Middlesbrough 2-3 Cardiff City: Cardiff hold on despite Boro fightback

Mark Harris' goal was his his first of the season

Cardiff City's excellent first-half display proved enough to secure a 3-2 win at the Riverside Stadium despite a late fightback from Middlesbrough.

The Bluebirds raced into a 3-0 lead at half-time as Callum O'Dowda, Mark Harris and Perry Ng all found the net.

Substitute Duncan Watmore pounced to give Boro hope on 76 minutes and Rodrigo Muniz headed home a second goal for the hosts 60 seconds later.

The win lifts Cardiff to 14th in the Championship, while Boro fall to 20th.

Cardiff's first-half display was as impressive as any they have produced in recent years and it was all the more satisfying for their supporters as the form books did not suggest a successful evening for the Bluebirds.

Cardiff City had not won in their previous five Championship fixtures so it was unsurprising that Steve Morison made five changes to the side beaten 2-0 at his former club Millwall.

Jack Simpson, Joe Ralls, Mark Harris and O'Dowda all returned, while striker Callum Robinson was handed a first league start as Morison rotated his entire front three.

Cardiff's recent form on the road has been poor and they made the long journey north winless in four away league games, having failed to score in their last three away games and having found the net only four times all season.

Though only one point better off than the Bluebirds heading into this game, Boro boss Chris Wilder would have been encouraged by his side's recent form at the Riverside where they were unbeaten in their previous six games.

Wilder unsurprisingly named the same starting XI that won the first Tees-Wear derby since 2018.

Free agent signing Massimo Luongo was added to the squad that beat Sunderland 1-0 eight days ago, with the Australian midfielder on the bench.

However, the hosts barely had an attacking kick in a first-half Cardiff dominated from start to finish.

They took the lead in the fourth minute when O'Dowda showed fantastic composure to finish neatly after his pace sent him clear following Robinson's intelligent through ball.

Harris' close-range header from Simpson's cross was saved expertly by goalkeeper Ben Roberts on 14 minutes as Cardiff pushed for a second.

It duly arrived as Harris made no mistake six minutes later when he fired powerfully past Roberts' despairing dive as he found the net from 20-yards, taking advantage of Robinson's pass after Andy Rinomhota pressed the hosts into conceding possession.

Cardiff were good value for their advantage, with Simpson heading wide as they almost scored a third.

Rodrigo Muniz was Boro's only real attacking outlet in a lacklustre display, but he headed wide with their only shot, on or off target, in the opening 45 minutes.

Cardiff's excellent display was capped with a fantastic team goal on the stroke of half-time as defender Ng danced his way through the home defence to fire home and cap a flowing team move.

The hosts were much more competitive in the second half and Matt Crooks should have done better when he glanced a header wide after Jonny Howson's cross.

However, two goals in 60 seconds totally changed the contest as Watmore finished Isaiah Jones' cross on 76 minutes before Muniz crashed home a header from Anfernee Dijksteel's centre.

It was the Brazilian forward who had the best chance to secure an unlikely point for the hosts, but he fired over under pressure, while Simpson blocked Jones' effort in stoppage time as Cardiff held firm.

Middlesbrough boss Chris Wilder:

"The defending was terrible. We were playing a team that weren't on a great run and we wanted to get out of the traps, but we certainly didn't do that.

"We made a fabulous fast start against Sunderland, where our intensity and decision-making were good, but the decision-making tonight, for all three goals, was really poor.

"If you give a team that's struggling a bit of a leg-up, then they fancy it. I think we would have fancied it if we'd been handed three goals on a plate, because that's what happened.

"There's so many individual errors. There was a nervousness and edginess about us then and it spread right through the stadium. That was expected and deserved."

Cardiff City boss Steve Morison:

"It was always going to be a different game in the second half, they were going to throw caution to the wind, but we were excellent in the first half.

"We've scored three goals away at Middlesbrough - it's a tremendous performance.

"We're not Man City and Liverpool so we're not going to control and dominate games for 90 minutes.

"We knew we could hurt them if we pressed at the right times and it was all about taking our chances when we got them.

"We did that in the first-half and unless you're a top, top team then it's just human nature to get a bit nervy and start defending a bit more."