Thanks to Matt Tasker, from our London Branch, for our latest Fan Match Report.

To find out what the London Branch could mean to you, particularly if you are an exiled fan, click HERE.

Saturday Morning 3am; a drunken stagger into the kebab shop. Not an ideal start to the day in which the Cumbrian promotion express steamed into the Capital.

The alarm went off early as I was playing in the supporters' game before the real match. This meant an early trip to Charing Cross to meet my fellow squad members and catch the 'team train' to Mottingham. I tried to get some breakfast down me at Charing Cross but as it started to mix with the beer from the night before. I felt that sticking to lucozade would be the better choice; and they do say lucozade keeps you going 33% longer, so I saw it as a winning tactic.

Our plan to teach Millwall a lesson in 'total' football was short lived as it slowly became clear that we were in for a bit of battering. We conceded in the first minute. Despite the early goal we fought on and managed to hold our own for about 20 minutes until the heat got to us (well that's my excuse anyway!) and the flood gates opened. After a rallying call from our captain at half time we started the second half stronger and at times out played them; but again we wilted and the Millwall goals started to flood in. The final whistle went with the score at 12-1 to Millwall. We all felt we were hard done by and if luck had been on our side then who knows ...

It was now time to prepare for the real match, the one that could give us promotion to the Championship. The excitement was building hopping back on the train to London Bridge and the pub where the rest of the London branch awaited. 2pm and time to get over to the ground where the atmosphere was buzzing with excitement and the chat about promotion. The Millwall fans seemed pretty happy about the news that Swindon had just equalized against Gillingham, virtually taking them safe of relegation.

The game started brightly and we seemed to be playing well. There was initial encouragement from our ability to soak up pressure and to launch a few promising moves from the midfield. However, and similarly to our supporters match in the morning, we seemed to loose momentum and Millwall promptly took advantage with a well taken goal by Jay Simpson on the stroke of half time.

The second half saw the introduction of Gary Madine with the encouraging chants of 'Gary Madine is a goal machine'. We definitely needed some one to step forward and make a mark on this game. Unfortunately the next mark on the game was a red one. Danny Livesey dismissed and a penalty given. The chants of 'England's Number one' bellowed around the stand as we hoped that Keiren, like so many times this season, would keep us in the game. The ball hit the net and the hope faded. The team were still being backed by the ever loyal fans and they tried to get back into the game. The news that Forest were only drawing and Luton were looking like sneaking an equalizer at Donny added extra encouragement. However, it was not to be as the game was killed off by a scrappy third!

The players looked dejected on the pitch but were surely picked up by the continuing backing of the crowd at the final whistle! We need to believe! We need to regroup! We need to hit Bournemouth hard and get a win under our belts. We can do it. Yeovil will beat Forest. Cheltenham will beat Doncaster. And we will go up in second place!

Come on Carlisle. Keep the faith.