Erol Bulut questioned Cardiff’s mentality after an “unacceptable” second-half performance in their 3-1 defeat against Millwall at The Den.

Jake Cooper’s volley put the Lions in front at the break after Michael Obafemi and Yakou Meite traded goals during an entertaining first half.

However, Neil Harris’ side controlled the second half, limiting the Bluebirds to scraps before Duncan Watmore made sure of things in stoppage time with a cool finish past Ethan Horvath.

The result lifts Millwall into 16th, six points clear of the relegation zone, while Cardiff are now 11th with three games remaining.

And Bulut insists his side need to show a winning mentality in their remaining games.

“Millwall at home are a good team, they are working and fighting and I was satisfied with the first half, but with the second half, I have no words for the second half,” he said.

“Nobody can tell me ‘two days before we had a game and we were tired’, Millwall also played a few days ago.

“The main thing is the mentality, how you go in the game, if you want to change this game, if you want to win this game, what you are expecting from yourself individually.

“I can speak only to my players, but the mentality on the field has to change, especially in the second half.

“Consistency is the biggest problem that we have this season. If it was a little bit different then we would be speaking now about different things.

“It was like day and night. In the first half it was clear that the better team was Cardiff but we conceded two goals and the second half was not acceptable.

“If you have these small mistakes in your game then it is difficult to come back.”

The win is a huge boost for relegation-threatened Millwall and Harris believes his side are proving a lot of people wrong.

“Every man and his dog wanted to tell me that these lads can’t play at The Den,” Harris said.

“They do know how to play at The Den and it was a big thing for me to try and galvanise the football club and bring the terrace and the pitch together.

“It’s down to the players when they go on the pitch, so they take the credit and the praise for it.

“Tuesday night against Leicester was a monumental performance from the players and a special evening, but in some ways I’m more pleased with today because to back it up with such a comprehensive performance is testament to the group’s mentality.

“We looked a lot more confident today with the ball and I think if we had scored the third goal at the start of the second half we could have gone on to score four or five.

“It’s important for the football club to stay at this level.”

Millwall’s secured a second successive Sky Bet Championship victory as they eased their relegation worries with a 3-1 win at home to Cardiff.

Jake Cooper’s volley had given the Lions a 2-1 half-time lead after Michael Obafemi and Yakou Meite had traded goals.

And Neil Harris’ side refused to feel the pressure, with Duncan Watmore making sure of victory in stoppage time.

Ryan Longman, who scored the winner against promotion-chasing Leicester in midweek, produced a dangerous delivery that forced a crucial intervention from Dimitrios Goutas during an entertaining start to proceedings at The Den.

Then, in the ninth minute, Burnley loanee Obafemi’s powerful strike beat goalkeeper Ethan Horvath at his near post to score his second goal since arriving in January.

Cardiff captain Joe Ralls took aim from the edge of the box as the visitors looked to get back on level terms, but his shot was straight at Matija Sarkic.

However, it was 1-1 in the 24th minute when Meite nodded Rubin Colwill’s free-kick into the bottom corner from point-blank range.

Will Finnie waved away Zian Flemming’s penalty appeal after the Dutchman went down inside the area, much to the disgust of Millwall’s vocal home supporters.

The Bluebirds had the chance to add insult to injury in the 43rd minute, but Nat Phillips dragged his strike from the centre of the box wide of the right-hand post.

The hosts had the final say of the half, though, with Lions skipper Cooper firing home a thunderous volley after an intelligent flick-on from Longman.

Horvath made two excellent saves in the space of 10 minutes after the break as Millwall looked to double their lead.

First he denied Longman after the Hull loanee let fly with a left-footed shot from outside the box, and then got down quickly to push Obafemi’s goal-bound effort behind for a corner.

Cooper had the chance to give his side some breathing room from a set-piece in the 62nd minute, only to fire his left-footed strike wide of the right-hand upright.

At the other end, Ralls tried again from range only to see his attempt saved by Sarkic before Cian Ashford caused chaos in the Lions box with a powerful cutback towards the penalty spot.

Flemming almost made sure of things with five minutes remaining, but Horvath was up to the task once again.

Cardiff pushed for an equaliser in the final 10 minutes, but Brooke Norton-Cuffy put Watmore through on goal in stoppage time and he prodded the ball past Horvath to secure a crucial win for Millwall.

Blackburn boss John Eustace praised his side’s fighting spirit after a second-half strike from Sammie Szmodics salvaged a 1-1 Championship draw against Millwall at Ewood Park.

The result left Eustace still searching for his first win as Rovers boss but he found plenty to be positive about after the hosts hit back from Michael Obafemi’s shock 53rd-minute opener.

