Relief for Cardiff as the Bluebirds sink Birmingham to secure first win since November

A moment of magic from Perry Ng sees the Bluebirds move three points clear of the drop zone while Blues fail to find third victory in a row.

It was an opening 45 minutes to forget for the two sides, however, with Blues’ recent threat in front of goal which saw them score six goals in their last two matches was not to be seen from the off. A first glimpse of goal fell to Auston Trusty, a short spell of possession in the final third led to Juninho Bacuna lofting a ball back into the danger zone but the USMNT international could only divert his header wide of the target.

New Cardiff boss Sabri Lamouchi meanwhile has looked to rectify his side’s deficiencies in front of goal with new signing Sory Kaba from FC Midtjylland, the Guinean firing narrowly wide with an ambitious acrobatic effort from the edge of the box failing to get the better of John Ruddy.

With set-pieces likely to be a major avenue for either side to find the opening, Ryan Wintle posed a threat for the visitors, a short corner routine by the Cardiff captain finding Cedric Kipré at the back post but his header was returned across the face of goal. A golden opportunity for the Bluebirds.

Blues persevered with long balls up to frontman Lukas Jutkiewicz with the tactic almost proving fruitful five minutes before the break. The no.10 laid the ball off perfectly to fellow forward Scott Hogan to play Maxime Colin in behind but his lofted ball back across goal was turned behind by a grey shirt. Another example with defences on top while both attacks looked devoid of ideas – an all too similar saying for Bluebirds with a league low of just 20 goals so far this campaign coming into the fixture.

The second half, however, began in a similar fashion to that of the first. Lukas Jutkiewicz at the forefront of the hosts’ attacks, this time having a chance of his own but his header was tame and easily collected by Ryan Allsop.

Kaba, looking for back-to-back goals following his first against Middlesbrough last time out, continued to cause problems in the opposition box, once again opting for a volleying effort level with the penalty spot which whistled over the crossbar.

As the game entered its final stages, Cardiff looked the more likely to steal all three points. It was something spectacular which would do just that for Lamouchi’s side, a free-kick on the edge of the area dispatched perfectly into the top-left hand corner by Perry Ng for his second of the season to send the away end into raptures.

As the hosts looked to find a late equaliser in the dying embers, substitute Callum Robinson pounced on the counter, cutting past Manny Longelo before catching Ruddy off guard with a powerful strike to his near post with the former Wolves shot-stopper unable to keep the ball from finding the back of the net to double Cardiff’s advantage and secure their first win since November and moment of comfort as they desperately look to avoid the drop.

Line-Ups:

BCFC: Ruddy (c), Colin, Sanderson, Dean, Trusty, Bielik, Hannibal, Bacuna, Chong, Jutkiewicz, Hogan. (Subs: Etheridge (GK), Friend, Longelo, James, Gardner, Hall, Deeney.

Cardiff: Allsop, Romeo, Kipré, McGuinness, Ng, O’Dowda, Sawyers, Wintle (c), Rinomhota, Etete, Kaba. (Subs: Alnwick (GK), Simpson, Ralls, Ojo, Philogene, Robinson, Wickham.)

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