kick off, and ran the length of the field to score a second
try. The match was now in our hands with both conversions kicked by Nick.
We had finally woken up and two more good tries by Perry gave the backs
the reward their efforts had merited.
Great we have won our first home game and well done! Now back to the
drawing board please.
Man of the Match; Tim Parham. Tim was the best forward throughout and
his two tries were the icing on the cake. The fact that they turned the
match around was a deciding factor too.
Man of the Clubhouse; Me. Ask Perry why as modesty forbids me telling
of my heroic deeds after you lot had shoved off home.
brian mac hale
CAPTAIN’S LOG As I said after the game on Saturday, I was pleased
that we had won our first ever home game and I stick by that. But, I also
said l was p’d off at the way in which we won, and I stick by that
also. So what went wrong? Firstly our attitude was completely wrong. Even
if you expect to win convincingly, you still have to play your absolute
best, not just turn up and expect the opposition to roll over and die.
All opposition deserve more respect than that., Don’t ever let it
happen again. Secondly we decided to forget just about everything we had
learned in training in the past few weeks. Up until the last 20 minutes
our second phase was virtually non-existent, why? Well if you know please
tell me ‘cause I haven’t a clue. Well maybe I do. It might
have something to do with the fact our pack hardly ever recycled the ball,
once it went into a ruck or maul it rarely came back. Well it bloody well
better come out again today, lets go back to what we are best at, which
is basic, simple rugby. The pack may well think the backs are getting
off lightly, well, that’s because, all they had to do in the first
half is defend. On the rare occasion that we got clean ball we made ground.
Some people felt that I may have kicked too much in the first half. Bollocks,
when you are camped in your own 22 kicking is the best option for getting
out. Lastly our heart, commitment and concentration which are usually
our best attributes were nowhere to be seen on Saturday. Hopefully
that will not be the case today. For some reason in the last 20 minutes
we decided to start playing the way we know we can, and, proceeded to
put 28 points past them. Had we started off in the same fashion it could
well have been 128. Let me say finally that if we don’t roll up
our sleeves and buck up our ideas, we might want to change our motto to
lets have a day off rather than lets go to work.
PT Munton (Capt..)
<top>
MLLLWALL ALBION RFC Vs BASILDON
IV
Sat 4th November 1995
Match Report
Tony Smith
Tony Miles
Danny Anson
Guy Lether
Terry Barthram
Brian Mac Hale
Tim Parham
Chris Underwood
Paul O’Dowd Perry Munton
Larry McCabe
Phil Antenbring
Martin Cooper
Gareth Batley
Nick May
This was the first cold Saturday of the year so everyone sprayed on the
Ralgex or rubbed on the Deep Heat. We then went onto the field and went
through a series of exercises after which we were all fully warmed up.
Or were we?
The first fifteen minutes were disappointing as the pack were unable to
provide any real clean ball to the backs. Basildon were pressing their
advantage by using the width of the field to kick for touch. Given our
inability to take the ball in the lineout these tactics were enabling
Basildon to break against our backline. Ironically it was from one of
our only lineout takes that we took the lead against the run of play.
Tim Parham took a long throw in and burst up field even beating their
winger. Perry Munton provided great support and was on hand to take Tim’s
pass on the 22 and sprint in for the try. Nick May hit a fine conversion
and we were one goal up.
The rest of the first half saw our pack take a battering in the scrums
as we missed the experience of Danny Anson who was forced to retire with
a nasty rib injury. Peter Ford deputised to make his debut for the club.
Despite some good support in the loose by Guy Lether, Chris Underwood
and of course Tim Parham we were being overwhelmed in open play as well.
Some hard running-was needed and only good midfield tacking by the backline
kept us ahead at the break.
The second half started badly when we were caught napping at a lineout
allowing them to make good ground into our half which they never relinquished.
Basildon’s first try came after a brilliant saving tackle by Chris
Underwood was wrongly penalised by the ref. They ran in the resulting
5 metre penalty to bring the score to 7-5. Basildon continued the pressure,
switching their attention to the left wing where a clear overlap was created
when our pack were sucked in on the far side. Tremendous efforts where
made by Gareth Batley and Phil Antenbring to stop the score but the numerical
superiority told as Basildon scored again to lead 7-10. To make matters
worse Phil sustained a broken nose enforcing his departure.
