Cardiff City 5-0 Rotherham United
- Published
Cardiff City forward Kenneth Zohore has scored four goals in his last five games
Cardiff City romped to a third successive win as they thrashed Championship bottom side Rotherham.
Kadeem Harris' curling shot gave the hosts an early lead before Junior Hoilett seized on a poor back-pass to put the Bluebirds 2-0 up at half-time.
Neil Warnock's side cut loose at that point, with Craig Noone's volley and an emphatic finish from Kenneth Zohore.
A nonchalant lob from Zohore completed Cardiff's rout, their biggest since a 6-0 win over Bristol City, external in 2010.
It was a satisfying reunion for Warnock, who had saved the Millers from relegation last season.
This year, however, the Yorkshire club are now 15 points adrift of safety and seem destined for the drop.
Their decline is in sharp contrast to Cardiff's transformation under Warnock, who were second from bottom of the Championship when he took over in October but now find themselves in the top half of the table.
Following back-to-back wins at promotion contenders Leeds and Derby, the Bluebirds entered this fixture as close to the play-off places as they were to the relegation zone - with some even daring to suggest a late charge for the top six could be possible.
Beginning the rout
Rhys Healey, who spent part of this season on loan with Newport County, was taken off on a stretcher in the victory
There was further cause for optimism as Cardiff took an early lead against Rotherham, with Harris' shot just inside the penalty area arcing beautifully into the far corner to give the diminutive winger his third goal in two games.
If the hosts were functional for the majority of the first half, their second goal shortly before the interval prompted a period of total dominance.
Striker Rhys Healey was taken off on a stretcher with what appeared to be a serious injury and, within a couple of minutes, his replacement Hoilett had seized on a loose back pass from Rotherham's Ben Purrington to tap into an empty net.
Already despondent, that goal seemed to extinguish any vague hope the Championship's bottom side had of salvaging something from this game.
They could do little to stop Cardiff's third, as Harris' jinking run and inviting cross teed up Noone to volley in with a flourish at the back post.
Zohore's whipped finish from a tight angle made it 4-0, and the muscular Danish striker added a final sparkle to the scoreline when, without breaking stride, he elegantly lifted the ball over Rotherham goalkeeper Richard O'Donnell and into the net.
Cardiff City manager Neil Warnock:
"I didn't feel good about the game with it being my own club and the situation they're in. I'd rather be playing Newcastle and Brighton and teams like that because you can't really win.
"I asked the lads to be professional and I was glad to see the second goal go in at half-time and even more happy to see the third one go in because I knew that was the killer.
"I wanted us to step up a gear at half-time. I was disappointed in four or five, which I told them about, and I thought the four or five responded and I thought we were a lot better in the second half."
Rotherham United interim manager Paul Warne:
"I had a makeshift team. I had three of my best players out this week. I thought the first half was poor - there wasn't much in it.
"We had that error just before half-time. I'm not criticising him [Ben Purrington] but to go in 2-0 down made the team talk a little bit different.
"The players are low, possibly not as low as me. They're resilient, try to wash it off and blame it on others. I have to pick them up again.
"To get drummed like that is embarrassing for the club. The fans don't deserve that and I apologise for it."