Millwall 2-1 Cardiff City: Bluebirds see winning streak ended at The Den

Cardiff City saw their three-match winning run in the league come to an abrupt end following a 2-1 defeat by Millwall at The Den.

A bruising midfield battle ensured there was little to set pulses racing during a largely uneventful first half, with Cardiff largely left struggling to show the sort of coherency that had previously seen them earn three consecutive league wins.

And they were punished by an improved Millwall performance in the second half, with the Lions taking charge of the contest courtesy of goals from Murray Wallace and substitute Mason Bennett.

Joel Bagan bagged a late consolation, but Cardiff didn't really do enough to earn a share of the spoils in south London.

Having watched his side march their way to an impressive 4-0 win over Peterborough, Steve Morison opted for just one change for the trip to south London, Mark Harris starting in place of Isaak Davies.

But City largely failed to show any sign of repeating that performance, although they were perhaps unlucky not be given a penalty when Tommy Doyle's strike appeared to strike a Millwall hand just after the break.

While clearly holding plenty of affection for his former club, Morison admitted this week that he hoped he would be booed by the home fans on his return to The Den.

But there was little sign of him playing the pantomime villain ahead of kick-off, the manager was not the one who found himself on the end of the home crowd's hostility. Instead it was Cardiff's decision to take a knee that irked the home support early on.

On the pitch, there was precious little for either set of supporters to get excited about during the opening exchanges, with both sides labouring to win what was an industrial midfield battle.

Cardiff struggled to recapture the