Despite the scoreline this was an entertaining and eventful game against Millwall, and a 39th minute from Alex Mowatt was enough to separate the sides.

It was inevitable that security was going to be a bit tight for this game, but I didn’t expect to be searched going onto the Kop for the first time for years. At my age there’s not much of throwing a missile as far as the Millwall fans at the other end of the west stand, though someone said the stewards were looking for flares.

There were also two coppers by the tea bar, which seemed a needless expense to the club when nobody was going to do any rioting down there. There was only one change to the starting line-up from the win at Reading, as Bianchi’s long term injury meant that Austin returned to the centre of midfield.

Leeds made a great start to the game, playing the high tempo neat passing football we’ve come to expect under Redfearn, and put the Millwall defence under constant pressure. The closest we came in the early stages was a neat sidefoot from Byram that went just past the far post, but despite dominating the possession we didn’t create that many chances, with Forde looking comfortable in dealing with the crosses that came into the six yard box.

Inevitably we didn’t manage to keep up the intensity, and there were a couple of worrying moment s in our defence as the half wore on. Hooiveld headed just over and a shot from Fabbrinini was deflected into the side netting. At the other end Bamba went close from a free kick crossed into the box by Murphy.

That free kick had to be retaken after a defender insisted on standing in front of the 10 yard spray the referee had marked out, and it looked like a fan at the front of the kop got thrown out after running forward to point this out to the referee. That was totally over the top by the stewards, as the fan went straight back to his seat after making his protest and didn’t go on the pitch.

Leeds finally took the lead from another free kick in the 39th minute. There was a bit of pushing and shoving as Cook tried to get into the middle of the wall, which might have unsettled the defenders, and when Mowatt took the kick it struck the top of the wall and looped past Forde into the net.

In the closing minutes of the half Austin was involved in a couple of incidents that could have extended our lead. First he tried a spectacular scissors kick from a narrow angle, which was on target but found Forde in position to make the save. Then he seemed to have been brought down on the edge of the box and was furious when the referee booked him for diving instead.

Millwall looked determined to get back into the game in the early part of the second half, and created number of decent chances. The best of them saw Woolford shoot over at the end of a good move when he was set up by a good passing move, and we can be thankful that he didn’t take an extra touch when he had time to steady himself before shooting.

Austin hobbled off in the 69th minute to be replaced by Antenucci, and with an extra striker we managed to carve out a few more chances as we looked for the second goal that would have secured the win. The Italian created a good chance which Byram blasted over, but wasted a better chance right at the end when he should have pulled it back for Mowatt, but elected to shoot from a narrow angle.

As time ran out Morison had a couple of opportunities for the goal he desperately needs, but he showed his lack of confidence by cutting inside instead of shooting, only to produce a feeble finish with his weaker left foot. And Murphy tried another trademark long range shot, but Forde was well placed for the save once again.

We also had another shout for a penalty, but Mowatt was also booked as the referee thought that he had also gone to ground a bit too easily. As these opportunities went begging Millwall were still a threat at the other end, but they could manage in the closing stages was another shot over the bar from Woolford, while Fuller’s shot ended up in the side netting.

So we managed to hold out for the win, which leaves us eight points ahead of yesterday’s visitors. It was a hard fought victory with not much between the teams, and if Millwall can keep playing like this they should be able to gather enough points to finish the season outside the bottom three.

A few weeks ago I thought this was going to be a vital fixture, but our recent good run has taken us up to the dizzy heights of the top half of the table. Redfearn is certainly giving us a something to build on for next season, if only the club can find a bit of stability off the field to allow him to keep his young side together…

Photo: Action Images

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