Millwall winger Paul Ifill's clinical clincher 12 minutes from the finish must have made for interesting conversation with his victims and friends.

"I'm going to be out with a couple of the boys like Virgs (Adam Virgo)," he revealed following a victory for the Lions that was less convincing than the scoreline suggests. "I know most of the boys anyway, but I think I'll keep a low profile!"

Ifill's goal produced mixed emotions for the Brighton-born Albion fanatic. On as a 59th-minute replacement for Barry Hayles, he was desperate to prove to player-manager Dennis Wise he was worth a place in the starting line-up after missing the widweek win at Wolves with a shin injury.

Yet such is his loyalty to Albion that he constantly refers to them as 'we' in talking passionately about the Seagulls' plight.

"It was obviously a double-edged sword for me, because I support Brighton," he said. "That's why I didn't go too mad when I scored. I was really pleased, coming off the bench, but I didn't want to rub it in their face.

"Everybody knows we need a stadium. The fans base is unbelievable, there is nobody else like it in the country for support, and I am sure if we had a 15 to 20,000 all-seater we'd fill it every week.

"It is gutting. I think a lot of players don't go to the club because of that and the wages aren't there for the gaffer, so it's so hard for him, but he is doing a good job and I really hope they stay up.

"I think they will. This wasn't the best of results for them, but I think they will get enough points at home."

Home supporters in Millwall's biggest Saturday League crowd of the season, swelled by 1,500 Albion fans, greeted Wise's decision to bring on Ifill at the expense of the hard-working Hayles with boos.

Their derision turned to delight when Ifill turned Dan Harding inside out before bending a left-foot shot from ten yards past Michel Kuipers into the far corner.

It completed an unhappy afternoon for Harding, the goalscoring hero a week earlier against Rotherham.

Albion's England under-21 leftback was caught napping midway through the first half when Danny Dichio took a quick free-kick and Alan Dunne delivered an inch-perfect pass inside him for Scott Dobie to run onto and slot his second goal in as many games.

Ifill said: "It must have been one of those games for him (Harding). The ball was unbelievable for the first goal, it was a slide-rule pass and he got done.

"As for my one, on another day he makes a tackle. I kept saying to Dennis (Wise) to give me the ball, because I wanted to have a little run at Dan Harding.

"He showed me a little bit too much. I thought I could cut inside and I gave him a little nutmeg, saw the gap and went for it. My left foot is supposed to be my swinger, so I was quite pleased with it. He (Harding) got isolated two times and that was that. I cannot comment, because I haven't seen him play that much. I've seen him play for England and he has done well."

The absence of Darren Currie's creative influence for Albion following his £250,000 move to Ipswich was evident in the first half, when neither side looked like scoring.

But Albion were a different side going forward after the break once Mark McGhee brought on Leon Knight for Paul Reid and switched from 3-5-2 to 4-3-3. Millwall keeper Andy Marshall saved shots from outside the box by Virgo and Charlie Oatway, and the threat of an equaliser persisted until Ifill pounced.

Even then Knight, starting on the bench again to accomodate Virgo's return from a three-match ban, had the chance to set up a tense finish when Mark Phillips brought him down inside the area in the final minute of normal time from Steve Claridge's flick-on.

Knight's penalty was kept out by Marshall, diving to his left, which just about sums up the way the season has gone so far for last season's goalscorer supreme.

McGhee was far from disheartened by Albion's performance against his old club. "I cannot remember, apart from straight shots from distance, a save that Michel had to make," he said.

"Millwall looked strong. They have got three players up front (Dobie, Dichio and Hayles), who are always going to cause you a problem and Ifill coming on has got pace and strength as well, so they have got a lot of firepower we don't have.

"But, I said to the lads, once again they proved to me we have enough in the dressing room to come to places like this and get a win. We didn't but there will be other days and other games this season when we will."

Currie's scoring impact for Ipswich did not go un-noticed by McGhee as he took comfort from defeats also for all of Albion's main relegation rivals.

Ifill said: "I know Darren is a very good ball player. He (McGhee) got him on a free and to sell him for £250,000 is very good business. Obviously the fans are gutted to see him go, but everyone knows we need to get the stadium built.

"They haven't really got that sort of creative midfielder now, which they are going to maybe need, but the gaffer's hands are tied. Who realistically can he sign when the crowds are what they are and we haven't got a stadium, so I do feel for them. It's horrible."

ALBION (3-5-2) Kuipers; Hinshelwood, Cullip, Butters; Reid, Oatway, Nicolas, Carpenter, Harding; Claridge, Virgo. Subs: Knight 7 for Reid (withdrawn 48), Hammond 6 for Nicolas (withdrawn 57), Watson for Hinshelwood (withdrawn 68), Mayo, May

Bookings: None

MILLWALL (4-3-2-1) Marshall; Elliott, Phillips, Ward, Livermore; Dunne, Morris, Sweeney; Dobie, Hayles; Dichio. Subs: Ifill for Hayles (withdrawn 59), Wise for Dunne (withdrawn 63), Lawrence for Elliott (injured 78), Stack, Serioux

Bookings: Dunne (41) foul, Phillips (90) dissent, Sweeney (90) encroaching

Scorers: Dobie (21), Ifill (78)

Attendance: 12,196 (1,494 Albion)

Fans' View: SIMON TIPPLE (Southampton) We probably played better as a team than in some of our away wins. It was a shame about the penalty but I thought we improved when Leon Knight came on. I don't think he's done enough to justify getting in the team every week but he did well against Rotherham and will be disappointed to be left out.

NORMAN RAE (Eastbourne) It was an evenly-contested game and I felt we should have got a point but errors by Dan Harding led to both goals. Danny Cullip and Leon Knight were our best players. Leon didn't stop running and chased down defenders all over the place.

DAVID WILLIAMS (Brighton) Mark McGhee hasn't got any money but is wrong to play a central defender and a 38-year-old up front.

If Leon can't get in the team now, then it is time for him to move on and reduce the wage bill. We have no pace at the moment.

JOHN PETERS (Millwall fan) We made hard work of it but I thought we just about deserved the three points.

It was good to get one over on McGhee and good to see Steve Claridge again as he's still popular around here, even if he'll probably be claiming a pensioner's bus pass soon. We probably have a 50-50 chance of the play-offs.

3:18pm Tuesday 18th July 2006

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