After a morale boosting week which saw four points and two firsts- a clean sheet and an away win, albeit against a struggling Wycombe side, Rovers faced a tricky trip to the New Den on saturday.

In many ways this was a great test of how far we had come. Despite a good result and performance against a high flying Colchester, many felt that they employed the wrong tactics against us- namely failing to pressure us into mistakes when in possession, which any half decent manager would realise has been a major issue for us so far this season.

Also, whilst the away victory and clean sheet at Wycombe were a tentative step in the right direction, they are a poor team lacking confidence, and there were a few worrying signs- only two shots compared to 14 or so for Wycombe, and a still shaky backline.

Onto the New Den then, and while confidence was slowly building, most were expecting a tough test. Millwall have been decent at home this season, and despite having trouble scoring were always going to prove stronger oppostion than the Choirboys.

As the SWA assembled in the stand behind the goal, it seemed Bain would be starting as Ricketts was nowhere to be seen in the warmup. Like in the previous game though, he appeared as the teams came out, suggesting his groin may still be troubling him. So it was to prove, on a horrible day for the ‘Lime Green Army’

The game was only minutes old when a long ball was sent over, seemingly harmlessly, between Goodison and Daniels. Unbelievably, a nervous looking Daniels hurtled out of goal and tried to diving header ‘a la Gary Bennett’ the ball away, completely missing it, and was fortunate Goodison was on hand to clear the danger. Unfortunately, it would prove to be one of the few times Goodison put a foot right in the rest of the game.

With the mistake giving Millwall impetus and Daniels becoming a target for jeers from the Lions support, it was hardly surprising when Rovers conceded with the next attack. A poor challenge from Goodison led to a freekick on the edge. The ball came round the wall for a seemingly easy take, but Daniels somehow managed to palm it into his own net. And with that, the heads dropped, the legs stopped running, and 3 goals followed in the next 20 mins.

In what has become a predictably bleak season, the manner of goals being conceded is so simple and avoidable it’s untrue. Millwall latched onto our short passing game, forcing mistake after mistake, crosses weren’t stopped (been banging on about this all season) and the effort simply doesn’t match that of our opponents.

To top things off, as soon as we go behind, Barnes slumps in the dugout like a naughty schoolboy- how this must inspire the boys. I’ve never seen a more gutless manager than Mr Barnes. If it was me I’d be at the touchline screaming.

The second half did show an improvement with Welsh nearly scoring early on from range, and Shuker looked more interested than most with some dangerous running.  Once Broomes was shown a second yellow though, and another piece of poor defending allowed the freekick to sail in, the game was well and truly up.

In all, a bad day at the office- how many more of these atrocious performances can Barnes get away with before he takes the bullet? Sad times indeed to be a white, but credit to the travelling fans who stayed en mass to the end, and clapped the few players who acknowledged their effort at the end.