Millwall 1 Tranmere 0

Tranmere were by no means spectators at The Den on Saturday, and were very nearly ahead on nine minutes when Ben Chorley's volley forced a smart, stretching save from David Forde. But a lacklustre first half certainly didn't offer much for the highlight reel, but for a light sprinkling of half-chances for Lewis Grabban, Neil Harris and Tresor Kandol.

Kandol and Ali Fuseini paid the price for the slightly tepid showing in the first 45 minutes, as manager Kenny Jackett took the opportunity to let debutant McLeod take the field with Jimmy Abdou. And the Charlton man clipped the post just five minutes later after latching on to Harris' flick-on from skipper Paul Robinson's free kick.

Millwall pulled off a pair of defensive blocks near the hour mark as Chris Shuker attempted to blast Tranmere into the lead, while Forde tipped over Edrissa Sonko's header soon afterwards.

Rovers were growing in confidence, when they were suddenly floored by a well-worked opening goal from the home team. Millwall's new record goalscorer Neil Harris sprayed the ball wide to David Martin on the left, and he broke past Ryan Shotton to swing the ball in for Marc Laird, who headed past Danny Coyne to put the Lions ahead.

Sonko passed up a chance to pull Tranmere level from ten yards, while Millwall's calls for a spot kick were waved away after a challenge by Steve Jennings on Abdou. But the home side stood firm through a lengthy spell of added time to move into third.

The win puts extra pressure on second-placed MK Dons, who blew a 2-0 half-time lead to lose 3-2 to North East side Carlisle. But defender Zak Whitbread will now be absent from the FA Cup tie against Hull, picking up a suspension just two games after returning from a 12-game injury layoff.

Manager Kenny Jackett acknowledged that Millwall rode their luck to emerge from the game with three points, observing that "it looked like a draw". He praised loan striker McLeod for his "great debut", saying he was "pleased to have him" at the club.

He said: "I think he's slightly different to the other four strikers we have and he can give us that complement up front."

Millwall: Forde, Dunne, Martin (Craig 76), Frampton, Whitbread, Laird, Robinson, Fuseini (Abdou 46), Harris, Kandol (McLeod 46), Grabban

Subs Not Used: Pidgeley, Alexander

Booked: Laird, Whitbread, Harris

Goal: Laird 73

Tranmere: Coyne, Shotton, Taylor, Chorley, Goodison, Kay, Jennings, Sonko, Shuker, Savage, Moore.
Subs Not Used: Achterberg, Edds, Cresswell, Barnett, Gornell

Booked: Kay, Goodison

Att: 8,257