Brian MacHale followed shortly afterwards with a damaged neck although
Bill Canaway came on to cause some badly needed interference into the
Basildon loose. However the mobility of the pack was clearly below that
of the opponents and their dominance continued. Gareth Batley pulled off
a tremendous try saving tackle right on our line when he took out their
winger who was at full pace. His encore was an excellent mark taken just
five metres from our line. The backs also began to take matters into their
own hands and both Perry and Larry made great in-roads into the opponents
territory as the clock wound down. In the last minute Perry took a fast
break round his opposing fly half and created an overlap. Unfortunately
the miss pass did not go to hand and the last chance of taking the game
was lost.
Which is probably just as well as we never deserved to win. A big apology
from the pack to the backs. Sorry guys, we let you down.
Man of the Match; Gareth Batley who had a storming defensive game throughout.
Man of the Clubhouse Phil ‘Cyrano’ Antenbring for sticking
his nose into everything. Not that he could help it.
brian mac hale
<top>
Flex’s Match Report Millwall
Albion v Aylesford 11
I Gareth Batley/Peter Ford
2 Mark Scott
3 Billy Lancaster
4 Guy Lether
5 Mike Marques
6 Brian MacHale
7 Jason Tipper
S Chris Underwood/Rob Anderson
9 Larry McCabe
10 Paul O’Dowd 11 Martin Cooper
12 Phil Antenbring
13 Perry Munton
14 Dave Clarke/ Nigel Webb
15 Nick May
In the wilds of Kent we went. The journey there was notable for Martin
Cooper’s dry vomiting and Mark Scott’s disbelief at the prospect
of playing in snow. Aylesford had obviously read 'The Art of Coarse Rugby'
and employed The full range of psychological ploys recommended, such as,
change 10 miles away arid don’t show them the way to the social
facilities. The miserable bastards. The match kicked off and Aylesford's
play immediately cast a shadow over the enthusiasm held by the supporters
on the touchline. They were ominously good, fulfilling Perry pre—match
exhortation that we would hate to play out of our skins to hold them.
Their first try came from a line-out taken, literally, quickly and their
fly half ran in virtually unopposed. I was left wondering how the referee
could possibly have noticed,
Either, Had anyone else touched it? Or. Whether the line had already been
set? As he was
too busy marking the line—out, then it’s likely that he knew
neither of these answers. The try was thus awarded!!’ It was converted
successfully. The next try I can remember was a well-worked effort by
their Forwards with the No. 8 being tackled just short of the line and
another back-rower picked up and fell over the line.
Another aspect of Aylesford’s play was shown by the presence on
the field of a genuine winger. The little whippet on their right wing
sliced our defence wide open with nothing more than speed and angling
of the run to score Aylesford’s Fourth try. lt is an indicator of
Coop’s defensive capability that the winger, more and more sought
the wide open spaces on the left to achieve progress. A penalty try followed
when a valiant attempt to foil a push-over try was executed a millisecond
early. Aylesford had been rewarded for their determination to date.
The latter part of the second—half began to see Millwall demonstrating
that they could play the game. Some time during and setting up by the
forwards. Chris Underwood again at the line, provided the platform from
which both Phil Antenbring and Perry Munton helped themselves to fine
individual tries. The Antenbring sidestep arid the Munton crash were notable
again for their presence.
HaIf-time. MiIlwaII Albion 12-26 Aylesford.
The second half witnessed further evidence of Aylesford's superiority.
Early on Dave Clarke had been injured, together with Chris Underwood,
which allowed Rob Anderson to strut his stuff for the first time and Nigel
Webb took over from Dave. Rob Anderson, acting with Jason Tipper, showed
their ability in the back-row to good effect, impressing the audience.
It was the result of the changes that gaVe Aylesford the opportunity for
their fifth try. Their combative scrum—half, noticing the cold replacement
on the right wing, exposed the lack of preparedness exhibited by any player
fresh on the pitch in comparison to the warmed up starters, and dutifully
ran straight through yours truly. There was a hint of a forward pass in
the run-in but the try stood. Aylesford drifting play, mainly by their
back row, with the crucial support provided by the other forwards, time
and again stretched Millwall’s excellent defence. The tackling by
Millwall was again inhuman but the support of Aylesford was even better
negating the unavailability of their tackled players.
This was also helped by the level of fitness which the Aylesford team
held to a man, something that Millwall can learn from, should we ever
wish to attain higher standards.
I can only apologize for not remembering much about the rest of the game.
