Substitute Mathias Jorgensen scored twice in five minutes deep into the second half as struggling Blackburn Rovers came from behind to stun 10-man Millwall.

Victory would have put Millwall into the automatic promotion spots and an overhead kick from substitute Luke Cundle early in the second half put them on course for a fifth straight win.

But they had to play more than half an hour with a man fewer after defender Zak Sturge was sent off for bringing down Yuki Ohashi.

Blackburn took full advantage as Danish striker Jorgensen tapped in an equaliser in the 80th minute and then drilled home a winner that ensured a first victory in five games as Rovers climbed to 19th, crucially three points above the relegation zone.

For the home side, the shock loss pushed them down to fourth, now two points behind Middlesbrough in second.

Boro's draw at home to Bristol City at lunchtime had opened the door for Millwall to climb into the top two for the first time all season, but they did not manage a single shot on goal in the first half.

The only time either goalkeeper was worked was when Lions keeper Anthony Patterson tipped over Taylor Gardner-Hickman's free-kick.

Millwall upped the tempo after the interval and Barry Bannan forced a save out of Balazs Toth before Femi Azeez's in-swinging cross was met by Cundle 10 yards out with his overhead kick finding the bottom corner.

But momentum changed when Sturge was adjudged to have committed a professional foul on Ohashi 25 yards from goal.

Rovers sensed an opportunity and brilliant work from Ryan Alebiosu set up Jorgensen to level matters, but they did not stop there.

Tristan Crama had cleared a Rovers effort off the line before Ryoya Morishita slipped in a perfect ball for Jorgensen to score his fifth Blackburn goal since arriving from surprise Champions League outfit Norwegian side Bodo/Glimt in January.

It was a third win for Rovers in seven games under Michael O'Neill but Millwall will have to regroup quickly as they face trips to the two teams immediately above them in Ipswich Town and Middlesbrough in their next two games.

Millwall manager Alex Neil told BBC Radio London:

"The first half, we weren't really as fluent as I'd like us to be. At half-time, I changed the shape. That allowed us to get better pressure, we looked more threatening and we took the lead, deservedly.

"We then had an unbelievable chance through Camiel (Neghli) to make it 2-0. If that happens, the game is probably put to bed.

"Then we have the incident with the sending-off. I've watched it back and I didn't feel as though it was a sending-off. He was too far from goal, his touch took him away and we've got three recovering defenders.

"That was a poor decision and we then had two other chances before they got their first goal and they are really key moments.

"There were so many incidents in the game that if they work in your favour, you naturally come out with a positive result and too many of them, and some self-inflicted, were big, big calls in the game."

Blackburn Rovers head coach Michael O'Neill told BBC Radio Lancashire: "It's been a challenging week. We knew the significance of it with playing Portsmouth and then Oxford away and having to come here, which we knew would be difficult.

"The early part didn't go as we'd have planned but the reaction was very good.

"A big commitment from the players - we kept them down (south) between the games and the performance was excellent.

"Maybe I was a little harsh on them on Wednesday, we weren't as poor as I thought.

"It's often difficult in the Championship when you go behind, it's difficult to play against teams. We learned that lesson, we went behind today and we showed real character and real quality to win the game."