Neil Harris thrilled with his young players as Millwall win at Portsmouth

Posted Wednesday, August 14, 2024 by PA

Millwall boss Neil Harris hailed his young cubs as the Lions booked their place in Carabao Cup second round for the first time in three years with a 1-0 win over Portsmouth.

Homegrown talent Romain Esse, 19, impeccably slotted the only goal of the game in the 13th minute at Fratton Park.

Esse, who grew up in Peckham and Bermondsey, grabbed his third goal for the club, while 18-year-old Alfie Massey made his professional debut.

“I am really happy with the performance of the three young lads in the side tonight,” Harris said.

“Romain scored the goal, Aidomo [Emakhu] showed glimpses of his powers of pace and directness and Alfie Massey made his debut for the football club.

“As a homegrown player and a fan of the football club, it will be a special day for him and his family.”

Millwall were stunned by a last-gasp sucker punch against Watford in their league opener on Saturday but Harris said: “We didn’t feel sorry for ourselves after that last-minute winner, we bounced back in the right manner.”

Portsmouth manager John Mousinho said: “We are really disappointed to lose the game but I was pretty pleased with the performance on the whole.

“We got punished in one moment when we gave the ball away in the first half and then huffed and puffed in the second half.

“We weren’t quite clinical enough in the final third. It was an even game settled by fine margins and Millwall were slightly better than us at that.”