The FA Cup first-round clash between Millwall and AFC Wimbledon at the New Den on Monday Nov 9, 2009.
One giant-killing in two days is quite enough. David Haye broke off from world domination to watch his beloved Millwall and, this time, the favourites overcame the pretenders.
An opening goal from Neil Harris, a brace from substiutute Jason Price and, after another from Danny Schofield saw Millwall deliver a knockout blow and Lewis Taylor’s response was not enough for another shock.
So after the shock in Bavaria came the anticipated walkover in south-east London with the big boys setting up another problematic tie against non-leaguers, with a trip to Staines Town in the second round.
If the game was poor in the early stages, there was enough on the periphery to keep the spectators happy. Allen Batsford, the manager who took the original Wimbledon into the Football League and a former Millwall youth coach, was unveiled to the crowd before kick-off.
And while the visiting fans, all 3,200 of them, did their best to inspire the Dons, midway through the first half the home supporters stood as one to welcome new WBA heavyweight champion Haye, a Bermondsey-born Millwall fan who arrived wearing the club’s colours, just 48 hours after out-pointing giant Nikolai Valuev.
Wimbledon know a thing or to about giant-klling themselves; a replica of the FA Cup, as won by the old club against Liverpool in 1988 stands as testimony to that at Kingsmeadow, the home of the new regime who, remarkably, were formed only in June 2002.
AFC began life in the Combined Counties League but, following three title winning seasons, they are now 10th in the Conference, 51 places below Millwall in the pyramid. And they started brightly with leading scorer Danny Kedwell forcing a corner after 47 seconds and Canadian Under-21 international Elliott Godfrey shooting over soon afterwards.
Millwall, beaten FA Cup finalists in 2004, went into the game unbeaten in six games and soon created their own chance with Jimmy Abdou’s header saved easily by Wimbledon goalkeeper James Pullen, a man known by his team-mates as “The Weirdo”.
But the half’s best chance fell in the 35th minute to Wimbledon when, from Godfrey’s cross, Kedwell was unmarked at the far post but shot wide when he should have scored.
But in the 49th minute, somebody else who has had to battle against the odds gave Millwall the lead. Harris, who has beaten testicular cancer and who a member of the side beaten 3-0 in the FA Cup final, latched onto Steve Morison’s ball and finished, left-footed into the bottom corner for his 11th goal of the season.
But soon afterwards Wimbledon wasted two chances. Firstly Jon Main ran 40 yards and beat three players before stumbling and shooting narrowly wide. And then Paul Lorraine headed just wide when he should have levelled for the part-timers.
Millwall began bombarding Wimbledon’s goal and, in the 72nd minute, Chris Hackett’s free-kick was cleared off the line before Price converted the rebound. With nine minutes left Wimbledon responded when Taylor converted Kedwell’s pass, only for Schofield and Price to turn the result into a rout with two goals in the final four minutes.
Match details
Millwall (4-4-2): Forde; Dunne, Robinson, Craig, Smith; Hackett, Abdou, Laird, Schofield; Morison (Price 69), Harris (Martin 89).
Subs: Sullivan (g), Bolder, Grabban, Ward, Grimes.
Booked: Abdou.
AFC Wimbledon (4-4-2): Pullen; Hatton, Lorraine, Inns, Johnson; Taylor, Gregory, Moore, Godfrey (Duncan 74); Kedwell, Main.
Subs: Conroy, Brown (g), Judge, Wellard, Cumbers, Montague. Booked: Gregory, Hatton.
Referee: S Mathieson (Cheshire).
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