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TAIRYK Arconte scored a brace on his home debut as Millwall comfortably beat Norwich City 3-0 at The Den. The Lions were dominant in their first competitive home fixture since their play-off defeat three months ago, creating plenty of chances against a side with play-off aspirations before Arconte tucked in a loose ball to give them the lead. Millwall continued to push and deservedly had their second after half-time, via a brilliant Arconte finish. Norwich’s day grew even worse when Jose Cordoba picked up his second yellow card for hauling down Arconte, and the final 30 minutes were a mere formality. Luke Cundle’s late tap-in added gloss to the result and rounded off a truly brilliant day for the Lions, who, despite seven first-team injuries, were at their very best and look well-poised to make a repeat trip to the play-offs After a lovely tribute to legendary ex-manager Kenny Jackett, who sadly passed away earlier this year, Norwich got the game underway and were quickly bowled over by the intensity and pressing of the Lions. Millwall were in the visitors’ faces from minute one, pushing and probing around the Canaries’ box, although they were not helped out by the linesman, who stuck his flag up three times within the opening three minutes. However, they soon found an opening. Camiel Neghli played a one-two with Casper De Norre, then slid Josh Coburn in, who muscled off the centre-back and hit the post from a tight angle. Up the other end, Lukas Jensen was called into action for the first time to keep out Oscar Schwartau’s weak, long-range effort. The Canaries had established a foothold in the game after withstanding the early pressure, and had a brilliant opportunity to take a shock lead when Andre Brooks beat Zak Sturge and drove to the byline before cutting it into the six-yard box. Schwartau was well positioned to tap it in, but could not sort his feet out, and it went wide. The two sides then traded half-chances. Neghli latched onto the loose ball after a corner was cleared and had a scissor kick saved, while Kenny McLean curled a free kick over. However, Millwall always looked more threatening in the final third, and it was no surprise when they found the breakthrough via another brilliant move. It was worked out to Mark Sykes on the right-hand side of the box, and he fired in a cross that Coburn connected with first-time, forcing out a save from Vladan Kovacevic. Arconte was perfectly positioned to tuck in the rebound, and he smashed it into the net for his first goal in a Millwall shirt. The chances started flowing for Millwall, who were exploiting the space in behind Norwich’s back four with the pace of Kyrell Lisbie and Arconte. Time and time again they would get in behind, and it got to the point where they looked afraid to press the Lions, lest they surrender too much space. This, in turn, gave Millwall’s back four far too much time to pick out the passes, much to Canaries boss Phillipe Clement’s dismay. Lisbie seized on an undercooked header to burst down the left and tried to shape it into the far corner, but it was blocked for a corner. From the resulting set-piece, Jake Cooper nodded down the ball, and Caleb Taylor’s backheel was deflected over the bar. The Lions thought they had a second when Cooper headed in Jenson Metcalfe’s free kick, but again, the flag was raised on the far side, much to the anger of the Dockers Stand. Norwich’s chances were few and far between in the first half, as they were completely smothered by the hosts, but Brooks, who was the Canaries’ best forward player, had a good chance when he shifted the ball onto his right foot in the box and fired wide. Millwall were still in charge, and they should have doubled their lead before half-time. Arconte timed his run well to land on a ball over the top and burst down the right. His ball into the box was pushed out by the keeper and came to Lisbie, who contorted his body to get a shot off. It took a deflection, then Cordoba hoofed it clear before it could bounce in. Lisbie and Metcalfe had decent chances to double the Lions’ tally before half-time, and the only regret heading into the interval was that it was only a one-goal lead after a dominant 45 minutes of football. The second half was initially a more even contest. It took seven minutes for either side to create a chance, with Lisbie cutting inside and having a shot blocked. The Lions were quickly back on the ascendancy, and Neghli nearly slid in Arconte for his second, but it was cut out. The Guadeloupean was not to be dissauded and doubled his tally shortly afterwards with a lovely strike. Cooper nodded down Metcalfe’s free kick, and Arconte swept it into the far corner. Norwich tried to hit back and had their best chance of the half when substitute Papa Amadou Diallo curled one towards the far corner, denied by a fine Jensen save to his left. The Canaries’ afternoon soon went from bad to worse when Jose Cordoba bundled over Arconte as he looked to break and was issued his second yellow card. The pace of the game gradually slowed in the final 30 minutes, with Millwall looking to preserve legs early in the season and Norwich unable to muster much with ten men; the best they could do was Anthony Musaba firing wide. Luke Cundle added to the Lions’ lead late on, polishing off a quick counter-attack and tapping in Neghli’s low cross. Neil then brought on new signing Jordi Osei-Tutu on for his debut, as Millwall easily saw out the final ten minutes. Millwall: 4-4-2 – Jensen; Sykes, Taylor, Cooper, Sturge; Neghli, Metcalfe (Cundle 78), De Norre (Osei-Tutu 86), Lisbie (Cundle 78); Arconte (Lovelace 71), Coburn (Dykes 78) Unused substitutes: Crocombe, Baggott, Batth, Bangura-Williams Norwich: 4-2-3-1 – Kovacevic; Fisher (Stacey 60), Darling, Cordoba, Chrisene; McLean, Field (Mattson 73); Brooks (Musaba 73), Ben Slimane (Diallo 60), Schwartau (McConville 65); Toure Unused substitutes: Grimshaw, Yongwa, Wright, Kvistgaarden Referee: Samuel Allison Attendance: 19,564 (2,060)