Team: Green, Simpson, Onuoha, Dunne, Hill, Benayoun (Hoilett), Barton, Carroll, Kranjcar (Zamora), Morrison, Austin (Doyle).
Subs Not Used: Murphy, Suk-Young, Hughes, Henry.
Attendance: 15,725 (including 1,367 visitors in the Upper School End)
I think that Rob Green’s original intention was to attempt to push the ball over the bar. The ball did not go high enough and as it curled back towards the net Green just palmed it in! Also his distribution is terrible, so slow witted, and by the time he has made up his mind the opposition have all the options covered. He’s a poor goalkeeper in my view.
Richard Dunne – we certainly have been! Another season of the pub landlord to come and all because Harry refuses to recognise that he has become a liability and should be dropped.
We have a perfectly good specialist left-back in Yun Suk-Young and yet Harry continues to persist in his round pegs in square holes strategy to accommodate his mate. Meanwhile, whilst Dunne is doing his donkey impression at the heart of the defence, Clint Hill has to play out of position where Suk-Young should be?
Karl Henry goes up with Nicky Bailey
And another thing, what was Redknapp’s thinking when substituting Benayoun? In my view Niko Kranjcar was the player to pull off (he was not having a good game by his standards) because Benayoun was causing Millwall problems with his movement on and off the ball. But what do I know?
Bill Elkins
“We’ll see you all next year,” chorused Millwall’s delighted supporters after a scrambled but deserved equaliser in added time. They may be right, although the clubs could still be two leagues apart next Saturday night.
Queen’s Park Rangers, with a squad that should already have been promoted, fancy their chances of returning to the Premier League via the play-offs, starting against either Wigan or Reading, but will need to sharpen up in attack now that their numerous strikers are returning to fitness.
Meanwhile, Millwall, like fellow Championship strugglers Birmingham and Charlton have been unable to win at home – one success in 12 attempts at the once formidable Den – and have been picking up their points on the road. They could yet need one more at home to Bournemouth next weekend, but Loftus Road proved another profitable venue and a fourth successive away win would hardly have been larceny.
The visitors were comfortable until conceding a foolish penalty in the final quarter of an hour, but after Shaun Williams’ free kick hit the bar, they were a minute from defeat when Scott Malone, an adventurous left-back, miss-hit a shot as Joey Barton failed to clear and Robert Green could only help the ball in.
The penalty came from a cross by Junior Hoilett, who livened up his team after replacing the ineffective Yossi Benayoun. Simeon Jackson handled high in the air and Charlie Austin, one of those returning Rangers strikers, demonstrated greater calmness in putting away the penalty than most of what had gone before.
Millwall’s Ian Holloway was furious about the penalty award. “Handball has to be deliberate,” he said. “If he hadn’t blown, nobody would have said a word.”
QPR past and present
It was just as well that Millwall supporters were in the upper tier, as Rangers fans, forgetting that there is still a home game to come in the play-offs, invaded the pitch at the final whistle. One of them slid into the Millwall defender, Alan Beevers, who was on the ground having treatment, but was prepared to call the incident accidental.
Steve Tongue – The Independent
Fans had to filter through barriers across South Africa Road before the game as a line of stewards checked tickets. Not surprisingly there was a heavy police presence around the ground and in the surrounding area.
Obviously desperate for points, Millwall looked dangerous and in particular down the left flank where a number of crosses into our box could well have resulted in a goal.
However, Charlie Austin converted a 77th minute penalty after Simeon Jackson handled the ball following a cross from Junior Hoilett with Ravel Morison in close attendance.
One giant leap for Ravel…
Millwall got a dramatic equaliser at the School End as the game entered added time. I didn’t get the best view of it, but it looked as if Rob Green had somehow palmed the ball into the corner of the net?
Five minutes earlier a Shaun Williams free kick bounced off the crossbar with a motionless Rob Green looking on.
Harry Redknapp said after the game: “When you’re 1-0 up in the last minute you expect to see the game out. It’s difficult to balance a team and maybe we had too many players who are good when they have the ball and not so good when they haven’t got it. Wigan lost which means we know we’re going to be at home for the second leg (of the play-offs) and that’s what we wanted.”
Stan Bowles was the latest ex-R’s player to be interviewed on the pitch at half-time and another legend was also presented to the crowd. Life-long Rangers fan Joe Cox was to celebrate his 100th birthday the following day and I would really love the opportunity to sit down and have a good old chat with him. Wigan/Reading here we come.
Steve Russell