Millwall 3-1 Preston: FLW report as Macaulay Langstaff opens Lions account in dominant win | OneFootball

FLW report live from The Den

Landmark goals for Romain Esse and Macaulay Langstaff helped a dominant Millwall beat Preston North End 3-1 at The Den on Saturday.

George Honeyman made the breakthrough midway through the first half before Esse ensured the Lions were two up at the break with his first home strike and then Langstaff opened account for his new club minutes after the restart – with Jordan Storey's late goal little more than a consolation and Aidomo Emahku sent off in the dying embers of the game.

Langstaff has come under fire after a slow start since his move from Notts County in the summer but with a goal and two assists in his first two Championship starts, has shown why they paid the reported £750,000 to sign him.

Millwall rise to 14th in the Championship table on the back of their comprehensive victory while Paul Heckingbottom's side have slipped down into the relegation places.

Millwall 3-1 Preston North End

Only goal difference separated the pair ahead of kick-off, Millwall one place higher in the table in 20th, but Harris' side looked levels above in a dominant opening period.

Joe Bryan was unable to trouble Freddie Woodman with the Lions' first effort in the 10th minute and Casper De Norre rattled the crossbar with an edge-of-the-box volley moments later.

The hosts would get the opener they deserved in the 24th minute as Langstaff reacted first from a wide free-kick, racing to the byline to tee up Honeyman, who made no mistake from close range.

Millwall's goal did briefly shake North End from their slumber but a brief period of pressure only resulted in a Josh Bowler strike that was deflected into the hands of Lukas Jensen.

Eight minutes before the break, the Lions extended their lead as Esse, who had looked too quick for the Preston defenders throughout, bagged his first goal at The Den in a classy back-to-front move. Duncan Watmore raced onto George Honeyman's ball over the top, waited for the perfect moment to slide in the academy graduate and he went around Woodman before finding the net from a tight angle.

Heckingbottom turned to his bench at the half, throwing on Robbie Brady for Andrew Hughes at left-back and bolstering the midfield with the addition of Stefan Thordarson on in place of Emil Riis.

Bowler's volley into the side netting suggested the changes may help to turn the tide but North End hopes were extinguished inside three second half minutes as Langstaff added a third with his first goal for Millwall – repaying the faith shown in him by Harris in his second consecutive Championship start.

It was a simple finish from the former Notts County forward as he popped up in the right place at the right time to convert Honeyman's low cross, the attacking midfielder adding an assist to his first goal of the season.

The Lions were still hungry. A quick turnover in the 53rd minute saw Watmore tee up De Norre on the edge of the box only for the Dutchman to blaze his effort over the top.

As the final whistle neared, Preston's pursuit of a response gathered momentum. Japhet Tanganga headed a corner onto his own post 10 minutes before the end and not long after Milutin Osmajic's close-range header was parried by Jensen. The Danish keeper was unable to keep out Storey in the 87th minute, however, as the defender gave North End hope by lashing home after a set piece.

The drama was not done. Mihailo Ivanović came within inches of scoring Millwall's fourth and then fellow substitute Aidomo Emakhu was sent off – booked first for simulation and then given his marching orders for headbutting Robbie Brady.

That was not enough to derail the Lions, however, and they held on for a dominant victory to climb the table.

Millwall player ratings

Lukas Jensen - 7

Ryan Leonard - 7 (Danny McNamara (76) - 6)

Japhet Tanganga - 7

Jake Cooper - 7

Joe Bryan - 7

Casper De Norre - 7

George Saville - 7

Romain Esse - 8 (Aidomo Emakhu (77) - 4)

George Honeyman - 8 (Murray Wallace (91) - 6)

Duncan Watmore - 7 (Ryan Wintle (68) - 6)

Macaulay Langstaff - 8 (Mihailo Ivanović (67) - 6)

Unused subs: Liam Roberts, Shaun Hutchinson, Daniel Kelly, Wes Harding

Preston North End player ratings

Freddie Woodman - 6

Brad Potts - 6 (Kaine Kesler-Hayden (58) - 6)

Jordan Storey - 7

Liam Lindsay - 6

Andrew Hughes - 5 (Robbie Brady (46) - 6)

Ali McCann - 5

Ben Whiteman - 5

Josh Bowler - 5 (Mads Frökjaer-Jensen (68) - 6)

Duane Holmes - 5

Emil Riis - 5 (Stefán Thórdarson (46) - 6)

Will Keane - 5 (Milutin Osmajic (68) - 6)

Unused subs: David Cornell, Jack Whatmough, Ryan Ledson, Jeppe Okkels,

Attendance

The attendance at the Den for Millwall v Preston was 13,674.

That includes 786 travelling fans.

Neil Harris post-match reaction

"Delighted with the three points," Harris told the press after the game. "Overdue here again from the two defeats we've had, I know we spanked Sheffield Wednesday but we feel disappointed recently that we've not picked up more points."

He added : "Delighted with large aspects of the game, first half in particular. "A couple of sour moments at the end for us. Conceding a goal poorly and then the red card incident.

"Ultimately, it's a really good day for us. Delighted for the goalscorers, really important for all three goalscorers. For Macaulay and [Honeyman] to get off the mark and Romain to get his first home goal.

"Confidence is really high in the changing room."

Paul Heckingbottom post-match reaction

"We got what we deserved," Heckingbottom said after the game. "We were really slow to start and Millwall imposed their style of play on us."

He added: "It doesn't matter how well you play, if you're outcompeted and outfought you're not going to win football matches. You're just not going to.

"I felt for 46 minutes that was the case. After that, even though Millwall did defend that and deny the space, all of a sudden we got behind them more, played more forward passes, made more forward runs, got more bodies in and around the box but the game was gone."

The North End boss concluded: "It's the first time I've been disappointed in us."