By Gareth James

Steve Morison has told his Cardiff City players to harden up after they fell to their third defeat in four matches at his former club.

The Bluebirds manager was angered by another punchless display in a 2-0 loss at Millwall.

Cardiff have now scored one goal in their last five games and picked up just two points – relegation form that has seen them fall to one place above the relegation zone.

“We need to get rid of this bit of a soft underbelly we’ve got,” said Morison.

“Once we concede we don’t seem to be able to fight back.

“There were chances from both sides. They had a couple of moments in the first half, they had a couple of moments second half. We hit the post and they go down the other end and score. It’s a game of fine margins.

 

FULL-TIME! Millwall 2-0 Cardiff City. Can’t be any complaints about that result #CCFC #Bluebirds https://t.co/I3zv6NgUed

— Glen Williams (@GlenWilliams12) September 3, 2022

“The second goal was the most disappointing out of all of them. It gave them the icing on the cake when we could have gone down there and got one right at the death. It’s a disappointing goal. Not best pleased.”

Charlie Cresswell came off the bench to set Millwall on their way to ending a run of three straight defeats.

It was the centre-back’s third goal of the season – following up his opening-day double against Stoke – while it also softened the blow of the Lions losing their captain Shaun Hutchinson to injury, with Benik Afobe’s late strike making sure of the points.

It was another frustrating day for the Bluebirds, who struck the woodwork twice as their winless run in the Sky Bet Championship was extended to five games.

Morison added: “I’m not worrying about the fact we have had only two draws in the last five (games).

 

Shame we couldn’t secure any points this afternoon but proud to have made my Cardiff debut. ⁰Thanks so much for your support 👏🏽⁰On to next week at home 👊🏽💙 pic.twitter.com/wpX2xHz23K

— Callum Robinson (@CallumRobinson7) September 3, 2022

“We look at the performances. Today, on the whole, it wasn’t good enough. For example, you can’t say the Luton performance wasn’t good, because it was good, we just lost the game.”

Cardiff’s former Millwall defender Mahlon Romeo was booed and jeered throughout but Morison added: “He will have to deal with it and get on with it. That’s life.

“It’s a lot easier to do it when you [Millwall fans] win the game as well.”

Former Millwall player Morison added: “I think he handled it amazingly well from the first minute until the end, but this shouldn’t be the focus of this conversation.

“The focus should be purely talking about football. To be honest, I didn’t expect to be having this conversation – I hadn’t really thought about it. I thought he handled it very well.”

Cardiff came within a whisker of going ahead when Sheyi Ojo prodded Niels Nkounkou’s low ball against a post from point-blank range.

 

Cardiff City boss Steve Morison has told Mahlon Romeo he has to “deal with” the sort of hostile reception the defender received at former club Millwall #BBCFootball

— BBC Sport Wales (@BBCSportWales) September 3, 2022

Cardiff were then cursing their luck again just after the hour mark when half-time substitute Mark Harris cut inside from the left before his placed effort ran against the far post.

The Lions made the most of their good fortune by taking the lead in the 63rd minute when Scott Malone, only just on himself, played in a corner that Cresswell rose to meet and head home.

Nkounkou continued to look lively on the left and he almost forced an equaliser when his low shot had to be pushed away by Millwall keeper Bartosz Bialkowski at his near post.

The hosts’ victory was then sealed by Afobe in the final minute as he ran on to a long ball before beating Nkounkou and lifting the ball over Allsop with a neat finish.