Millwall and West Ham have hated each other since Queen Victoria sat on the British throne and Australia was still a collection of English colonies. Their clashes have taken violence in football to new level for more than a century as they transformed from dockworkers' brawls over strikes and betrayals to rival "firms" spilling blood on the streets.
Four seasons ago, Max Crocombe was facing the likes of King's Lynn Town, Weymouth and Dover Athletic in the fifth tier of English football. But since moving to Millwall in the summer, the New Zealand international goalkeeper has established himself as Alex Neil's firm number one between the sticks. The 32-year-old is likely to make his 13th Championship appearance of the season against Blackburn Rovers on Saturday, and his 16th in all competitions since moving to The Den from Burton Albion.
I thought we were terrific. I thought it was an unbelievable performance. We have got six or seven first team players missing which would obviously help contribute a lot, tonight we made eight changes, we lose the keeper in the warm-up and lose Dan Kelly after 20 minutes, it's certainly been challenging.
I want to express my heartfelt thanks to the fans, my team-mates and all the staff. My family and I were shown incredible support during one of the most difficult times in our lives, and we'll never forget the kindness and care we received from everyone connected to the club. That will stay with us forever.
