NEIL Harris enjoyed a dream return to The Den as he led his Millwall side to a narrow victory over Watford.
Zian Flemming’s early free-kick proved to be enough for the points in a game where neither side were at their best but the Lions had more discipline, energy and self-belief.
Following the astonishing victory at Southampton last week, it’s now two wins in two for the returning boss who could hardly have timed his arrival better.
Without these crucial six points against Southampton and Watford, Millwall would be virtually cut adrift in a Championship relegation battle that is becoming more fascinating by the week.
A single point now separates six teams from 17th-place Blackburn Rovers – who host 18th-place Millwall on Tuesday – to third-bottom Stoke City.
Harris cannot control what happens elsewhere but he certainly can take faith from a successful 11 days where he seems to have given the players their confidence back. The performance from the Lions today bore almost no resemblance to the defeats against Ipswich Town and Sheffield Wednesday that spelled the end for Joe Edwards.
It was a lively atmosphere straight from kick-off in cold but sunny conditions at The Den.
Chants of “Super Neil” had travelled around the ground multiple times before the opening goal, which only energised the crowd further.
Visitors Watford got off to a sloppy start which included midfielder Edo Kayembe being booked inside the first 90 seconds for a late challenge.
Jake Livermore would then foul Flemming a couple of minutes later from 30 yards out. It looked too far away to be a genuine shooting chance but the Dutchman took aim anyway.
It wasn’t the world’s best effort but the ball took a big deflection off the Watford wall which sent it spiralling out of reach for the Hornets keeper Ben Hamer.
The early strike set the tone for a confident and reassured first half performance. The Lions looked at ease both in possession and out while the crowd roared after every interception, tackle, block and clearance. Simply from being on the touchline, Harris had managed to bring some unity and an injection of energy into The Den.
His opposite number Valerien Ismael, who had overseen just one win in nine games before kick-off, would not have been in the mood for the positive vibes.
The Watford boss made a double first half substitution during last week’s 2-1 home defeat to Huddersfield Town and might have been wondering if he needed to turn to his bench to do something about his error-strewn keeper.
Having been unlucky on the Flemming free-kick, Hamer did not cover himself in glory when he received the ball under no pressure in his own six-yard box and let the ball slip out for a corner.
A few minutes later, he would charge out of his goal to come for a long ball only to clash with his own defenders. Duncan Watmore seized upon the chaos, broke free but from a narrow angle could not convert with either the post or defender Francisco Sierralta steering his effort away.
The charged atmosphere gave the match a frantic feel even if the action on the pitch did not always reflect the noise being generated.
Michael Obafemi, without a goal in over a year, would try his luck from range after 20 minutes but put it well wide before, a minute later, George Honeyman hooked a ball into the area that Japhet Tanganga got his head on. Unlike last week at St Mary’s, his effort drifted harmlessly wide.
At other end, Wesley Hoedt would put a free-kick over the bar before Matija Sarkic was forced to flick away an Emmanuel Dennis cross before half-time.
Watford would control the ball but struggled to fashion clear cut chances in the first 20 minutes of the second period. Asprilla, who scored the opening goal in October’s entertaining 2-2 draw between these two sides, came closest when he hit a low cross by Jamal Lewis wide of the post.
Millwall would eventually recover their footing – helped by the formidable noise generated by the crowd – and have chances of their own. Jake Cooper latched onto a long throw after 70 minutes that Hamer had to punch away.
Watford, slugging it out in their white away kits, looked increasingly low on ideas against a Millwall side looking for back to back wins for the first time since New Year’s Day.
The final 10 minutes incredibly passed without incident as Watford became more and more desperate.
The Lions never looked like conceding and defended with maturity and ease while Harris threw animated instructions at his players from the touchline.
Big cheers greeted the full-time whistle when Millwall got over the line. But with Queens Park Rangers, Stoke City and Sheffield Wednesday all winning elsewhere, Harris, the players and fans will know there is still much work to do.
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Millwall: 4-4-1-1: Sarkic; Leonard, Cooper (c), Tanganga, McNamara; Honeyman, Mitchell, Saville, Watmore; Obafemi.
Watford: 4-1-4-1: Hamer; Ngakia, Sierralta, Hoedt (c), Lewis; Livermore; Asprilla, Kayembe, Bayo, Sema; Dennis.
Referee: Gavin Ward
Attendance: 17,847 (2,606 away)