Ipswich Town’s conceded three soft goals to return to losing ways at Cardiff City tonight.
Junior Hoilett took advantage of some slack marking to volley the Welsh high-fliers into a 12th minute lead, with Omar Bogle netting seconds after Town kicked off the second period.
Bersant Celina offered brief hope with his coolly taken 90th minute goal, but Neil Warnock’s hosts sealed a deserved 3-1 win through Danny Ward’s stoppage-time goal.
The Blues now have a symmetrical record of seven wins and seven defeats, with this result continuing the season’s trend of coming up short against the division’s leading lights. They have now leaked 22 goals in 14 league games.
Town boss Mick McCarthy surprisingly made six changes to the team which started the 2-1 comeback win at struggling Burton.
Cardiff started on the front foot and took the lead when Nathaniel Mendez-Laing crossed from the left for opposite winger Hoilett to volley home at the far post. Both men had ben afforded far too much time and space.
Four minutes later, Bartosz Bialkowski made a fine close-range reaction stop from Bogle to prevent further damage.
Town worked their way back into the game though and had two good chances before the break. Tommy Smith, making his first start since the opening weekend, miscued at the far post after Joe Garner had flicked on a corner. Then Joe Ralls made a fine last-ditch block on Flynn Downes following good play by Celina.
The Blues switched off seconds after their own restart was quickly lumped forwards. Mendez-Laing and Tomlin brilliantly exchanged the ball rapidly, with Bogle coolly finishing one-on-one. Once again, Dominic Iorfa had been caught out of position.
Cardiff began to enjoy themselves as Paterson and Bogle fired straight at Bialkowski.
The game then drifted before Celina’s calm finish – his fifth of the season – briefly raised hope of an unlikely comeback.
It didn’t last long as Mendez-Laing out-paced Luke Chambers, his shot was parried by Bialkowski and, after Smith dallied, substitute Ward rammed home.
The Blues, whose two shots on target came late on, drop to 11th in the Championship table ahead of Saturday’s visit of Preston.
CARDIFF CITY (4-2-3-1): Etheridge; Paterson, Manga, Morrison (cpt), Peltier; Bamba, Ralls; Mendez-Laing, Tomlin (Damour 66), Hoilett (Feeney 76); Bogle (Ward 82).
Unused subs: Murphy, Halford, Bryson, Gounongbe.
IPSWICH TOWN (4-3-3): Bialkowski; Iorfa, Chambers (cpt), Smith, Knudsen; Skuse; Downes (Connolly 64),Bru (Sears 73); Ward, Garner (Waghorn 78), Celina.
Unused subs: Gerken, Webster, Spence, McGoldrick.
Attendance: 15,957
Referee: Oliver Langford
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