My abiding memories of the rest of the game consisted of wondering which
of these sods in red shirts in front of me should I be tackling. The upshot
of which was, usually, none of them.
For the record, Aylesford must have scored three more tries as the final
result was 52-12.
Whenever the opposition kicker does not worry about conversions enough
to place them, then you know you’ve been beaten.
‘Millwall Albion I2-52 Aylesford II
Tries: P. Antenbring. P. Munton
Cons: P. O’Dowd
Man of the Match: (this should have been picked by the
opposition skipper, but I only saw him once, whilst I was busy taking
the nosebag, so I’m doing it myself) Phil Antenbring.
<top>
Millwall Albion V Basildon lV
1 Tony Smith
2 Gareth Batley
3 Jamie Rockman
4 Guy Lether
5 Crispin (how apt!) Payne
6 Tim Parham
7 Jason Tipper / Scott Hogg
8 Sean McCann
9 Larry McCabe
10 Paul O’Dowd
11 Perry Munton
12 Phil Antenbring
13 Martin Cooper
14 Nigel Webb
15 Nick May
‘We few, we happy few.....and gentlemen In England now abed shall
think themselves accursed they were not here..’. It should have
been St Crispin's day.
Crisis! What crisis?
A near disaster on the transport front was averted. But not before a select
few had seen the edifying sight of Phil Wright on a Saturday morning after
the night before.
Those present can never truly again say Well it can’t get any worse.’
(Memo: On future International days, look Into hiring a minibus.) And
so to Basildon, eventually.
The mighty MillwaII Albion lined up. They faced a foe who had previously
seen them off 10-5. This score could easily have been higher. The kick-off
led to a passage of play resulting In a clearance kick by Perry Munton
being spoilt by an offside chaser or 14. Basildon took a quick penalty
and then another before sending the ball wide. Their centre made a mini
break before passing on to their wing. Standing up well In the tackle,
the ball was recycled and spun out again. Basildon's backs eagerly snapped
up the chance caused by MiIIwall’s backs over-enthusiastic cover
defence. The try was successfully converted. Millwall Albion 0-7 Basildon
IV.
It was time to dig deep. An unfortunate Injury, soon after, allowed Scott
the chance to add to his growing reputation. Millwall’s mobile pack
began to run Basildon’s off their feet, Perry’s call for disco
rugby was heeded. With the back row particularly rampant, Millwall, in
possession, scurried hither and thither, preventing Basildon's pack from
establishing The dominance they’d enjoyed in the previous fixture.
Whenever Basildon did get their hands on the ball, any menace was quickly
snuffed out by furious tackling. Millwall’s first score followed
when Jason Tipper broke up field, with the ball, happily. Seeing the line
ahead he decided to pass thereby averting not scoring, to Tim Parham.
Tim’s progress to the lime was aided by Jason Tippers fatigue enabling
him to effect a block with few accusatory fingers being pointed.
Millwall Albion 7-7 Basildon IV.
The first half was punctuated by a successful penalty by Paul O’Dowd,
furthering a well deserved Millwall lead. Millwall Albion 10-7 Basildon
IV.
Dunkirk, Rorke’s Drift and the Glorious Gloucester’s. To these
can now be added Gardlner’s Close. Rearguard efforts rarely receive
the plaudits they deserve. The next 40 minutes are probably the best played
In Millwall’s short history. Character emerges at times like this.
An excellent tactical ploy instigated by Perry kept their fly half from
pinning Millwall down In the quagmire that was the bottom left. Millwall
played top right.
Basildon's attacks, time and time again were blunted.
MiIlwall's defensive effort defies all superlatives. The backs tackled,
then they tackled a bit more, finally they tackled, and just for good
measure they tackled again. The pack comprehensively disproved the maxim ‘Big Is beautiful’ running Basildon’s eight ragged and
when Millwall's pack needed a breather, they took strikes against the
head. And yet, Millwall 10-7 Basildon lV. This was getting ridiculous.
Basildon encamped In Millwall’s 22’ for the last 15 minutes.
Constant assaults were repulsed and Basildon’s attempts to emulate
Hefty Vs breaching of Haitleur were laughed out of court by Millwall And
then came the penalty.
The drama of the occasion was palpable. You could taste it, (if you were
there). Millwall had given away a penalty. The final whistle had beckoned
when the infringement was made. To wait helplessly Is not a pleasant
experience.
