Millwall vs Plymouth Argyle. Sky Bet Championship.
The DenAttendance17,863.
Report and free match highlights from the Sky Bet Championship clash between Millwall and Plymouth Argyle at The Den on Saturday | Jake Cooper's second-half header means the Pilgrims' survival fight will continue until the final day of the season
Saturday 27 April 2024 18:26, UK
Plymouth's fight against relegation will go down to the final day of the Championship season after Jake Cooper's late goal gave Millwall to a 1-0 win at The Den.
An uninspiring opening 45 minutes ended 0-0, but Cooper's header in the closing stages won it for the hosts.
The result leaves The Pilgrims in 21st, one point clear of Birmingham in 22nd ahead of their season-defining clash against Hull at Home Park next weekend.
Having guaranteed their place in the Championship with a 1-0 win over Sunderland last weekend, Millwall looked the more confident of the two sides in the early stages.
Ryan Longman has been key to the Lions' resurgence under Neil Harris, and the Hull loanee would have given his side an early lead were it not for Argyle goalkeeper Michael Cooper, who tipped his cross-turned-shot over the bar.
Pilgrims forward Mustapha Bundu burst into the box as the visitors looked to carve out their first chance of the match in the 22nd minute.
He almost put his side ahead, cutting through Millwall's defence like a knife through butter before firing a blistering shot directly into the face of Lions goalkeeper Matija Sarkic.
Ryan Leonard got on the end of a superb break from a Plymouth corner 10 minutes later, but his attempt from the edge of the box was straight at Cooper.
Millwall hearts were in mouths when Plymouth's top-scorer Morgan Whittaker went through on goal with three minutes remaining of the half, but Leonard got back to win the ball and clear it away to safety.
Duncan Watmore thought he had been put through on goal within 60 seconds of the restart only to be flagged offside.
Then Tom Bradshaw dribbled to the edge of the visitor's box, but he could not get his shot away quickly enough to trouble Cooper.
Leonard found Watmore in the centre of the penalty area shortly after, but the winger's glancing header was wide of the right post.
Just as The Den threatened to come unglued, Whittaker went through on goal again, but Leonard was there to put in another incredible sliding challenge and keep the scores level.
Down the other end, Longman almost set up Bradshaw at the far post with a driven cut-back across goal, but Cooper responded quickly to intercept the ball.
Watmore fired a volley just over the crossbar in the 67th minute after Casper De Norre did well to pick him out at the near post.
Plymouth were still pushing for a winner of their own though, with Lewis Gibson seeing his goal-bound shot blocked by Japhet Tanganga as the game drew to a close.
However, it was not to be, and in the 83rd minute Millwall captain Cooper produced a sublime looping header to beat Cooper and secure Millwall's fourth win in a row.
Millwall's Neil Harris:
"I asked the players, can they perform at The Den?
"Everyone told us that they couldn't when I took over, and that was my biggest challenge, and they have.
"I asked them today, when there is nothing to play for, can you go and do it of your own accord?
"Again, they did, it was important in many ways today.
"Plymouth got into a couple of dangerous areas, but in the second half, I thought they were very limited on that.
"Jake Cooper's header was fantastic, that's another one he owes me, I'll have one more of him next and it was a great ball in.
"We were just a really good Millwall team again, playing at The Den, we were just a really good Millwall team in probably 13 games.
"I don't look any further back than when I arrived, it was a difficult moment when I came in and my job was to stay in the division and unite the football club.
"We have achieved both."
Plymouth's Kevin Nancekevill:
"It is another mammoth game next week, we have been here before, we are going to need everybody on our side with us.
"Our supporters have been fantastic every weekend of the season and we are going to need them more than ever on Saturday.
"We are going to need them all on Saturday if we are going to make Home Park as hostile as possible, and the lads can work as they did today and get a little bit more of an end product.
"I did not think there was much in the game, I thought we were competing, and it was end-to-end.
"They got the goal that mattered, and we could not find a finish to some of our play, so disappointed that we did not get any points but listen it is still in our hands, and we can go into the last game of the season knowing that."
