Cardiff City 0-2 Middlesbrough: Boro defeat ends Mick McCarthy tenure

Middlesbrough had failed to score in four of their past five away Championship matches

Former Cardiff City boss Neil Warnock proved the final straw for Bluebirds boss Mick McCarthy, who stepped down following this eighth straight defeat.

Cardiff are now on their worst-ever run and have been beaten in their past six home games, also a new club record.

Middlesbrough took a deserved lead when Andraz Sporar scored from the penalty spot after Mark McGuinness' handball.

Martin Payero made the result safe with a smart 73rd-minute finish after Aden Flint hit the crossbar for Cardiff.

The Bluebirds did improve after half-time but there can be no denying they were second best in a game where their supporters again chanted against their own manager, with cries of "you're getting sacked in the morning" ringing out at Cardiff City Stadium.

It did not take that long, with the club announcing just over an hour after the final whistle that McCarthy and assistant Terry Connor had "left the club by mutual agreement and with immediate effect".

The hosts headed into this contest on the back of seven defeats on the spin, their worst run since 1934 and a sparse crowd saw McCarthy make three changes to the side beaten at Fulham in midweek, with Wales striker Kieffer Moore dropped to the bench.

Popular former Bluebirds boss Warnock made two changes to his team as he returned to the Welsh capital for the first time since the return of fans, with both Warnock and former Cardiff captain, defender Sol Bamba, receiving a warm ovation.

Middlesbrough have been in better form than Cardiff and made a confident start, with both Paddy McNair and Payero firing wide and Sporar and Marcus Tavernier seeing efforts blocked.

The Bluebirds remarkably have failed to score a single first-half goal this season and never really looked like altering that unwanted statistic at the 14th time of asking as Warnock's side enjoyed much of the possession.

Mick McCarthy (left) succeeded Neil Harris as Cardiff boss in January 2021

Bamba came close to scoring against his former club, forcing Alex Smithies to save his header from a corner, before the visitors' pressure finally told on 35 minutes when Mark McGuinness handled Sporar's shot and the Slovenian slammed home the penalty.

Middlesbrough should have headed into half-time with a greater advantage, but Matt Crooks fired wide after going clean through with just Smithies to beat, while Smithies denied Uche Ikpeazu's near-post effort.

McCarthy replaced defender Perry Ng with Moore at the interval and the change of shape improved the hosts, who might have equalised on 53 minutes, only for striker James Collins to shoot straight at goalkeeper Joe Lumley.

Flint also went close for Cardiff when he clipped the crossbar with a header following Ryan Giles' dangerous cross, while Payero curled just wide at the other end as Cardiff committed players forward.

Paddy McNair fired against the crossbar as the visitors began to exert control again and they secured their first away win in five attempts against Cardiff when Payero took advantage of some ponderous defending and fired home.

The goal again prompted an angry response from Cardiff's fans, with McCarthy having presided over their worst losing run in history and showing no signs of being able to halt their slide - and only Smithies preventing a heavier defeat to mark the end of his reign.