On occasions like this it is a veritable road to Damascus. Gareth eagerly
took the subscriptions. It was a tricky kick. The biting wind, angrily,
blew. The Basildon kicker took the appropriate readings and aimed wide
to compensate. He kicked, the wind fell (about laughing) at the crucial
moment. The ball landed harmlessly in the hands of Millwall’s captain,
finding the most appropriate home possible, and the final whistle blew.
Joy was unconfined.
Dancing In the streets was reported as far away as Poplar. Jamie Rockman’s
eighteenth birthday celebration was given a perfect start. Well, almost.
Millwall Albion 10-7 Basildon lV
Attendance: Bill and Julie
T: Tim Parham
C: Paul O’Dowd
P: Paul O’Dowd
<top>
Millwall Albion V Hackney
III
1 Tony Swfth
2 Gareth Bailey
3 Danny Ansom
4 Crispin Payne
5 Guy Lether
6 Jason TIpper
7 Tim Parham
8 Chris Underwood
9 Larry McCabe
10 Paul O'Dowd
11 Nigel Webb
12 Phil Antenbring
13 Martin Cooper
14 Scott Hogg
15 Nick May
Bill Canaway
Hackney, delaying the game for what felt like an eternity, we almost punished
Immediately In the first ten minutes with typically forceful runs by Phil
Antenbring. Unfortunately, Hackney took possession and for the remainder
of the match, kept hold of It for far too long.
Needless to say (this Is getting boring) Millwall defended supremely (see
back issues 1,2,3,4,5...etc etc).
It's lucky that the Hackney fly half’s imitation of Rob Andrew didn’t
stretch as far as actually getting the ball to touch. His kicking indirectly
led to Millwall’s first try. Tim Parham flew off the back of a line-out
and charged down yet another kick. He chased and kicked on. I’m
not sure if it was deliberate but It landed just in front of Gareth Batley,
the most mobile hooker since the Martini Girl, Gareth himself kicked on,
and in the best traditions of Welsh front-rowers, sprinted on and touched
down jubilantly. Paul O’Dowd converts. The rest of the first half
is the kind of rearguard effort epitomised in issues 1,2,3.,4,5... etc.
Hackney had been unlucky when their left wing cocked up a relatively simple
try scoring opportunity and they were also lucky with Phil Antenbring
or Chris Underwood, (I can’t remember which) held up their skipper
over the line. Out of necessity Millwall cleared their lines with the
growing awareness of the kick-backs proving essential The last five minutes
of the first half saw Millwall's pack entrenched on their own line holding
off a far heavier pack with nothing more or less than skill, ingenuity
and plenty of sweat.
One hell of a lot of toing and froing later and Millwall stepped up to
score again. It w an exact copy of scores against Basildon (first time
around)
and Rochford V. This time the participants we Tim Parham up to his usual
trick of snatching a line out and sprinting upheld before feeding (I
ask
you to suspend credulity at this point) Jason Tipper. Jason managed to
stay on his feel keep the ball in hand and ensure the referee was adequately
sighted (perhaps for the only time in the game) before falling over with
all the elegance of a one legged giraffe This event was greeted with
scenes
of jubilation in the crowd and stunned disbelief on the pick It s reported
that an unnamed Millwall player began running back to Hackney’s
2Z line when he heard who’d gone over (although that report Is so
far uncorroborated). The try stood.
Hackney, who throughout had been testing the laws to the limit, then ensured
that Bill Canaway got on the pitch temporarily to allow Chris Underwood
to receive treatment. They then chose the wrong person to stamp on in
a ruck. Coop’s waited patiently at the bottom of the nick until
they’d finished. He then got up and showed them who not to do It
to again. Gareth chose to follow Villepreux’s maxim. That is to
play the game where the opposition ain’t (or words to that effect).
An absolutely inspired cross-kick, that Gareth put on a sixpence whilst
180 degrees to horizontal and a yard or two airborne, is the stuff of
which lunchtime legends are made of The two centres Phil and Coops bundled
over to the ball. Coop’s retrieved the ball and broke a tackle (but
only in the broadest sense of the word) reminiscent of the treatment meted
out to Marie Antoinette and the like, and marched irrestibly upheld. Coop’s
then fed Phil for an easy run-in demonstrating the usefulness of selflessly
committing defenders to the tackle and passing. Paul O’Doul converts.
Millwall then held the lead with two minutes to go, Hackney Ill scored
o consolatory by under the posts to make the final score.
