The Millwall teenage terror who broke Portsmouth hearts - now old rivals lock horns again after 12-year league wait

Michael Appleton’s side would lose their Championship status three games later, while that evening’s match winner has gone on to become England’s all-time highest scorer.

The two old rivals lock horns on Wednesday night (7.45pm), marking the first league contest between them since April 2012, when Harry Kane settled the clash.

On loan from Spurs, the 18-year-old cleverly turned inside the Blues’ penalty area to wrongfoot Ricardo Rocha, creating enough space to finish into the bottom right-hand corner.

That 37th minute strike would earn a Millwall side managed by Kenny Jackett a 1-0 success to ease their relegation fears.

For Pompey, it was back to earth with a thud, having days earlier snatched a remarkable point at St Mary’s thanks to David Norris’ iconic leveller in the 2-2 draw.

Heading into the Millwall clash on that Tuesday evening, it was hoped that dramatic finale could serve as the springboard to propel the 23rd-placed side up the Championship table.

Appleton has selected an unchanged side, with Joel Ward remaining at right-back, Greg Halford operating in the centre of midfield, and a strike force of Luke Varney and Chris Maguire.

However, the bulk of the 15,837 crowd were left disappointed as Millwall’s unfamiliar number 37 bagged a fifth goal in 10 games to secure an away victory.

Kane, who had spent the previous campaign on loan at League One Leyton Orient, joined the Lions on loan for the second half of that 2011-12 season after his Spurs involvement had purely been restricted to cup competitions.

He would end up with nine in 27 outings for Millwall, before later embarking on underwhelming spells with Norwich and Leicester in 2012-13, totalling two goals.

Still, that April 2012 defeat to Millwall left Pompey on the brink of relegation. Should Bristol City better the Blues’ result at Doncaster the forthcoming Saturday, then they would drop into League One.

As it turned out, Appleton’s men netted twice in stoppage time at the Keepmoat Stadium to miraculously turn a 3-2 defeat into a 4-3 success, thanks to goals from Dave Kitson and Marko Futacs.

They then won 2-1 at Fratton Park against Crystal Palace to climb into 22nd position with two matches remaining - only for a home loss to Derby the following match to seal their fate.

Of course, the Blues had long been fighting against odds, with a 10-point deduction after entering administration in February 2012, while PKF administrator Trevor Birch had declared debts of £59m.

That included £18.6m owed to Portpin - the company of ex-Pompey owner Balram Chainrai and Levi Kushnir - due to its fixed charge over Fratton Park.

It would take 12 years for the Blues to return to the Championship, where they currently reside in 23rd position following a tough start to the season.

While that Millwall 18-year-old has gone on to net 69 times in 103 England appearances, become Spurs’ all-time highest scorer, and recently broke the Bundesliga record for the fewest amount of games to reach 50 goals with Bayern Munich.