Ashamed

Coca Cola League One

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NIGEL Spackman could not hide his anger and disappointment after watching his side swept aside with embarrassing ease by Chesterfield.

The Millwall boss accepted the blame for the 5-1 debacle but also admitted he was ashamed at his team's performance.

Having secured a single point out of nine and with a goal difference of minus six the Lions have made a worse start to this campaign than last season.

Spackman said: "I've never lost a game by such a scoreline as a manager and I told the players afterwards I was ashamed and I hoped they all felt the same.

"There are lessons which have to be learned very quickly by the management, coaching staff and by the players.

"This is a results business and if results don't improve quickly things will have to change."

He added: "I told the players each one of them has to take a long look at themselves in the mirror and ask whether they gave everything they had.

"I felt some of them didn't give 100 per cent for the cause today and I said so.

"Having said all that, the buck stops with me. I'm the manager, I make the decisions and I have to take responsibility."

Millwall were without the injured Darren Byfield and Mo Ross for the trip to Derbyshire while Neal Ardley was dropped to the bench as he is still recovering from a rib injury - Filipe Morais, Mark Phillips and Chris Hackett were the replacements.

This was as poor a display from The Lions as has been witnessed in recent years, and it was little wonder the shell-shocked visitors were roundly booed off the field at both half and full time by the upset travelling supporters.

By the half-way mark, the game was effectively over as a spectacle with Paul Hall, Wayne Allison and Caleb Folan powering Roy McFarland's side into a 3-0 lead at the break, with Hall and Allison completing the demolition job after the restart.

It could have been worse as Millwall who were on the backfoot from the off with Tony Craig clearing for a corner after just three minutes following a quick break down the left.

Keeper Lenny Pidgeley then had to pluck the ball out of the air to hold Folan's backheader while Richard Shaw made two timely blocks in as many seconds to thwart Folan and then Allison.

Millwall mounted their first noteworthy attack of the half on 10 minutes when Morais' persistence found Williams but he dragged his shot wide of the target from 16 yards.

Chesterfield responded immediately and Kevan Hurst's whipped cross was headed a yard wide by the busy Folan before Hall capitalised on some calamitous defending to slot home the opener after Shaw and Whitbread had both made a mess of clearing the danger.

Hurst came close to adding a second after 18 minutes, taking advantage of acres of space on the left to cut in and fire a powerful shot which was palmed away by Pidgeley.

Hackett had a great chance to level after 20 minutes but placed his shot off target after Craig and Brighton combined to carve out the opening.

The miss merely spurred the home side on and, with the assistance of some truly catastrophic defending, they were able to add two further goals before the break courtesy of Allison and the impressive Folan.

Spackman brought on Kevin Braniff for Tony Craig but within five minutes of the restart McFarland's charges killed off any slender hope the Lions had of a sensational second-half fightback when Hall's neat footwork and sublime curling finish chalked up goal number four.

Whitbread was immediately replaced by Paul Robinson in a bid to shore up a backline which was rocking under the continued attacking onslaught of their hosts.

Hall came close to clinching his hat-trick just before the hour mark with a delightful curling effort which Pidgeley held, only for The Lions' keeper to find himself picking the ball out of the back of the net for a fifth time when another defensive lapse allowed Allison to bundle home his second of the game.

Millwall reduced the arrears 18 minutes from time when Braniff despatched a perfectly-placed shot beyond the reach of keeper Barry Roche for his first senior goal since January 2004.

The goal temporarily lifted the mood of despair and depression among the 500 Millwall fans and sparked their team's best spell of the match in which Hubertz and Williams tried their luck.

Phillips had the ball in the back of the net after 82 minutes with a fierce angled header only to have his effort ruled out for offside.

To add insult to injury, he took a whack to the head from keeper Roche which required treatment from physio Colin Clifford and two minutes later was forced off with an injured left shoulder, leaving The Lions to play out the final five minutes with 10 men.

Millwall were put out of their misery when referee Scott Mathieson blew for full-time soon after.

MATCH FACTS: MILLWALL: Pidgeley, Phillips, Craig (Braniff, 46), Elliott, Shaw, Whitbread (Robinson, 52), Hackett (Hubertz, 38), Morais, Brighton, McInnes, Williams.

SUBS NOT USED: Day, Ardley.

ATT: 4,136.