The Man of the match chosen by the opposition skipper was too boring.
Man of the Match: Phil Antenbring.
I would like to take this opportunity to remind you all of the training
sessions. The match, against Whittington Syndicate Management, takes
on an added impetus considering the imminent arrival of the Second Team and
the kick off at Mile End at 6 pm.
<top>
Millwall Albion V Gravesend
Gannets
1 Bill Lancaster
2 Mark Scott
3 Janie Rockman
4 Bill Canaway
5 Guy Lether / Crispin Payne
6 Jason Tipper
7 Crispin Payne/ Gareth Batley
8 Rupert Moreton
9 Nigel Webb
10 Paul O’Dowd
11 Kevin Doherty
12 Phil Antenbring
13 Martin Cooper
14 Dave Clarke/Scott Hogg
15 Gareth Batley/Perry Munton
It would be nice to be able to blame the pitch, which was undoubtedly
bent.. Or the referee who undoubtedly wasn’t (although he may have
been a bit hazy about rules and there application at forward Confrontations).
The weather, usually a dependable scapegoat, can protest it’s innocence
as it was unfailingly benign. The Gravesend Gannets record this year is;
Played 14 Won 13, and it could easily have been different. Millwall’s
defeat at their hands was one attributable to unforced errors by Millwall
and solid, practical basics by Gravesend. In short, Gravesend took their
chances and Millwall didn’t. Millwall, several times, broke the
Gravesend defence, usually with either Rupert Moreton or Phil Antenbring
leading the way only for the ball to be mislaid. Gravesend played to their
strengths, one of which was a goal—kicker, and he ensured that Gravesend
went into the break 6-0 ahead.
Millwall were missing the combative Larry
McCabe at the back of the scrum as the veteran Gannets forwards exerted
great pressure on the relatively inexperienced Millwall tight five. Guy
Lether’s unfortunate injury, that saw him requiring hospital treatment,
had an air of inevitability about it. It didn’t stop him necking
sixty or seventy pints at the ‘do’ later though, did it? The
Gannets’ first try came immediately after Paul O’Dowd had
pulled the score back to 6-3 (although it might be worth remembering Gannets’
tactic of suggesting that he’s likely to either hook or slice it).
They followed this up with a further two tries to eventually run out winners
by 25-3. Many apologies for the abbreviated nature of this. I appear to
have blocked out of my memory some of the more salient passages of play.
The Man of the Match should have been picked by the opposition skipper,
but I forgot to ask. I have no doubt that he would have picked Rupert
Moreton.
Quote of the week..
“It was depressing to see so many good players play so badly.”
Tony Smith.
<top>
MILLWALL ALBION v EAST LONDON
Flex had bought his brolly. That meant it was going to rain. The more
lugubrious amongst Millwall wondered whether it would rain first teamers
again. No is the answer to that One. Millwall put their thirds to the
sword. A revenge of sorts was granted after the pre-christmas debacle.
It had threatened to drizzle all day and although the occasional drop
was felt. It didn’t really start until the second half was under
way. Just like Millwall In fact
Immediately from the Off it was clear that Millwall’s strength would
see the oppo off. What wasn’t clear was whether Millwall would actually
score anything. The dominance of the pack was beginning to instill In
those, who’d seen the first season problems, confidence. Millwall
absolutely caned them In the scrum. There didn’t appear to be that
many line-outs so Judgment is reserved. The first scoreless twenty minutes
or so were remarkable for set-piece teamwork and apparent individual crap
everywhere else. Someone created space and ballsed up a pass or the intended
recipient was too busy making daisy chains to score tries given to them
on a plate. Time and time again MillwaIl should have scored and didn’t
however they managed to put a stop to such profligacy as soon as It seethed
that East London felt that they might have a sniff. Gareth went over first
following a scrum, during which Pete’s and Banle’s cries of
‘its Christmas’, could be heard on the first team pitch. The
hail squirted out their side and Tim, managing not to give away a penalty,
swooped and fed Gary who broke a tackle and then dotted down despite being
held up off the ground. Paul converts. 7-0. The next try was recorded
by Tim failing to fall on the ball to leave a simple pushover score. We
were awarded a penalty from which we infringe and they get the put-in.
Millwall, again~ took it against the head and drove them back. One quick
feed later and Chris Rea completes the job. Paul converts. 14-0.
