Sheffield United vs Millwall

UTB 73
Greatest Day
FA CUP SEMI-FINAL
MILLWALL 1-0 SUNDERLAND
Saturday 4th April 2004
As Millwall set out on their
FA Cup adventure in January
2004, few would have
imagined that their journey
would end in the final in May.
A tight 2-1 victory in a third
round tie against Walsall
at The Den was an unlikely
platform for a run that will
forever be remembered
by Millwall fans, with wins
against Telford, Burnley and
Tranmere setting up a golden
opportunity to seal a place in
the club’s first FA Cup final as
Sunderland lay in wait in an
Old Trafford semi-final.
This felt like a once-in-alifetime
moment for Millwall
and as a result, the pressure
on player/manager Dennis
Wise and his players could not
have been more acute.
Yet a famous winner from
Tim Cahill sent the Lions into
the final, as the Aussie calmly
fired home the loose ball
after Paul Ifill’s 26th-minute
shot was parried by the
Sunderland ‘keeper.
“That’s why you play
football, for moments like
that,” recalls Cahill. “We knew
we might never get a chance
like that to win a semi-final
and create a special moment
for Millwall.
“We knew what it meant to
the fans, and we also knew
it might not happen again,
so we needed to take the
opportunity. Thankfully we did
it. That was our final in many
ways because it was always
going to be tough against a
strong Manchester United side
in the final.”
Sir Alex Ferguson’s
Manchester United duly won
the final 3-0 as Cristiano
Ronaldo took centre stage, but
Millwall still had their moment
of glory in the biggest game in
English football.
SHEFFIELD UNITED vs MILLWALL