Millwall stalwart Neil Harris netted to give the Lions a 1-0 win over Leeds United at the New Den in the first leg of their League One play-off semi-final.

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Harris, on as a 16th minute substitute, swooped in the second half to put Kenny Jackett's side in the driving seat ahead of Thursday's return trip to Yorkshire.

The experienced striker was called into action after injury cut short Jason Price's afternoon and he proved to be the match winner after taking full advantage of a slip by Leeds skipper Richard Naylor with just 19 minutes remaining.

The win was Millwall's first in nine play-off attempts but with the return leg at Elland Road to come - where Leeds have won their last 11 matches - the job is far from complete.

And on Thursday, Leeds will be able to count on more than the paltry 1,000 fans backing them at the New Den - numbers of supporters travelling to South East London were limited amid security concerns.

Unsurprisingly, given the stakes, the opening exchanges were nervy and tense, although Leeds settled the quicker and went on to just about edge a largely uneventful first half.

That said, Jermaine Beckford looked dangerous early on, testing David Forde with an early snap shot before Fabian Delph brought another save out of the Millwall keeper on 24 minutes.

Beckford's strike partner Luciano Becchio fired a volley wide of the mark and then the Argentine headed Ben Parker's cross straight at Forde, but neither side were able to create a real clear-cut goalscoring chance before the break.

Certainly Millwall, despite vociferous home support, were initially frustrated by a solid and determined Leeds back line, whose sole error of judgement came on eight minutes, Andrew Frampton nearly capitalising on Jonathan Douglas's weak attempted headed clearance.

While the opening 45 minutes lacked goalmouth action, neither side's determination was called into question, although Delph allowed his commitment to boil over just before the half-time whistle, the youngster taking a wild swipe at Gary Alexander. He was booked when a red card would not have been out of place.

Jackett's response to his side's lack of attacking threat was to bring on James Henry in place of Marc Laird at the break. The substitution gave the hosts more width and despite a strong start to the second half by Leeds, Millwall soon began to stamp their authority on the game.

Harris signalled his intentions on 56 minutes with an outrageous backheel that Casper Ankegren had to be alert to keep out before Alexander fired wide when perhaps he should have done better.

Millwall's increasing superiority was rewarded when Harris struck, the striker taking three touches to tee himself up from Alexander's cross. As the net bulged, several jubilant home fans jumped the hoardings to join the players in celebration, but the mini-pitch invasion aside, both sets of fans were well-behaved throughout the afternoon.

Frampton nearly gave the home fans further cause for celebration five minutes later, but the defender's header from Henry's well-delivered cross went over the bar.

Two-nil and Millwall would have been clear favourites to make the final but as things stand, and considering Leeds' excellent home form, the teams will meet again in five days with the tie nicely balanced.