“It wasn’t a classic but again the lads have shown fantastic character and togetherness, to come from a goal behind against a difficult opponent,” said Eustace.

“I was pleased with the reaction. We dominated possession without really testing their keeper, but we worked hard and stuck together and it was a good point in the end.

“The boys since I’ve come in have been fantastic. We’re playing players who have come back from long injuries and they are running through brick walls for us. They are leggy and tired but they are fully committed to the cause.”

The point left Rovers in the thick of the relegation fight and the frustration was evident among some sections of the home support at the final whistle.

Szmodics proved a threat throughout but clear-cut chances were few and far between and Yasin Ayari’s speculative long-range effort in injury time summed up Rovers’ overall lack of threat.

Eustace added: “We have to show more belief in the final third but we are showing the right signs and with 10 games to go, it’s about not losing and getting the right result.

“There’s a lot of teams from around 10th spot down that can be involved in the relegation fight and it’s just vital we keep believing in what we’re doing.”

Millwall boss Neil Harris was satisfied with a point that extended his unbeaten run – since replacing Joe Edwards last month – to three games.

And Harris was particularly pleased with Obafemi who came off the bench to grab his first goal since signing his loan deal from Rovers’ Lancashire rivals Burnley.

Obafemi has struggled with fitness and illness since moving to The Den and Harris said: “I’m delighted for Mike.

“It was too risky to start him tonight because he’s our only fit striker coming back from injury, but I was really pleased with his performance.

“We’re really pleased with the points total of seven from three games. The glass is definitely half full and there are lots of positives that I’ve learned today.”

Harris insisted he would not attach any blame to Danny McNamara, whose blunder at the back allowed Szmodics in to sweep home Rovers’ equaliser.

Left-back McNamara has been one of the stand-out performers under Harris and the head coach said: “When you get your noses in front in a scrappy game at this stage of the season, you need to see the game out.

“Danny is disappointed but he will stand up and take responsibility and there were other things we didn’t do well in the build-up to the goal, so there is no individual blame culture.

“The big thing for me is that we came off tonight and we gave a really poor goal away but the players all mentioned that it was a really good point for us tonight.”

Sammie Szmodics salvaged a point for Blackburn but his 20th Championship goal of the season could not disguise the home side’s frustration after a tough 1-1 draw with Millwall at Ewood Park.

Szmodics pounced on a defensive error to fire home just past the hour mark, 10 minutes after Millwall substitute Michael Obafemi had lashed the Lions in front.

But the result extended Rovers’ dismal streak to just one win in 15 league games and leaves John Eustace still searching for his first victory in charge.

In contrast, Millwall’s point stretched their unbeaten run under Neil Harris to three matches and they will arguably have been the happier, despite the careless manner in which they tossed away over an hour of sterling defensive work.

Revitalised under the charge of their all-time record goalscorer, the visitors had the best chance of a first half that was almost devoid of incident, Ziam Flemming shooting into the side-netting from a tight angle after George Saville’s corner.

It was the only chance of any kind mustered in the first half by Harris’ men, who seemed happy to sit back and squeeze the momentum out of the home side, with Japhet Tanganga in particular outstanding at the back.

The Lions’ tactics could largely be said to have worked if the scattered boos that greeted the hosts at the half-time whistle was anything to go by.

Szmodics could do nothing with an effort from a tight angle after being put through by Tyrhys Dolan, then Szmodics returned the favour but his team-mate was caught offside.

The busy Dolan tried his luck from long range but his effort was blocked by Tanganga, who was also central to hacking away a dangerous Dom Hyam free-kick, before Flemming had his chance at the other end, just before the half-hour mark.

Jake Cooper denied Szmodics a shooting chance with an excellent interception, then Ryan Longman’s gutsy counter-attack trickled out to neatly sum up a forgettable first period.

Obafemi needed less than eight minutes to make an impression, tenaciously winning Billy Mitchell’s fine cross into the box and capitalising on poor Rovers defending to turn and fire a rising shot past home goalkeeper Leo Wahlstedt.

Amid evident frustration among the home fans, Rovers responded well, Szmodics forcing a save from Matija Sarkic before a desperate blunder from Millwall’s Danny McNamara led to their 63rd-minute equaliser.

The full-back failed to spot Rovers substitute Amor Sigurdsson when playing a square ball and the Iceland striker, who had only been on the field for two minutes, served Szmodics to sweep the leveller past Sarkic.

The excellent Tanganga headed away a dangerous cross under pressure from Szmodics, while Yasin Ayari’s long-range effort deep into injury time was palmed away by Sarkic as Millwall held on.