Cardiff City 2-0 Bristol City: Bluebirds beat Robins to ease relegation worries

The Bluebirds had not won consecutive home games since their first two matches of the campaign

Cardiff City eased their Championship relegation worries with a 2-0 win in the Severnside derby to end Bristol City's nine-game unbeaten league run.

The Bluebirds took the lead when Sory Kaba rose to head home on 51 minutes.

Bristol City might have led in the first half but for a superb save from Ryan Allsop and they fell 2-0 behind when Jaden Philogene fired home.

Cardiff's day was tarnished when Allsop was sent off for handball in stoppage time with Perry Ng going in goal.

However, the defender was able to save from Matty James' header as Cardiff held on for one of their most important wins of the season as they continue to put distance between themselves and the relegation zone.

Bluebirds boss Sabri Lamouchi enjoyed a full week to prepare for this contest and he made two changes to the side beaten at Norwich last weekend, with Callum O'Dowda and Mahlon Romeo dropping out for Kaba and Sheyi Ojo in an attacking line-up.

The Robins had the opposite to a calm week of preparation, having been beaten 3-0 at Ashton Gate in midweek in the FA Cup by Premier League champions Manchester City.

Robins boss Nigel Pearson made one change to the side who lost to Pep Guardiola's team, with Anis Mehmeti in for Nahki Wells.

While Cardiff had enjoyed preparation time this week, the visitors arrived in south Wales in red-hot form, unbeaten in nine league games and having won their past three fixtures against the Bluebirds - and on their past three visits to Cardiff City Stadium.

The Robins really should have taken the lead on 24 minutes when they were twice denied after Mark Sykes' powerful run, firstly as Cedric Kipre cleared off the line from Alex Scott before Mehmeti's powerful shot was saved by Allsop.

The Bluebirds are the lowest scorers in the division by a distance and despite a relatively bright start they only threatened through Ojo's long-range shot and Mark McGuinness' header from a corner, both of which were comfortably saved by Max O'Leary as the first half drifted by.

However, the hosts found the net six minutes after the restart as Kaba rose to head home Ryan Wintle's teasing cross as his precise finish gave O'Leary no chance.

Bristol City almost found an instant response, but Allsop tipped Mehmeti's freekick over the crossbar.

The Robins never looked close to their best and fell further behind when Philogene cut inside and fired home from 20 yards to beat O'Leary at his near post.

Cardiff's confidence grew with a two-goal cushion, but they created panic for themselves when Allsop was sent off for handball outside the area, with the hosts having used their three substitution windows.

That meant defender Ng ended the game with the goalkeeper's jersey on, but he saved a late header from James to preserve Cardiff's clean sheet and ensure their biggest home winning margin of the season.

Cardiff City manager Sabri Lamouchi told BBC Sport Wales:

"I am happy for us and happy for our fans, back-to-back wins at home, unbelievable emotion and a massive win for us.

"It was a great performance from my players, I am proud of how they played.

"The performance was a little bit lucky in the first half that we didn't concede a goal, but in the second half we controlled the game and we deserved to score... lovely score, lovely day.

"I didn't expect Perry Ng to go in goal [after the red card], it was absolutely his decision. I expected maybe Macca [Mark McGuinness] or Kion [Etete] a tall one, but he wanted to do it, so I said, 'ok let's go.'"

Bristol City manager Nigel Pearson said:

"We didn't move the ball quickly enough and couldn't find enough moments of quality.

"It was clear Cardiff were prepared to let us have the ball… it was a bit of a careless performance from us in some ways.

"But the players have been brilliant over a sustained period… it's a frustrating end to the week.

"It was one of those days. I haven't been critical of us in recent weeks. We lost the game today because we didn't defend with the urgency we have shown recently."