VALENTINE'S night can't have been a happy one in the Moore households.

Ian and Alan's partners might have anticipated a little sweet talk after their other halves spent the day on a date of a very different kind.

Instead their ears were probably bent with tales of frustration after the romance of the FA Cup blew a great big raspberry Burnley's way.

For Ian, the discussion will have revolved around the one that got away. The Clarets talisman looked all set to continue his love affair with the FA Cup by making it 11 goals in 13 games to give his side an all-important advantage.

As he bore down on goal in the 28th minute, there could only be one outcome - especially as Moore had scored against the Lions in three of the last four games and had netted in both of Burnley's cup games this season.

But French keeper Willie Gueret was not in a lovey-dovey mood and won the head-to-head hands down with a smart, low block.

Fast forward almost exactly an hour, as Stan Ternent's men chased a replay following Danny Dichio's heart-breaking 70th minute goal.

Ternent had played his last card, throwing on Alan Moore for defender Mark McGregor in one last attempt to prise something from the Lions' jaws.

Glen Little went on one of his lazy, mazy runs before looping the ball deep to the far post and giving Ian Moore all the time in the world to weigh up his options.

He chose perfectly and cushioned a header back across the face of goal for namesake Alan to apply the killer touch. Oh dear. The ball skimmed off Moore's temple in front of a gaping net and 10-man Burnley kissed goodbye to the FA Cup for another year.

It all added up to a miserable trip to the capital on a day when there was precious little to shout about - at least on the pitch.

The New Den is without doubt one of the most intimidating venues for visiting players and fans alike.

Fierce home fans make it more a bear pit than a den, spitting venom at every opportunity and, in particular subjecting Mo Camara to some of the worst racial abuse I've ever had the misfortune to hear.

The fact they had a black goalkeeper of their own in Gueret seemingly escaped them as monkey chants poured from the stands from the first whistle, growing into a crescendo of boos every time Camara saw the ball.

Utterly disgraceful stuff.

Back on the pitch, there was another painful lesson to be learned from a brutal clash that tested referee Howard Webb's mettle to the very limit.

It came in the form of Millwall player-manager Dennis Wise - the cheeky chappy everyone loves to love. Hardly. The Lions boss was, at times, an embarrassment to the profession, snarling at Webb throughout, dishing out his own unique brand of medicine at every opportunity and indulging in theatrics of the Gielgud variety every time he was touched by a Clarets shirt.

It was almost inevitable that someone would see red in the simmering cauldron, and the unfortunate Paul Weller reduced the numbers, harshly seeing red for a playful push on Den of the Den just 10 minutes after arriving as a substitute.

Television replays clearly showed Wise trying to stamp on Weller before one pint-sized midfielder pushed another - an act performed with such remarkable force that it sent Wise crashing to the turf like he'd been pole-axed by Lennox Lewis.

The same thing happened when Neil Wood left a foot in mid-way through the second half and Wise again hit the deck to earn the Clarets player a yellow card.

It seemed even Stan Ternent had seen enough, and could clearly be seen on the touchline exchanging words with a player he counts as a close personal friend.

Yet Wise was quite happy when he was the protagonist, first raking a boot down Robbie Blake's side, next landing a forearm smash in Tony Grant's face and earning himself a booking, and finally tapping Grant on the head in a public gesture of defiance.

Every credit to Webb, who in the circumstances, and despite the questionable red card for 'violent conduct', controlled the game with Premiership class.

And the other issue not in doubt is that Millwall deserve their place in the last eight. The quality of their football in a dominant second half gave them the platform to go on and win the game, and that came through an excellently worked goal with just 20 minutes left.

Mark McGregor halted Paul Ifill's mazy run and the ball broke fortuitously to Kevin Muscat on the left. The Aussie's deep cross was flighted perfectly over David May for Danny Dichio, who planted a firm header past Brian Jensen before the Dane could blink.

The result was especially hard on Jensen, who made a series of top drawer saves - the best undoubtedly a brilliant tip over from Ifill's dipping, first half volley, and several more late in the game as Burnley went for broke.

But Moore's earlier miss was the best chance of an opening 45 minutes that Burnley just about shaded. Richard Chaplow warmed up for his England U21 adventure with an early back header that looped agonisingly wide, then Robbie Ryan was given the benefit of the doubt after appearing to foul Ian Moore in the box.

Moore himself got the referee's verdict after seeming to catch Matt Lawrence in the face with a flailing arm. And that set the tone for a nasty, simmering under-current that marred the remainder of the game.

Ifill came closest to breaking the deadlock in the 50th minute, smashing a shot off the bar after weaving his way into the area.

Burnley naturally gambled after the breakthrough was made and Little should really have done better after bearing down on goal and finding neither shot nor pass.

But it should have been irrelevant as Alan Moore rose in stoppage time. But what happened next made it a Valentine's Day to forget.

MILLWALL 1

Dichio 70

BURNLEY 0

The New Den Att: 10,420