The lowdown on Millwall 3 Preston 1 – Honeyman’s sweet moment as Lions bully North End at Den

Millwall extended their unbeaten league run against Preston North End to 11 matches as they won 3-1 at The Den on Saturday afternoon.

Here is the lowdown on the match.

THE LINE-UPS

Millwall: Jensen, Leonard (McNamara 76), Cooper, Tanganga, Bryan, De Norre, Saville, Honeyman (Wallace 91), Esse (Emakhu 77), Watmore (Wintle 68), Langstaff (Ivanovic 67). Subs: Roberts, Hutchinson, Kelly, Harding.

Preston: Woodman, Whiteman, Lindsay, Keane (Osmajic 68), McCann, Riis (Thordarson 46), Storey, Hughes (Brady 46), Holmes, Bowler (Frokjaer 58), Potts (Kesler-Hayden 58). Subs: Cornell, Whatmough, Ledson, Okkels.

SNAPSHOT OF THE GAME
This was an emphatic Millwall victory. The headline news is that Macaulay Langstaff is off the mark in a Lions shirt – with George Honeyman also netting his first goal of the season. Both assisted the other with Romain Esse coolly going past Freddie Woodman sandwiched between those two other finishes. Preston boss Paul Heckingbottom had made three substitutions by the 57th minute – including two at the start of the second period – which told you everything you needed to know about just how second-best they were. Jordan Storey did manage a consolation for North End but they only really had any kind of foothold once the South Londoners had built up a commanding 3-0 lead.

TACTICAL APPROACH
Graft and guile from Millwall – a commendable work-rate and also aggression that was channeled in the right fashion to bully their opponents – aside from Aidomo Emakhu’s silly red card towards the end of the contest. The front four of Langstaff, Honeyman, Esse and Duncan Watmore – who also got an assist – were too much of a handful for a poor Preston side. Casper De Norre also crashed a first-time volley off the bar and Woodman made a reaction save to deny Mihailo Ivanovic.

STAR MAN
George Honeyman. Not just for the goal and the assist – his general all-round play has been excellent this season. Hard to dispute – not that I want to – the claim by Millwall head coach Neil Harris that the roving number 10 has been their best player in the opening two months of the campaign. Failed to convert a big opportunity at QPR last weekend but made no mistake when offered a similar kind of chance in SE16 today.

BEST MOMENT
Romain Esse’s third goal of the season. Confidence is key for any player – but especially when you are a younger one. Harris even had the luxury of bringing off Esse, Watmore, Langstaff and Ryan Leonard so they could get more recovery time before Tuesday’s trip to struggling Cardiff City.

MOAN OF THE MATCH
Aidomo Emakhu’s red card. Initially booked for a dive but then was dismissed by referee Darren Bond after being provoked by Robbie Brady and reacting aggressively. Brady could just as easily have been booked for his part in the incident. Emakhu has struggled for minutes and now faces a suspension.

A TALKING POINT DOWN THE PUB
The possibility of new deals for George Honeyman and Duncan Watmore. Both are free agents at the end of June unless there is any kind of automatic trigger that I’m not aware of and both are in strong negotiating positions. Director of football Steve Gallen did an in-house interview with Millwall TV recently in which he talked about one of his key tasks since being appointed in the summer is to lower the average age of the squad – hence the signings of Daniel Kelly, Femi Azeez and Mihailo Ivanovic. But it was still largely an experienced side which got the job done very competently against Preston.

WHAT THE BOSS HAD TO SAY
“I’m delighted with the way we played – we dominated the first half. We could have handled the final 10-ish minutes better, which ultimately ended up with the red card and goal conceded, but I’m really happy.”