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WHILE poignant farewells were being said by some County Ground favourites on Saturday, one youngster was emphatically announcing his arrival as the new kid on the block.

After four years and more than 100 appearances for the Robins Andy Nicholas' final farewell was tinged with emotion, while all home fans knew the significance of Miguel Comminges' prolonged lap of honour post-match - with a move to Cardiff surely a formality.

By the time the duo had finished their final goodbyes full debutant Sean Morrison had long disappeared down the tunnel but, if his County Ground bow was anything to go by, Town fans will be seeing a lot more of him in future.

For a raw 17-year-old, the giant defender showed a maturity well beyond his years and as the Town faithful waved goodbye to the past they were given a salivating glimpse of the future.

Morrison lined up alongside skipper Hasney Aljofree at the heart of a makeshift defence as the absence of Comminges and the injured Jerel Ifil forced Jon-Paul McGovern to deputise at right back.

Having featured as a substitute in the 1-1 draw at Gillingham last weekend any doubts of Morrison's potential were quickly dispelled despite Danny Senda's seventh minute headed opener for Millwall.

Simon Cox's penalty and Anthony McNamee's deflected winner may have ensured Town finished a roller-coaster League One campaign in style but the result almost went unnoticed in a mediocre match, as fans left talking about Morrison's first impression.

"I knew I was going to start from Thursday when I was told that Jerel was definitely going to be out so I had a lot of time to think about it," he said.

"It was all about building up until today and the first few minutes were a bit nervy but I thought I did alright and I just settled down from there really.

"It was brilliant in the end for me."

Billy Paynter was given the nod in attack, in the absence of injured Lee Peacock, while Chris Allen started in midfield with Maurice Malpas taking the chance to blood some youngsters.

Teenagers Nathan Thompson, Kurt Hammonds and Ben Joyce were all involved while 20-year-old Pat Kanyuka made another impressive cameo from the substitutes bench.

In an uneventful clash, Town can consider themselves fortunate to have secured maximum points with a dubious penalty, after a tackle on Michael Timlin by Paul Robinson, and a fortuitous deflection from McNamee's 20-yard strike.

Paynter was denied by former Town stopper Rhys Evans while at the other end Slovakian stopper Peter Brezovan had to be at his best to deny Neil Harris a Millwall equaliser.

But as both sets of fans cheered their heroes at the final whistle it became clear Saturday was always going to be about saluting the past and welcoming the future.

"At Gillingham there was a lot less to think about for me because I was thrown straight in," said Morrison.

"It was ideal for me at Gillingham because I was straight into the game. It was probably the best way to get thrown in.

"Next season is even bigger for me now because I have to keep pushing on and show that this is no fluke.

"All I can do is work hard in pre-season and see what the gaffer wants to do. Whether he wants to keep pushing me on and see if I can get a first team place."

The ridiculous mass police presence in front of the away fans deserves the final mention though - if anything was likely to turn a well-behaved crowd violent that was it.

7:00am Monday 5th May 2008

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