What happened next? The Millwall side that reached the FA Cup final in 2004

Millwall are having an excellent FA Cup run and have reached the quarter-finals for the second time in two years after edging out AFC Wimbledon at Kingsmeadow.

For a club that has plies its trade outside of the Premier League, the Lions have enjoyed an excellent record in the FA Cup and the Championship outfit are threatening to go on another extraordinary run to the latter stages of the competition.

Millwall have reached these dizzying heights before and even went beyond them when they reached the FA Cup final in 2004, where they faced Manchester United.

The Lions were ultimately defeated 3-0 by a United side desperate to salvage something from, by their standards, a disappointing season in the Premier League.

Below we look at what happened next to those brave Lions who slayed so many giants in 2004.

Goalkeeper: Andy Marshall

Current club: Retired

Marshall made a valiant effort in the final, making several good saves. But the Bury-born goalkeeper eventually succumbed to United’s bombardment, conceding from a Cristiano Ronaldo header, a Ruud van Nistelrooy penalty and then a tap in from the Dutchman with nine minutes to go.

The Lions goalkeeper had only just moved to Millwall on a permanent basis after a spell on on loan from Ipswich Town. Marshall played for Millwall for two more seasons, reaching 60 appearances before joining Coventry City in 2006, whom he stayed with until 2009.

Marshall played out his twilight years on the bench with Charlton Athletic, Aston Villa and, finally, with Millwall in August 2013 before calling it a day.

Right-back: Marvin Elliott

Current club: Kingstonian

As an emergency right-back, the young central midfielder had the difficult task of containing one of the best wingers in Premier League history. Ryan Giggs was 30 years old, at his peak and well up for the final as he flew down the wing. Elliott was unable to prevent the Welshman from delivering the cross that allowed Van Nistlerooy to put the final nail in Millwall’s coffin at the Millennium Stadium.

Following this defeat, Elliott remained with the Lions for another three years and headed to Bristol City in 2007. After an impressive couple of years, Elliott had attracted suitors from Premier League clubs including Fulham, Wolves and Blackburn Rovers, but Elliott decided to remain with Bristol.

During the 2011-12 season Elliott snapped his achilles during a training session and with that any hope of making it to the Premier League was dashed. He was released by Bristol the season after and has bounced around lower league clubs ever since. The 34-year-old currently competes in the Isthmian League with semi-professional side Kingstonian.

Centre-back: Matthew Lawrence

Current club: Retired

Lawrence, 44, skippered his side next to Darren Ward in the centre of defence. The duo could not stop United from scoring three in this game and Lawrence would lose his defensive partner the following season.

Lawrence stayed on at Millwall until the end of their disastrous 2005-06 season that saw them relegated to the Second Division (League One). Lawrence moved down the road to Croydon to reunite with Ward at Crystal Palace.

After 121 appearances for the Eagles, Lawrence played for Gillingham and Whitehawk before finishing his career with Burgess Hill Town. Lawrence joined the Sporting Kansas City broadcast team as a commentator in 2017.

Centre-back: Darren Ward

Current club: Hemel Hempstead Town

Ward was an instrumental figure for Millwall on their route to the final and he still plays for Hemel Hempstead Town at 40. Ward and Lawrence stood out in central defence. Ward played the full 90 minutes and enjoyed a highlight when he cleared Ronaldo’s shot off the line.

Ward turned down a move to the Premier League with West Ham United, heading to Crystal Palace instead. According to Ward this was because he didn’t want to upstage his brother, Elliott Ward.

Ward told the BBC: “There is a reason I didn’t go to West Ham, as I’m sure everyone can work out – I didn’t want to leave my brother on the bench!”

Left-back: Robbie Ryan

Current club: Croydon Athletic

Ryan had the misfortune of having to defend against Ronaldo, now one of the world’s best players. It was Ryan’s last appearance in a Millwall shirt, he joined Bristol Rovers, where he spent three seasons, in the wake of the final.

Ryan, 41, played out the rest of career in the lower leagues with sides including Welling united, Ashford Town, Fisher Athletic and, finally, Croydon Athletic.

