Approaching The New Den from Bermondsey station is not the best way to travel to a football stadium.

The streets that snake their way through the myriad estates and industry around the ground are lit by an array of progressively less illuminating lights, lending a sense of foreboding to the crisp night air in this South London suburb. Expecting to be able to “follow the crowds” by the time I got to within a mile or so of Millwall’s lair, I was surprised and not a little unnerved by the emptiness of the streets that I found myself on. It wasn’t really until I began to work my way through the literally pitch black underpasses beneath the railway lines that surround the ground that, fortunately, some other similarly hardy, overdressed souls joined me on my lonely trudge to the FA Cup First Round match that had been rescheduled to the Monday night for the viewing pleasure of the TV hordes, huddled up in their warm lounges ready to see if the new version of the Crazy Gang of old could claim a League One scalp and increase their profile yet further.

I took up my place in the unreserved and yet reserved (I had to sit – well, stand – in a particular block but it could be anywhere in that block) area of the Lower Tier with the AFC Wimbledon fans behind the goal at the North end of this identikit ground, wondering whether my decision to witness the game with the away fans when visiting a club with one of the more, err, ‘well-known’ reputations for violence was a good one.

It is hard to rid oneself of the automatic notion that “Millwall fans are thugs” for some reason, despite having met one at the Ashford/Hendon game a few weeks ago who could only realistically be described as “a top bloke” but there is a very real sense of intimidation from some modern-day Millwall fans who do the club no favours at all when it comes to their efforts to rid themselves of the unfortunate mantle of “The Hooligan Club”. A large section of their supporters in the upper tier gather near the North end in order to engage in banter and taunt the visiting fans, adopting the age old “come on then” pose whilst singing their far-too-often-sung song about how indifferent they are to their level of popularity.

The Blue Square Premier side brought more than 3000 fans who did their team proud, singing throughout most of the game, despite their somewhat limited repertoire of songs and they must have regarded themselves as slightly unlucky not go in at half time a goal in front after Danny Kedwell saw his shot from a square ball just pass the left hand post in what ended up being the only real chance of the opening 45 minutes. It wasn’t that it was a poor game- far from it – it was entertaining without producing any clear-cut chances on goal and the Wombles of Wimbledon more than held their own until the break.

The half time interval saw some vaguely amusing action at each end where two teams of small children took turns to run with the ball from the half-way line to try and beat their own keeper and score. Most succeeded, one or two spectacularly so, and the odd one employed the sort of celebration which can only have been learnt by watching football from a much higher level than this.

All AFC’s first half hard work was undone four minutes into the second half when Millwall took the lead through “The Legendary” (the stadium announcer’s words, not mine) Neil Harris who slammed home from close range when put through by Morison. The home fans claimed that their visiting counterparts “weren’t singing any more” which wasn’t quite the truth but the bubble had been slightly tarnished, if it hadn’t been burst. Yet.

Glancing around at the rows of empty seats around the stadium, the Dons fans sang “Your ground’s too big for you” – the Millwall supporters in the East Stand eventually came back with “Your ground’s in Milton Keynes” which was wittier than I’d expected, despite having taken some time to deliver.

James Pullen in the AFC goal had failed to impress us with his kicking in either of the 2 ties we’d seen him play in this season and he did nothing to change our minds this time. But his shot-stopping and reactions were second to none in the early stages after the opening goal, pulling off what would probably be termed the save of the season were it performed at Old Trafford or Stamford Bridge, acrobatically tipping Abdou’s effort over the bar after it took a very substantial deflection to force it almost into the top corner. He could do nothing about Millwall’s second though, scored by substitute Jason Price after a succession of four corners and a free kick pummelled Wimbledon into submission.

A corner won for Wimbledon by Lewis Taylor saw him urge the hordes of fans to get behind their team which, to be fair to them, they already were but everyone understood his point. Wimbledon just needed that little extra and a bit of luck and the tie could be thrown back into the balance. Barely a few more minutes passed and it was Taylor himself that gave the fans something to really shout about, slotting in neatly after being put through by Kedwell. The surrounding fans felt that something could happen now and the noise was cranked up accordingly.

Something did happen, but sadly for AFC it was a 3rd and then a 4th Millwall goal. As the Dons pushed forward in search of a precious equaliser, Millwall’s Danny Schofield scored one within 5 minutes and created another for Price at the end to put pay to any chance of an upset and send the Lions fans home happy. It was, frankly, much more than Millwall deserved. AFC were thrashed 4-1 on their own ground at this stage last season by Wycombe Wanderers but they looked quite comfortable at this level tonight until the latter stages when Millwall’s class and fitness really told and 4-1 this season was a little harsh.

The route that is enforced on the away fans out of the imaginatively titled The New Den to South Bermondsey station is nothing if not imposing. A long, dark alleyway of steel fencing topped with metal spikes, which culminates with a junction at which the home fans join from another angle, watched over by several members of the local constabulary was not my idea of a comfortable way to leave the ground.

Several extremely drunk Millwall fans bellowing out the “Millwall Roar” as they shuffled up the station ramp reminded me that the FA Cup has almost left the friendly non-league clubs behind, replacing them with large police presences, segregation and bitterness between rival fans. I returned home cold and exhausted and wondering why clubs at the level of Millwall can’t provide the same level of comfort, friendliness and safety as the clubs from the non league without resorting to police and steel fences. AFC Wimbledon’s number one aim is to make it to the promised land of The League but there’s a part of me that thinks that they’d be better off where they are for a few more years.