Fight Night: Millwall come to town
09/02/02 | Words and pictures by Alex Walker

The pre-match build-up for this tie was akin to that of a pay-per-view boxing match. And in keeping with tradition, it was over-hyped, watched by few, technically poor and very scarce in actual fighting.

I've no complaints as I didn't really fancy seeing my city trashed by a load of mindless thugs. Nor did I want to get my nimble frame caught up in any scuffles. But I decided that it was a day worth recording as the first subject of the new gallery section of LTLF.

Outside the ground

As I walked to the City Ground through the Lady Bay area, the only thing I noticed that was out of the ordinary was the fact it was completely deserted. Considering the time was 11:35, I was starting to wonder if the game was a 3 O'Clock kick-off after all as this would normally be packed this close to a game.

As I got closer to the ground, there was notably more police than usual, not to mention as much Stone Island and Hackett clothing as you could handle. But despite being able to spot the regular hooligan uniforms, there was no sign of trouble, just a slightly nervous tension in the air.

Closing Time: Police ordered all pubs in the area to be closed An increased police presence was at the game Copper Chopper: The police helicopter patrols from sky

Before kick-off

Millwall must have had about 3-4,000 fans in the lower Bridgford End stand. They certainly made the most noise when the teams arrived onto the pitch with the usual routine of songs. Thankfully, the songs remained mainly charitable, although there was one very audible racist chant in the second half.

The minute's silence was well observed but I suspect I wasn't the only one who spent most of it thinking about how hungry I was and how much I'd rather be at home having my lunch. Nothing to do with lack of respect, but I knew very little about Princess Margaret and the announcement was the first time I learnt of her death.

The Lion's Den: Millwall fans occupied almost all of their ticket allocation The teams come out onto the pitch A minute's silence in respect of Princess Margaret

Around the stands

I was sat in the Trent End, in the usually noisy T4. But even the supporters in here seemed thin on the ground. All around the ground you could see empty seats and there is no way the official attendance of over 18,000 was correct. As you can see, there were so many pockets of empty red seats that it couldn't have been much more than 16,000.

Plenty of leg room: The pre-match warnings put a lot of people off attending Fill in the blanks: there was no doubt a drop in atmosphere due to the poor attendance A Block was literally half empty as the club crack down of safety

Match action

Well the game was thoroughly dire. Forest were awful in the first half, marginally better in the second but still disappointing. And worse of all, I couldn't even look forward to after-match pint!!

You can read the match report here.

Tony Warner receives treatment for a head injury Rubbish!: Warner's goal mouth becomes crowded with litter Marlon Harewood scores from the penalty spot

After the match

I was slightly nervous about having to walk through the Meadows towards town, knowing that this was the route the Millwall fans would be taking back to the station. If there was going to be any trouble it would be right where I was planning to walk. However, the heavy police presence made sure that all was peaceful. The only sign I saw that anything had occured was some broken glass near the Southbank Bar.

One awkward moment came when we found ourselves in amongst the Millwall fans who were being escorted back to the station. We had to prove that we were Forest fans or we could have ended up taking a day trip to Sarf Landan.

A heavy police presence as both sets of supporters leave the ground Out in force: Armed police emerge from the Trent End No-one likes us: Millwall fans are escorted back to the station by police

© All pictures are copyright of LTLF 2002.