Right-midfield: Paul Ifill

Current club: Hawke’s Bay United

Ifill was on loan from Tottenham when he appeared in the final and was regarded as a promising English talent, but his career never took off.

Ifill joined Sheffield United the season after collecting an FA Cup runners-up medal and helped the Blades finish runners-up in the Championship.

Ifill fell out with Neil Warnock and was released by the club at the end of the following season. Like other Millwall players in this side he headed to Crystal Palace, but unfortunately for him Warnock followed him to Selhurst Park and he was released by the club in 2009.

The 39-year-old currently plays for New Zealand side Hawke’s Bay United.

Subscribe to Squawka’s Youtube channel: sqwk.at/Squawka-Sub

Centre-midfield: Dennis Wise

Current club: Retired

Wise is often remembered for his spell with the Lions’ fierce rivals Chelsea, but will always have a special place in Millwall fans’ hearts when he took over as the club’s player-manager in 2002.

Wise didn’t have a good game in the final and frequently found himself tangling with Paul Scholes, who outclassed him in midfield.

Wise resigned from his post the following season after the club was taken over by new owners and took on managerial roles with Swindon Town and Leeds United before taking a role with Newcastle United as the Executive Director of Football, a role which he’s since resigned from.

Centre-midfield: David Livermore

Current club: Millwall (assistant manager)

Livermore had a tough game at the Millennium Stadium as he often had to cover for his defenders who were rattled from the quality of United’s attacking. He gifted United their second goal when he brought down Giggs in the area.

Livermore enjoyed a long playing career and had stints with Leeds United, Hull City and Oldham Athletic before returning to Millwall as a youth coach in 2012. Livermore is currently the assistant manager at Millwall.

Left-midfield: Peter Sweeney

Current club: Greenwich Borough

Sweeney played a key role in getting the Lions to the Cup final and he felt the Lions could have gained promotion from the Championship if they weren’t so focused on the Cup.

Speaking in 2014, the midfielder said (via Kent Online): “We had a good team at Millwall back then. We deserved to be in that cup final and probably deserved to get promoted out of the Championship – but the FA Cup took our focus off the league.”

Referring to the game he said: “It all happened quite quickly. I was only 19 and my career had only just started the season before. Looking back, I didn’t take it all in as much as I should have done.”

The 34-year-old winger currently plays for Greenwich Borough in the Southern Counties East Football League.

Centre-forward: Tim Cahill

Current club: Jamshedpur

The Everton legend didn’t have much of an opportunity to make an impression on this game, but David Moyes was already convinced by the forward’s qualities and brought him to Goodison Park that summer.

In his first season in a blue shirt he helped the Toffees reach the top four for the first – and currently only – time. Cahill became a valuable member of Moyes’ squad and was renowned for his extraordinary leaping ability, which helped him win, and salvage, many a game with a last-minute header.

Cahill, 39, notched 68 goals for Everton before he left for the MLS in 2012. He has since played in China, Australia and returned to the Den for the 2017-18 season. “Tiny Tim” currently plays for Indian side Jamshedpur, making 11 appearances and scoring twice this season.

Centre-forward: Neil Harris

Current club: Millwall (manager)

Millwall’s current manager, Neil “Bomber” Harris, finished his playing career as the Lions all-time leading goalscorer with 138 goals from 380 appearances. He couldn’t add to his goal tally in Cardiff and rarely threatened United goalkeeper Tim Howard.

Harris ended his playing career at Southend United. He moved into coaching not long after finishing his playing career. He became Millwall’s under-21 coach and had a stint as caretaker manager during the 2013-14 season.

He took over on a permanent basis in 2015 and led the Lions to a play-off final in League One in his first season in charge – they lost 3-1 to Barnsley.

Harris led Millwall to the play-off finals again in the 2016-17 season, where they defeated Bradford City to seal a place in the Championship.

Millwall are fighting relegation this term as they currently sit in 20th place in the Championship but Harris’ spell in charge has been a resounding success.

The post What happened next? The Millwall side that reached the FA Cup final in 2004 appeared first on Squawka News.

From Squawka News https://ift.tt/2GA2cfg