Camiel Neghli's first goal for Millwall gave them a win over Middlesbrough that keeps the Lions in the play-offs hunt with Boro
Camiel Neghli scored his first Millwall goal to ensure the Lions' late challenge for a play-off place continued after a 1-0 win against top-six rivals Middlesbrough.
The Algerian midfielder pounced in the second half to take his team level on points with Boro, who blew the chance to reclaim a spot in the play-off places with a toothless performance.
Michael Carrick's side bossed the first half but Millwall's industry ensured their chances were kept to a minimum as Boro suffered a second consecutive defeat.
Millwall came out of the blocks strongly in the second half and two substitutes were instrumental in the goal, with a Femi Azeez cross being cleared as far as Neghli who swept it home for the home side's third win in a week.
Millwall were in the bottom half at the end of March but wins over Portsmouth, Sheffield United and now Boro have sent them shooting up to the brink of the top six in ninth and on to 60 points - the same as Boro and seventh-placed West Bromwich Albion.
Bristol City and Coventry City occupy fifth and sixth place respectively, with the Sky Blues only two points clear of Millwall, although they have a game in hand and a better goal difference.
But this was the Lions' 16th league victory of the season and 11th by a 1-0 scoreline.
Boro seized the initiative in the first half, playing the slicker football, but Millwall were typically awkward and hard-working as Joe Bryan hurled himself in the way of Delano Burgzorg's shot and Morgan Whittaker's effort was too tame to trouble Lions goalkeeper Lukas Jensen.
For all that Boro were the better side, the closest either team came to breaking the deadlock in the opening 45 minutes came inside the first minute as Bryan's cross found the head of the unmarked Tristan Crama, only for him to head over.
Neil clearly revved his players up during the break as they came out looking like a different prospect as Mark Travers threw himself full length to deny George Honeyman and Macauley Langstaff's close-range header was blocked.
Millwall manager Alex Neil made a triple substitution just before the hour mark, and it paid off in some style.
Femi Azeez was one of those replacements, and he created the winner for another of the newcomers, Neghli.
Azeez drove at the Boro right flank and his driven cross was tamely played out by Rav van den Berg as far as Neghli, lurking by the penalty spot, who fired home to send The Den into raptures.
Boro tried to rally but they were restricted to shots from outside the area as Millwall players frantically closed them down.
Finn Azaz saw one attempt deflect just over the bar and another flash inches wide while substitute Marcus Forss had an attempt saved by Jensen.
Boro's defeat drops them to eighth, and means they'll be four points off the pace if Coventry City beat Hull City on Monday night.
Millwall manager Alex Neil told BBC Radio London:
"Middlesbrough were better than us in the first half, and I was really disappointed with our first-half performance.
"Setbacks, not playing well in the first half and things that go against us in games don't seem to deter us and stop any momentum. We try to find the next solution, which we did."
"I've done the play-offs three times and managed to be successful each time, which means I've got vast experience of getting into them. We've got a lot of work to do, still chasing teams above us, which is tough.
"We've got four games against really tough opponents but this week has given us an opportunity that otherwise we wouldn't have had."
Middlesbrough head coach Michael Carrick told BBC Radio Tees:
"It's a tough place to come and you could see that by the 20 minutes they had in the second half - that's what they can do, make it difficult. They had that spell and made the most of it.
"We did well to defuse the atmosphere and their pressure in the first half, but didn't have enough around the box to create the chance that we should have. That was disappointing and they capitalised when they were on top and had a bit of momentum.
"We gave silly free-kicks away, which we knew they wanted to put the ball in our box and we couldn't get to grips with that for 20 minutes.
"We were really good in the first half but that's not enough to win games. It gave us the platform to go and make the difference, and we just couldn't find that.
"It's a setback. It's this time of year and results are important but we're not done, by any stretch. There's still a lot can happen."
