JAKE Cooper’s late goal proved enough as Millwall saw off Plymouth Argyle to make it four wins on the bounce.
In their final home game of the season, the Lions were not at their swashbuckling best but did enough to edge ahead of their relegation-battling opponents.
It’s four victories in a row for the first time since October 2022 and continues the revival in form Neil Harris has initiated since arriving back at The Den in February.
He now has five wins in six home games and remains unbeaten in front of his own fans.
The situation for Plymouth is far less rosy and that late goal means they now go into the final day of the season just a point clear of the bottom three.
The game ended in unfortunate scenes as many fans rushed onto the pitch at the full-time whistle and it took around 10 minutes to clear supporters before the club could begin their end-of-season trophy presentations.
It was a first half full of hustle and bustle but lacking quality on a cloudy day at The Den.
Millwall started the better and Ryan Longman had a cross deflected onto the top of the crossbar after three minutes.
As the teams continued to exchange light blows, a brief echo of “you’re going down” echoed from Millwall fans towards a Plymouth side who, unlike Millwall, are yet to rescue themselves.
Duncan Watmore, making his 50th appearance for the Lions, almost deepened Plymouth’s relegation woes when he spun in the box but could not find the power behind his shot. At the other end, Casper De Norre had the ball nicked off his toes by Morgan Whittaker but Ben Waine fired over.
The best chance of the half fell for Mustapha Bunda. The attacker was a handful for Danny McNamara all half and dribbled around the full-back and fired a fierce effort at goal that Matija Sarkic had to get his body behind.
There was spirit in Millwall’s display but they weren’t particularly convincing going forward. It suited the hosts when the game opened up after the 30 minute mark which saw Cooper and McNamara have to make big blocks at one end before De Norre was almost through on goal on a counter-attack but he was denied by Whittaker.
The huffing and puffing continued all the way until the half-time whistle but you felt as though there could be goals in the second half.
In the meantime, both sets of fans picked up the atmosphere once everyone had returned to their seats and the action in the stands briefly became more compelling than what was happening on the pitch.
But then, after 58 minutes, everyone held their breath when Whittaker suddenly found himself through on goal. A stunning, goal-saving tackle by Ryan Leonard stopped the sharp-shooter in his tracks. A minute later, there would be action at the other end when a brilliant low cross by De Norre found Tom Bradshaw but he was denied by the Plymouth keeper at the near post.
Michael Cooper was in action again not long after when Longman tore down the right but saw his cross fended away by the goalie.
Plymouth needed the result far more than their opponents but they seemed wary of opening the game up too much and letting a point slip. In contrast, Harris was keen to spice things up and introduced Kevin Nisbet and Romain Esse after 67 minutes, with Bradshaw and Watmore, who had just put the ball over the bar, departing.
As the final 15 minutes emerged, the visitors looked more willing to commit bodies and enjoyed a succession of corners which led to two chances that defender Lewis Gibson did not take.
At other end, Cooper would not make the same mistake. Leonard’s curling cross hung in the air for what felt like an eternity before Cooper headed it back across goal looped it over the keeper after 83 minutes. Following 14 months of not getting on the scoresheet, it’s now goals in back-to-back home games for the defender.
Esse almost grabbed a second after flicking a ball around a Plymouth defender but his effort was deflected just wide.
But Cooper’s goal proved to be enough as Millwall ended their home form on a high while Plymouth have been left clinging to their Championship status.
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Millwall: 4-4-1-1: Sarkic; Leonard, Tanganga, Cooper (c), McNamara; Longman (Hutchinson 90+1′), De Norre (Honeyman 85′), Saville, Watmore (Esse 68′); Flemming (Mitchell 85′); Bradshaw (Nisbet 68′).
Plymouth: 3-4-3: Cooper; Phillips (Pleguezuelo 81′), Scarr, Galloway (Sorinola 87′); Edwards (c) (Devine 87′), Randell, Gibson, Mumba; Whittaker, Waine (Hardie 70′), Bundu (Wright 87′).
Referee: Andy Davies
Attendance: 17,863