The third try began with a big kick from Chris R. which their full back
fumbles over his own line. We get the put-In and a pushover try for Chris
Miller Is the result Paul converts. 21-0.
Halftime intervened.
But not for long.
Immediately following the kick-off we win our own ball from a scrum and
its spun wide. It reaches Paul and then it stops. A lovely side step and
he strolls over to score. Paul converts. 28-0.
It was here that East London brought on their secret weapon
In the centre. Coop’s Is sent over by Tim taking advantage of a
big hole in East London’s midfield. Controversially Paul misses.
A Friday evening 11-30 p.m. prediction was realised when Gary grabbed
his second. Starting from a scrum again. Gary picked up and fed Nick who
scythed his way through the East London midfield, such as it was, committed
the East London full back and then presented Gary with a glmme. Paul converts.
40-0.
it was about now that the symbolic 50 pointer began to be hoped for by
the crowd. Rhys, by this point in the forwards, grabbed the next one after
greed reared it’s ugly head in Gary’s attempt for his hit-trick.
He was held up and Rhys heroically took the ball On and over. Paul misses.
45-0. The next fly was a fine Individual effort from Chris R. Taking it
on from the halfway line, he ran over EL’s midfield defence and
canters in for his second. lie drop-kicks his own. 52-0. Larry McCabe
then performed a trick that could quite easily be illegal. Millwall Albion
are proud to present the first man to be tactically substituted, to then
become a substitute for an Injured man and to score a fly. All in the
space of about ten minutes. Jim Wade broke the EL midfield defence, who’d
wisely given up any hope of a successful tackle, and fed Larry who went
over. Quite why Gary was given the kicking honours, nobody knows, but
he missed. 57-0.
<top>
Millwall Albion V Ilford Wanderers
1 Tony Smith
2 Gareth Batley
3 Bill Canaway
4 Crispin Payne
5 Guy Lether
6 Jason Tipper
7 Brian MacHale
8 Rupert Moreton
9 Larry McCabe
10 Paul O’Dowd
11 Nigel Webb
12 Phil Antenbring
13 Martin Cooper
14 Dave Clark/Matt Hunt
15 Nick May
There must be something in the air. Millwall players at Mile End appear
to enjoy an advantage similar to that held by long distance runners who
train at high altitude.
Ours is more likely to have something to do with air quality, rather than
lung size, which indicates that opposition coming from the more rural
areas of Greater London, like llford, cannot cope with the corresponding
decrease In oxygen.
Whatever the cause, Millwall continue to play like Gods at home. It’s
hard to know where to start really. Not a lot went wrong and if it did
it looked good. Moves flowed incessantly and everyone had a gallop. Even
Guy Lether was seen, with ball In hand, heading up field at a rate of
knots not seen since the days of the coracle. The support play was of
vulture like proportions and Increased in direct proportion to the realisation
that the llford defence had gone to the wrong ground.
Rupert started the ball rolling with a trundle over from about 25 yards
leaving 4 defenders behind. No need to pass of course, someone might have
dropped it. A little later, another break saw Phil Antenbring go over,
after Rupert, in an already well-rehearsed jug avoidance strategy (that
was desperate enough to see him standing on the wing at one point) put
him dear.
Another try went begging when Nick May. put away by a peach of a pass
from Flex, forgot the script and passed when he should have dummied. Despite
the recipient being Phil Antenbring, the move foundered just short of
the line. It was now that the Millwall pack attempted a pushover try.
Yes that’s right, a pushover try. It was obvious that they were
enjoying themselves and Bill Canaway was having a stormer In the front
row. Memories of Rochford faded happily away. Phil Antenbring, as is his
wont, sauntered over again, wondering what all the fuss was about, and
we turned around three goals to the good. Paul O’Dowd had converted
successfully throughout. The second half, If anything showed an Improvement.
Phil Antenbring stepped over again early on leaving a trail of untouched
defenders in his wake. As mystified as the rest of us an unknown voice
wondered how anyone so fat could run so fast.
