Cardiff City 0-1 West Bromwich Albion: Jeremy Sarmiento strikes for Baggies
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Jeremy Sarmiento's goal was his just his second since joining West Brom on loan from Brighton
West Bromwich Albion moved up to third in the Championship as Jeremy Sarmiento's fabulous second-half strike proved the difference at Cardiff City.
Sarmiento came closest to scoring in a goalless first half with a shot that hit the post after a swift counter-attack from the visitors.
The Ecuadorian attacking midfielder, on loan from Brighton, then got the only goal of the game for the Baggies with a fine whipped effort which dipped and curled into the far corner.
Cardiff struggled to create many genuine chances as they searched for an equaliser and were limited to long-range shots from Josh Bowler and Rubin Colwill.
Albion's win closes the gap on Ipswich Town in the second automatic promotion spot to seven points, but Kieran McKenna's men have a chance to restore their advantage at home to Millwall on Wednesday.
As for Cardiff, defeat slips them to eighth in the table, three points adrift off the play-off places.
They had briefly climbed into the top six on Saturday with a dramatic late comeback win at Preston - but lasted only a couple of hours there after Albion won at The Hawthorns to end Ipswich's 12-match unbeaten run.
As disappointed as Erol Bulut and his players will be to lose, being in their current position still represents a huge improvement on the previous two seasons after Cardiff's successive battles against relegation.
For West Brom, meanwhile, six points from their two tricky matches suggests Carlos Corberan's side are in promising form as the promotion race intensifies with the looming festive fixture pile-up.
This game had the makings of an intriguing encounter as seventh met fifth in the Welsh capital but, despite starting at a lively pace, it lost some of its momentum when the visitors were dealt an early setback, losing captain Jed Wallace with what looked like a shoulder injury.
Albion still posed a threat and came close to taking the lead after half an hour when Grady Diangana led a rapid counter-attack from a Cardiff corner to find Sarmiento, whose shot rolled off the post.
Cardiff then had a chance of their own soon when Bowler weaved between opposition defenders before seeing his shot smothered by Alex Palmer.
From that point, neither side managed to create any clear-cut opportunities but, fortunately for Albion, Sarmiento only needed half an opening and it came in the 50th minute.
After darting down the left wing, he cut on to his right foot and, from an unfavourable angle, lashed a shot which arced over Cardiff goalkeeper Alex Runarsson and into the far corner.
The Baggies should have doubled their lead after 76 minutes but substitute Brandon Thomas-Asante headed over from close range.
Cardiff pressed for an equaliser but, other than speculative long-range efforts from Colwill, Bowler and Manolis Siopis, they did not really trouble Albion keeper Palmer.
Cardiff manager Erol Bulut:
"West Brom are one of the best-organised teams defensively. We tried hard but the lucky side were West Brom with the lucky shot.
"There were not many chances on either side. Apart from that shot, it was a typical game for a draw.
"We watched it back and our goalkeeping coach said it was a really good shot with the curve. We should have not allowed the shot.
"We tried but offensively we should create more. The way how we play and approach the game, we try our best. We don't put our heads down."
West Bromwich Albion head coach Carlos Corberan:
"It was the total opposite to the Ipswich win. The result was the consequence of the team fighting with maturity.
"In the first half it was difficult for us to impose our style. It didn't help us to create chances but we didn't concede many chances.
"We didn't get frustrated and fixed the details in the second half. We started to attack more, put the ball out wide and find our wingers.
"We had to finish the game with a lot of defensive spirit to get the three points."