Millwall secured a vital win at Birmingham thanks to a Ben Thompson brace.

Thompson, re-called form his Portsmouth loan-spell in January, struck twice in the first half to end a run of four straight defeats for Neil Harris' men.

The importance of the crucial victory was enhanced after fellow relegation contenders Rotherham struck late to sink QPR which leaves the Lions just one point above the bottom three.

Millwall, whose priority this season is survival welcome Brighton on Sunday in the FA Cup quarter final, were watched from the stands by Gulls boss Chris Hughton.

Counter Attack

The opening goal shortly before the quarter hour mark came from a poor Birmingham free-kick.

A swift counter involving Thompson and Lee Gregory resulted in the midfielder firing low from 16 yards.

Dave Martin, who was preferred to Jordan Archer between the sticks, was then instantly called into action as Birmingham's much coveted Che Adams forced a save at the keepers near post. into a smart near-post.

Harris' men should've doubled their lead on 190 minutes, but on loan winger Ben Marshall chipped over the bar with just the keeper to beat after some sloppy play by the Blues' backline.

The lead did come, and again it was through poor defending.

Thompson this time cutting in from the right before stroking past Lee Camp after taking advantage of the time and space he was allowed.

Clean Sheet Mentality

Harris has been urging his men to get back to 'clean sheet mentality'; and that's exactly what they did second half.

Happy with their lead, the Lions soaked up the pressure from Garry Monk's men and were only threatened from distance.

Connor Mahoney's drive was disallowed for offside soon after the re-start, and a Gary Gardner wide effort the closest to troubling Millwall.

Harris can now look forward to the FA Cup tie with a little more excitement, although he'll still know there's a huge fight on his hands to stay in the second tier.