Rupert grabbed another, soon after, leaving a trail of vaguely conscious
defenders In his wake. Mysteriously, this time the voice wasn’t
heard. incidentally, amongst all this excitement, Jason Tipper again didn’t
score. Phil’s fourth try came from a kick ahead by Larry McCabe
which will give the llford full-back nightmares. With several pairs of
stampeding hooves behind him, It was absolutely predictable that the ball
didn’t bounce kindly Into his or Larry’s hands but present
Itself instead, at Phil’s feet. Phil’s fifth try had absolutely
nothing to do with Rupert being on a hat-trick. Rupert burst clear and
then suddenly froze In front of the now, presumably, superbly organised
Ilford defence, and passed at the crucial moment to Phil it Is with sadness
that 1 have to report that Phil was by now fearing the consequences himself
and attempted to pass whilst behind the line. Tsk Tsk. Dave Clark then
suffered a dose of something or other and this allowed Matt Hunt onto
the field. The last try was, quite frankly astonishing. At some point
during Matt’s run he could have passed to every Millwall player
on the pitch, twice. He didn’t, of course. Well, let’s face
it, If you know that you’re only likely to touch the ball once In
a match you don’t want to let go. Disappointment was etched all
over his face when he finally ran out of defenders to beat and had to
put the ball down. The run even put Paul O'Dowd off his stroke and he
blotted his copybook
Gordon Gekko would have loved it. Greed, Indeed, was good. The final
score was 54-0.
1: R.Moreton 2, PAntenbring 5, M.Hunt.
C: P.O’Dowd 7.
The Man of the Match picked by the opposition skipper was Rupert
Moreton. Rupert also picked up the Man of the Match award against
Thurrock but I neglected to tell you.
Don’t ask about the Rochford match, I forgot to ask.
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Millwall Albion v Barking IV
1 Tony Smith
2 Gareth Batley
3 Jamie Rockman
4 Bill Lancaster
5 Bill Canaway
6 Jason TIpper
7 Brian MacHale
8 Chris Underwood/ Sean McCann
9 Larry McCabe
10 Paul O’Dowd
11 Alan Cook/Perry Munton
12 Phil Antenbring
13 Martin Cooper
14 Dave Clark / Kevin Doherty
15 Nick May
Millwall were defending an unbeaten record at Mile End. In their previous
home games they had scored 176 points, they had Conceded 11. Their defence
had been breached only once by a try. They were playing a Barking side
again. The previous match had been a dour hard fought Affair resulting
in a Barking win 10-5.
Well! Hmmmmm.
Spectacular is the word that springs to mind. For those on the touchline,
it was a quite incredible match. The final score according to the ret
(Who I hope had a calculator) was 55-38. Everyone else had lost count
The week before had seen Millwall overpowered up front. Within ten minutes,
Barking were two tries up with their pack dominant~ creating space for
their backs or rolling over themselves. Things were not looking good.
A ‘funny’ kick off followed by a typically forthright ‘dump’
by Coops saw the ball bounce (where else?) into Phil Antenbring’s
hands. And no one stops Phil from there. Millwall were three points behind
after the conversion. Gareth restored the accepted order with a try in
the corner following a messy lineout His drive over the line with half
the pack in support was deserved. Paul did the honours again.
Millwall then stretched their legs. I saw Coops bulldoze over and Chris
Underwood pick up and go over close to the line. Things get a little hazy
here as I was searching for some water, but at half time, I think, Millwall
were either 33-10 in front or 33-20 in front. This means that either Coops
or Phil had gone over again. Either Coops or Phil went over again straight
after half time and Millwall were coasting. Barking then clicked into
gear. Bolstered by the ‘Webb’ effect, two relatives of Flex,
who had been invited by Millwall in case of emergency, their half backs,
one an erstwhile 2nd teamer, began to find all the space they needed.
Cooky then had a lovely run before taking a dive to let Perry onto the
field. Barking ran riot Scoring either 35 or 45 unanswered points depending
on the half time score. I should be disgusted but it was great fun with
Millwall playing their full part with some great running that contributed
to the overall effect. The score, in short was unjustified. 45-45 would
have been fairer. The running was good which overloaded the defence. Panic
settled in and the last ten minutes was a riot. The touchline enjoyed
themselves Immensely but I can’t speak for the players. Dave Clark
suffered another Injury which let Kevin Doherty on the field. Chris Underwood,
back from injury, had a blinder before getting injured again. Sean McCann
stepped up and Phil Antenbring was nearly decapitated. As an example of
what to expect when Millwall play Barking it was wonderful (no I don’t
mean the attempted beheading). Totally different whatever you’re
doing next time these two meet, cancel it
Attendance: Lots
Tries: P.. Antenbring 2, M. Cooper 2, G. Batley, C Underwood
Convs: P. O’Dowd 4
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