Boss Paul Trollope was full of praise for Rickie Lambert after the ex-England star's brace earned Cardiff a vital 2-1 win at Rotherham.
The Bluebirds climbed out of the relegation places after dramatically coming from behind to secure their first league away win of the campaign.
Rotherham had hit the front on the hour mark after Chelsea loan man Izzy Brown scored from Greg Halford's long throw.
The Millers appeared to be cruising to three points following a dominant opening 70 minutes.
But the Welshmen finally sprung into life when Lambert headed Peter Whittingham's cross home on 74 minutes.
The comeback was complete five minutes later when Lambert's shot deflected past Lee Camp.
A delighted Trollope said the experience of Lambert would be crucial to Cardiff climbing the table.
"Rickie Lambert has got the respect of the dressing because of what he has done in his career," he said.
"He has a real hunger to play for the club and we are delighted he has got off the mark. He is a real leader of men and we are really pleased with his contribution and his link up play.
"We have to get things correct around him to maximise his ability.
"I have a lot of pride in the players in how they came back from a difficult situation.
"The players showed great spirit, character and resilience.
"We worked hard in the week on the mental side of the game and we spoke about having the desire to win the game no matter what happened.
"The reaction to the second goal shows how hard the players are working. We are disappointed with the league position, but we have got quality to turn things around."
Rotherham boss Alan Stubbs said he players must keep working hard to turn things around.
"This is a tough one to take because we deserved more from the game than what we got," he said.
"I can't fault the players effort and desire because they are not getting the rewards that they deserve.
"We cannot afford to feel sorry for ourselves, the second goal sums up the bad luck we are having.
"Realistically we should be sitting on 12 to 13 points. We have to keep working hard and doing the work on the training ground."
Source: PA-WIRE
