 On 9 December 1899 the two teams met for their first competitive fixture – a Fifth Round qualifying match in the FA Cup. Millwall Athletic won 2 – 1 at Thames Ironworks'Memorial Grounds; their goal scorers were Hugh Goldie and Bert Banks. Millwall reached the 1899 – 1900 semi-final and lost 3 – 0 to Southampton, but gained the nickname The Lions from a newspaper headline heralding them as "The Lions of the South" for their cup exploits. The teams' second competitive meeting was a Southern League match that spanned two centuries. A fixture at the Memorial Grounds on 23 December 1899 was abandoned after 69 minutes owing to smog, with Millwall leading 2 – 0. Instead of replaying the game, the remaining 21 minutes were completed after the return fixture four months later, on 28 April 1900. After Ironworks won 1 – 0, the players took a short rest and played the rest of the abandoned game. With no further score, Millwall won the game 2 – 0.
