Serioux Improvement!

After Tuesday night's dire defeat at home to Wigan, Millwall fans could be forgiven for expecting the worst when Leicestre City came to town. But the home support were in for an unexpected treat as The Lions bounced back to record their first win of the season.

This was the Adrian Serioux show from start to finish. Serioux, who completed his switched from Toronto Lynx earlier this week, was handed a place in the starting line-up by manager Dennis Wise and oozed confidence from the very first minute and everything Millwall did appeared to be revolved around the Canadian international - and that was even before his first throw-in.

The Lions' faithful had been promised that Serioux's throw-ins were something special but there was an audiable gasp from the crowd when the midfielder hurled the ball to the far post in the third minute. On that occasion Mark McCammon lept highest to drill the ball goal bound, only for Ian Walker in the Leicester City goal to turn it away at the last moment.

Suddenly The Lions had a new weapon and deployed it at ever available opportunity and the physical presence of Daniele Dichio and McCammon was causing the opposition's defence all sorts of problems and the pressure eventually paid off in the 37th minute of the match.

After conceding a corner near the half-way line, The Foxes retreated to their

McCammon: threat

own box, expecting the worst as Serioux picked up the ball. The Canadian duly launched the ball 50-yards into the box onto the head of Dichio, who nodded down for Jody Morris to prod home from six yards.

This tactic had clearly caught Leicester by surprise, with manager Micky Adams admitting as much after the game, and the frustrated foxes soon began to lose their cool. The game threaten to boil over on several occasions, but referee Steve Dunn kept a lid on things and used his head rather than his cards to subdue both teams.

The Lions took control in the second half and duly wrapped up the points when Dichio raced past Dabizas to slot home Millwall's second after an excellent through ball from Wise. Stefan Moore twice went close towards the end of the game as the Leicester defence became stretched and his pace eventually led to Chris Makin getting sent off for a clumsy tackle in the final moments.

Ray Wilkins was quick to point out that this result was no fluke.

"We deservedly won," said Wilkins. "We out-muscled them but we also out-played them but that's the nature of the game. All the top clubs have to do that.
"We weren't impressive during the week so we got back to basics. We've worked hard and it looked a bit like last season's performances. "

But as the team walked off to a thunderous reception, Dennis Wise was quick to acknowledge his new signing Serioux, who looked a bit taken aback by his sudden new-found iconic status.

Millwall Mad Ratings:
Graham Stack (7) - Little to do, but composed at the back
Marvin Elliot (7) - Solid performance at right back
Josh Simpson (7) - Another good performance, this time at left back
Darren Ward (8) - As solid as ever
Matt Lawrence (7) - A couple of shaky moments but nothing got past him
Jody Morris (7) - Snapped at the heels of the opposition and scored
Dennis Wise (8) - Led by example
Adrian Serioux (9) - What a throw! What a debut!
David Livermore (7) - Looked more comfortable in midfield
Daniele Dichio (7) - Took his goal well but could have had more
Mark McCammon (7) - Battered the opposition

Subs
Stefan Moore (6) - Had chances to open his account but failed to take them