CANNY KENNY'S SUB SUCCESS

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5 November 2009

Jim Lucas
jim@southwarknewas.org

Millwall 2 - 1 Colchester UTD

FOR HALF an hour, Millwall fans dared to doubt.

With the Lions trailing at home to Colchester United, manager Kenny Jackett opted to remove Chris Hackett - until that point perhaps their most influential player - from the action, replacing him with James Henry to jeers and cat-calls.

The manager who had guided his team to victory over the league leaders a week before was now being accused of not "knowing what he was doing", to paraphrase the Lions faithful.

Fast-forward 30 minutes and those same doubters were left sharing a sizeable humble pie as Henry celebrated a last minute winner that thrust Millwall into a play-off position for the first time this season.

The Lions had been behind until the 66th minute, when Alan Dunne's first goal for almost two years cancelled out Anthony Wordsworth's first-half strike - before Henry's last-gasp free-kick gave the home side their third consecutive victory.

Jackett has named the same starting line-up for each of those three games, meaning there was no place for Gary Alexander, ruled out after suffering a recurrence of his heel injury after the Leeds game, or Darren Ward, who is still troubled by his knee injury.

Any anticipations of this being a cagey encounter were blown away early on, with a succession of chances falling in both teams' laps within the first five minutes.

With just a minute gone Jimmy Abdou fired over after good work by Danny Schofield, before Josh Payne's header from distance trickled wide following a sliced clearance by David Forde.

The Us had another chance seconds later, when Clive Platt broke down the left to centre for Kayode Odejayi to inexplicably tap the ball wide of Forde's right-hand post. An immediate Lions counter then ended with Marc Laird playing Schofield in, only to see his fourth minute shot parried by Ben Williams.

There were more chances: Odejayi went through one-on-one with Forde but the goalkeeper was equal to the striker's attempt, while Jack Smith shot wide at the other end - all this before the ten minute mark.

But, with Millwall looking to have settled, they suddenly found themselves behind. Schofield was dubiously punished for obstruction on the left of the Lions' area and Wordsworth's left-footed free-kick clipped the heel of Laird and evaded a hoard of home players, including Forde, to give the U's an 18th-minute lead.

Their confidence knocked, Millwall could well have surrendered more goals. After Steve Morison had seen his effort blocked, the visitors reasserted themselves - first Forde was nearly caught in possession by Kevin Lisbie and not long after Wordsworth fired a delicious dipping volley just over his crossbar.

Forde also had a penalty claim to deal with when Odejayi went to ground as the goalkeeper came out to claim the ball after Lisbie had appeared to haul down Dunne moments earlier, but referee Graham Horwood waved away both claims.

With the Lions looking short of inspiration, they departed to boos at half-time. After a couple of half-chances for Abdou and Hackett, the disapproving noises inside the Den gained volume as Henry - missing since limping off at Swindon - replaced Hackett on the hour mark.

The winger found himself involved in the Lions' equaliser barely four minutes later. His corner was cleared as far as Abdou, whose cross was nodded out by Magnus Okuonghae to Dunne, with the right-back rifling a first-time half-volley past Williams.

The visitors' response was immediate - Tony Craig brilliantly blocked Wordsworth's attempt as he looked to cap an impressive break by his side with the Den atmosphere significantly heightened by Dunne's goal.

Chances for Neil Harris and substitute Jason Price went begging, before referee Horwood infuriated Lions fans by holding the game up for over two minutes when a United player went down with cramp in the middle of a Millwall attack.

Henry fired a warning-shot to Aidy Boothroyd's side when his low set-piece had to be fumbled by Williams, though Harris could not convert the follow-up.

In the end, this game was settled by a tale of two free-kicks. Horwood awarded the visitors one around 25yards out inside the five minutes' awarded injury time, with Wordsworth stepping up to rattle Forde's crossbar.

Cue a Millwall break and a free-kick awarded in an almost identical position at the other end of the field with a fairytale ending for Kenny Jackett and his super-sub: Henry beautifully stroked his effort beyond the grasp of Williams, taking with it another unbeaten record - that of Us boss Boothroyd.

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