The Bluebirds kept themselves firmly in the promotion picture after a superb win over play-off rivals Middlesbrough on Saturday. Victory for City keeps them sixth in the Championship; Simon Glanville takes a look at what happened elsewhere in the division.
There seems to be no stopping Newcastle United in their quest for an instant return to the Premier League, as Barnsley found out in the harshest of fashions on Saturday. The league leaders took some time to get into their stride at St. James' Park, but after Tykes' keeper Luke Steele was sent off on forty-two minutes, the Magpies ran riot and hit the visitors for six. Peter Lovenkrands and Danny Guthrie bagged braces, whilst Jonas Gutierrez and Kevin Nolan also got in on the act, to take Newcastle eight points clear at the top. Daniel Bogdanovic did get a consolation for Barnsley, but defeat leaves them seven points short of the play-offs and the Bluebirds.
Nottingham Forest moved back into second spot after they beat Swansea City at the City Ground thanks to a last-minute winner. Luke Chambers capitalised on Dorus de Vries' mistake to head home the only goal of the game and move Forest twelve points above Cardiff in the process. With the Swans losing, the Bluebirds have closed the gap on them to just four points, with a game in hand also up the sleeve.
Neil Warnock made an instant impact at Queens Park Rangers as his new side stunned West Bromwich Albion to claim the three points at Loftus Road. Goals from Jay Simpson and Matthew Connolly gave the Super Hoops a two goal advantage, and although Chris Brunt halved the deficit for the visitors, Akos Buzsaky made sure of the points with a late third for the home side. A win for Rangers has seen them ease their relegation fears and move three points clear of the drop zone, whilst the Baggies have lost ground in the automatic promotion race and now lead City by eleven points.
Leon Clarke was the two-goal hero as Sheffield Wednesday caused a surprise by beating Leicester City to improve their survival chances. Clarke's goals either side of the break at Hillsborough keep the Owls level on points with Crystal Palace in twenty-first, whilst the Bluebirds have moved to within two points off the fifth-place Foxes following their defeat.
Blackpool remain two points behind City in seventh after they edged out Roy Keane's struggling Ipswich Town at Bloomfield Road. Jason Euell scored the only goal of the game - his first since October - to seal the three points for the Tangerines. Keane will know his Ipswich side need to improve greatly as they are now just a point above the drop zone.
In-form Coventry City remain three points behind the top six and Cardiff after they won at bottom-club Peterborough United. Jon Stead scored the only goal of the game to move the Sky Blues up to eighth, while the Posh continue to look doomed and are now thirteen points adrift of safety.
Paul Hart got life at Crystal Palace off to a good start after seeing his side defeat play-off hopefuls Sheffield United at Selhurst Park. Former Bluebird Alan Lee scored the only goal of the game to keep Palace just above the bottom three, albeit on goal difference. Defeat for the Blades leaves them four points behind Cardiff and a top six place.
Billy Sharp and Jay Emmanuel-Thomas scored two each as Doncaster Rovers stunned Bristol City at Ashton Gate with a five-star performance. Bradley Orr also grabbed a brace for the hosts but also scored an own goal, as Donny won out 5-2 winners to move above the Robins and to within eight points of the Bluebirds. Gary Johnson's Bristol have struggled of late and this defeat leaves them in the bottom-half, some ten points adrift of the top-six.
Lowly Plymouth Argyle needs wins to survive and they didn't get one last weekend after being held at home by Darren Ferguson's Preston North End. Sean St. Ledger put the visiting Lilywhites ahead, but Damien Johnson equalised from the spot to earn a point for the Pilgrims. Plymouth are now seven points from safety, whilst Preston are nine points behind City and the top six.
In-form Derby County are now five points above the relegation zone after they beat Watford at Pride Park and leapfrogged the Hornets in the process. Michael Tonge and Chris Porter scored the goals to secure a comfortable 2-0 win, moving the Rams up to fourteenth. Unlike Derby, Watford have struggled recently and are now just two points above the bottom three.
