With Pre-Season dawning and no real certainty over a start date for the season proper, arrangements couldn’t have been easy for the management team.
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We opened with two away games against old friends from our SCEFL days.
With a possibility that the season at Step 5/6 would be kicking off a week before ours, we started against a Chatham Town side who had already seen match action and were determined to get one over a close rival.
A hard fought encounter saw Ade Yusuff notch 2 goals on his first appearance in a Millers shirt, in addition to having a penalty saved.
We moved on to Foxbury just 4 days later to face Glebe in temperatures more suited to the summer sport normally enjoyed in early August.
In a match sadly memorable for an unfortunate achilles injury suffered by new signing Nat Blanks, Ryan Flack’s powerful 22nd minute strike was cancelled out by a deflected Frankie Sawyer free kick as the 30+ degree temperatures proved the eventual winner.
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Our first home fixture saw possibly the highlight – certainly result wise – of our pre-season, as we comfortably dispatched Premier Division Margate 4-0.
A Yusuff penalty, free kick from Matt Warren and an excellent team goal finished by the superb Hassan Ibrahiym saw The Millers take a 3-0 half time lead. Francis Babalola completing the scoring late on.
A wet and windy afternoon – in stark contrast to Glebe just 7 days earlier – saw us take on Premier Division Folkestone Invicta on Saturday 15 August.
Invicta put in a strong performance, taking a 2-0 lead into the break before Denzel Gayle pulled a goal back late on as Kevin Watson took the opportunity to look at some of his younger players.
Next up as fixtures came thick and fast, was Welling United – again at The Artic Stadium.
With Gayle giving the hosts a 7th minute lead, youngster Ollie Farmer gave a particularly impressive performance in centre midfield as our National League South opponents drew level midway through the first half to draw the game.
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One of the most memorable moments of pre-season was to follow at Colston Avenue just one week later as we drew 2-2 with Premier Division highflyers Carshalton Athletic.
Spectators now permitted to watch on were treated to an entertaining encounter with a late twist in the tail.
Following a Yusuff penalty shortly after half-time, we found ourselves trailing 2-1 as Matt Warren’s free kick from the left was powerfully headed into the roof of the Robins’ net with just minutes left by Ade Adiyemo – the youngster having entered the fray earlier as a substitute to make his first Millers appearance.
The new season now fast approaching, we next travelled to Essex to meet Pitching In Isthmian League North opposition in Tilbury.
In a game best forgotten, the physical approach of our hosts came as an introduction to the more physical aspects of Step 4 football we may have to encounter during the coming months, as the match ended scoreless.
One of the more exciting matches came as we entertained a young Charlton Athletic Under 23 side on Tuesday 1st September, in front of our first “paying” attendance since the 2019/20 season ground to an unexpected halt back in March.
A rasping 25 yard drive from Flack was followed by a deflected Yusuff effort from within the 18 yard box, as we achieved parity in a 2-2 draw.
Pre-season 2020/21 was brought to a close at Brentwood where a dominant Millers performance saw us have to wait until the 84 minute for Babalola to round off a fine team display in preparation for the competitive fixtures ahead.
So only time will tell as to the effectiveness of the warm-up matches, but given the variety and quality of opposition, all is looking positive for the 2020/21 season with the exception of the disappointing injury to Blanks.
4 Aug | Chatham Town 2 Millers 2 | |
8 Aug | Glebe 1 Millers 1 | |
11 Aug | Millers 4 Margate 0 | |
15 Aug | Millers 1 Folkestone Invicta 2 | |
18 Aug | Millers 1 Welling United 1 | |
24 Aug | Carshalton Athletic 2 Millers 2 | |
29 Aug | Tilbury 0 Millers 0 | |
1 Sep | Millers 2 Charlton Athletic U23’s 2 | |
5 Sep | Brentwood Town 0 Millers 1 |
Images courtesy of Dave Cumberbatch