A late header by centre-back Dimitrios Goutas earned Cardiff a narrow 1-0 Championship victory in a dire encounter against struggling Millwall.
Greece international Goutas pounced direct from a corner in the 78th minute to seal three points the Bluebirds scarcely deserved.
An encounter dreadfully low on quality looked destined to end goalless, before a brief spell of pressure in the closing stages swung it in the Bluebirds’ favour.
It was a grim afternoon for Millwall who now have just one win in their last 10 league games and are sinking into a Championship relegation battle under boss Joe Edwards, who replaced the sacked Gary Rowett in October.
Neither side went into the game with any momentum, the hosts having lost their previous two matches against Southampton and West Brom, and Millwall with one win in their last nine.
The first half typified their respective struggles. It was desperately low on quality and meaningful attacking play at either end.
A strong swirling wind did not help the fluency, but poor passing and aimless defensive clearances characterised some frustrating fare.
Millwall had the better of the territory and possession in the opening 45 minutes, yet Bluebirds goalkeeper Alex Runarsson was not tested at all.
Josh Bowler, operating on the right of the Cardiff midfield, produced some promising moments for the home side that fizzled out before seriously troubling defenders.
There were 42 minutes on the clock when Millwall midfielder Ryan Leonard produced the first shot of the game – which posed more of a threat to the corner flag than the back of the Cardiff net.
It marked the start of a mini-purple patch for the visitors just before the interval and striker Kevin Nisbet should have done better when a low Leonard cross found him in space eight yards out.
Millwall began the second half with more urgency and the pace of Brooke Norton-Cuffy on the right flank gave Cardiff some uncomfortable moments.
Bluebirds boss Erol Bulut had brought on striker Yaku Meite and Wales midfielder Rubin Colwill at the break but his attempt to shake up his lethargic side looked to be floundering.
Millwall built pressure up the hour mark and when Nisbet flashed a direct free-kick just wide in the 56th minute, there was a sense a Lions breakthrough might be imminent.
Instead it was Cardiff who fashioned the first gilt-edged chance of the game.
It fell to Meite 15 yards out after Colwill squared, but the Ivory Coast international’s effort lacked conviction and was straight at the body of Matija Sarkic in the Millwall goal.
Cardiff began to show some long overdue urgency going into the final 20 minutes and finally broke the deadlock through the head of Goutas.
His effort found the net via the hand of Sarkic and was not a goal for the purists but it proved enough to earn maximum points for the hosts.
Plymouth Argyle 2-2 Watford: Two-goal Gray rescues point for Rooney's side
Andre Gray scored twice against his former club to salvage a point for struggling Plymouth Argyle as they drew 2-2 with Watford on Friday.
Gray curled in an equaliser in the sixth minute of second-half stoppage time to seal a crucial point for Wayne Rooney's side in their bid for survival in the Championship.
The visitors made a quick start at Home Park when Ivorian striker Vakoun Bayo bundled in a cross from Yasser Larouci only eight minutes in.
Plymouth did, however, equalise against the run of play in the 23rd minute when Lewis Gibson's long ball into the box was met with a spectacular volley from Gray.
Watford regained the lead before the break when Imran Louza's free-kick was knocked back by Mattie Pollock, with centre-back Ryan Porteous on hand to steer the ball home.
But just as it looked like Watford would go home with all three points, Gray picked up the ball on the edge of the area and fired home a stunning effort beyond Daniel Bachmann.
Tom Cleverley's Watford sit in fifth place and trail leaders Sunderland by five points, while Plymouth are 17th with 17 points from 16 matches.
Man United could be without Toone until new year, says Skinner
Marc Skinner revealed that Manchester United could be without midfielder Ella Toone until the new year after she picked up a calf injury in training.
Toone has featured in five games in the Women's Super League this season, but is yet to register a goal or an assist so far this term.
The 25-year-old has missed United's last two games and was not selected in Sarina Wiegman's England squad for their upcoming friendlies against the United States and Switzerland.
She had previously appeared in a staggering 96 straight matches before missing United's WSL showdown with Leicester City last weekend.
But ahead of the Red Devils' meeting with league leaders Chelsea on Sunday, Skinner confirmed they would be without Toone for not only that game, but for the foreseeable future.
"We have three games [after the international break and before Christmas]. There's always the hope, but I think you balance and you go, 'right, if we can get her back, we get her back'," Skinner said.
"But we're just not going to rush her in this moment because it's a calf injury, it's your running mechanism. If we injure the running mechanism, it takes longer.
"So ideally we'd like her back for those games afterwards.
"The projection is she misses this game [Chelsea], she misses the international window, probably misses the first game after that, and then we'll see from there.
"But because it is such a short block of only three games, we'll assess whether it's worth that or actually resetting to come back after Christmas."
Al-Nassr 1-2 Al-Qadsiah: Aubameyang winner ends hosts' unbeaten run
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang hit the winner as Al-Qadsiah inflicted a 2-1 defeat on Al-Nassr in the Saudi Pro League on Friday to end their 21-match unbeaten run.
Cristiano Ronaldo's seventh league goal of the season put Al-Nassr ahead, but Al-Qadsiah replied swiftly through Julian Quinones before Aubameyang struck the decisive blow.
The hosts drew first blood in the 32nd minute when Ronaldo slotted home after Al-Qadsiah goalkeeper Koen Casteels had spilled a routine catch from Talisca's cross.
However, Al-Nassr's joy was short-lived when Quinones brought down Turki Al Ammar's delivery five minutes later, with the Mexcio winger firing past Bento to level the scores.
Quinones also played a part in the winning goal after brilliantly turning the ball back across goal from Nahitan Nandez's search pass to tee up a simple finish for Aubameyang.
The result sees Al-Qadsiah move level on 22 points with third-placed Al-Nassr, with Al-Shabab also level with them.
Stefano Pioli's Al-Nassr are six points adrift of defending champions and leaders Al-Hilal, who also have a game in hand.
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