By Stephen Eighteen
April 2 2004

It's a little bit of history repeating at Old Trafford on Sunday, as Millwall take on the Black Cats in the semi-finals...in fact it's 1937 revisited! Third Round
Saturday January 3 2004. Walsall (h) 2-1. (Braniff, Cahill) Att 6,977.
A freezing cold miserable afternoon saw Millwall get off to the worst possible start to 2004 when Jorge Leitao seized on a David Livermore error to put the visitors ahead against the run of play.
It was the only time to date that the Lions would have to come from behind in the FA Cup, and their response was emphatic.
This was a day for Kevin Braniff to saviour. The young Northern Irishman played his best game yet in a Millwall shirt, causing danger whenever he flitted out onto the right wing, and it was his goal on 33 minutes that got the home side back in the game.
A strong Neil Harris run set up Braniif in space, and he had time to control and pick his spot past James Walker.
The Lions took the lead on the stroke of half time when Dennis Wise’s looping cross gave Tim Cahill the opportunity to rise above full back Darren Bazeley to score in typical aerial fashion.
Two late Walsall sendings off ended a miserable afternoon for the home side, and the result set Millwall off on a run of only one defeat in seventeen games.
Key moment – Braniff’s equaliser only 20 minutes after the opener wrestled the momentum in Millwall’s favour.

Fourth Round
Wednesday February 11 2004. Telford United (a) 0-2. (Ifill, Wise) Att 5,589.
Although the Lions comprehensively disposed of the non-leaguers at the first attempt, it seemed as if the game took an age to take place.
Eighteen days was the actual time between the first scheduled match and Millwall finally making it into Round Five, and it really did not help the side both physically and mentally to have to travel up and stay in a hotel on two occasions without a match at the end of it.
But the fact that, in such circumstances, the Lions came through the test so emphatically was testament to the professionalism of the players.
Tim Cahill was a big factor in the win as his non-stop energy from the off formed the pattern of the game, and he laid the ball off to Paul Ifill to drill home on 37 minutes.
The second half was less one-sided than before the break, but the Lions still retained their poise without creating the chances posed previously.
Wise clinched the victory when he controlled and drilled a low shot into the net after Cahill had squared it to the player manager.
Key moment – It may have not seemed it at the time, but the first postponement was particularly crucial. Wise and Cahill would have missed the game through suspension, so it enabled the experienced pair to orchestrate the victory.

Fifth Round
Saturday February 14 2004. Burnley (h) 1-0. (Dichio) Att 10,420.
Dennis Wise’s men had only two days to prepare for this game following the delay in playing the Telford tie.
A feisty, open encounter saw chances being created at both ends, with Matt Lawrence almost getting his first ever goal on two separate occasions.
Burnley still posed a threat however, and Willy Gueret had to be at his best to save from Ian Moore when he streaked clear in the first half.
Yet Millwall always had the edge, and Paul Ifill rattled the bar on 58 minutes after a typically twisting run.
Sensing that they needed to seize the initiative, Kevin Muscat urged the home crowd to continue their vocal support, and the reward finally came 20 minutes from the end.
Kevin Muscat’s delicious cross from the right was pin-point for Danny Dichio to head home from seven yards.
This was not only a big result for the players and fans, but a vital one for the club’s bank balance as well.
Chairman Theo Paphitis had that week staked up to £675,000 on Dichio’s signature, and the victory meant that television and gate revenues in the next round would almost pay for the big striker’s signature.
Key moment – Who knows what would have happened had substitute Alan Moore not missed the ball when a gaping goal presented itself to him in the final minute. A goal would have forced a Turf Moor replay, and would have been another major test for Wise’s men.

Sixth Round
Sunday March 7 2004 Tranmere Rovers (h) 0-0. Att 16,404.
Throughout the cup run, supporters had been careful not to get over-excited and believe that progression was guaranteed, as minds could not help but return to past failures against lower division sides.
Yet come the Tranmere game, there was the first real sense of full-on optimism that someone; somewhere was looking down favourably on the Lions.
Maybe assistant manager Ray Wilkins had done some good deeds in a previous life, because after willing Telford out of the hat two rounds previously, fate once again favoured the brave when he called for Millwall’s quarter final opponents to be Tranmere.
The attendance was the largest it had been at the Den for two years, and the BBC cameras were there to screen the occasion live.
Maybe it was the expectation and build-up that contributed to the lacklustre Millwall performance on the day. As the first half wore on, the Lions gradually imposed themselves, with Tim Cahill’s header saved from point blank range by John Achterberg.
The frustration continued after the break, but a golden opportunity presented itself to Millwall on 75 minutes when Ryan Taylor floored Cahill in the penalty area.
However, Achterberg saved Muscat’s spot kick, and Millwall were forced to wait another nine days to make history.
Key moment – The penalty miss could well have been the moment when Millwall’s cup dreams were torn apart, but in hindsight it provided the Lions with a springboard to coin yet more money from the replay.

Sixth Round Replay
Tuesday March 16 2004 Tranmere Rovers (a) 2-1. Att 15,510.
Such was the passion of Millwall’s away following that they could heard outsinging their hosts as far as 50 metres away from the ground as kick off time approached.
And, as opposed to the first clash, the Lions rose to the occasion in marvellous style from the off – much of which was due to the attacking 4-3-3 formation deployed by Wise to surprise the hosts.
Just eleven minutes had gone when Paul Ifill nodded Robbie Ryan’s free kick into the path of Danny Dichio. The big striker flicked on for Cahill to control and poke into the net.
If that felt like the perfect start, things got even better just five minutes later.
Dichio was once again the provider, and he chested to Harris to spectacularly volley in with his left foot from the edge of the area.
It was surely the goal of the season so far; not just because of the quality of the strike, but for the occasion it graced.
However, Tranmere struck before half time when Gary Jones nodded in an excellent right wing cross from Iain Hume.
The second half was a nervy affair, with the hosts throwing their all at a resilient Millwall rearguard that managed to keep the second half scoreline blank.
Key moment – Not so much the key moment as the biggest scare. With only fifteen minutes left on the clock, a scramble fell to substitute Eugen Dadi, who could so easily have poked in the equaliser with his first touch, but screwed his shot just wide. A huge sigh of relief was breathed at the away end.

And this was the run of 1937

First Round – Aldershot (a) 6-1. (Mangnall 2, Thorogood, Thomas, Burditt 2)
Second Round - Gateshead (h) 7-0 (Mangnall, Thorogood, McCartney 2, Burditt 2, Thomas) Att 18,538.
Third Round – Fulham (h) 2-0 (Burditt, Mangnall) Att 32,493.
Fourth Round – Chelsea (h) 3-0 (Burditt 2, Thorogood) Att 42,000.
Fifth Round – Derby County (h) 2-1. (Mangnall, McCartney) Att 47,478.
Sixth Round – Manchester City (h) 2-0 (Mangnall 2) Att 43,000.
Semi Final – Sunderland (n) 1-2. Mangnall. Att 62,813.