Cardiff City have come away with all three points as they beat Stoke City 2-1 this afternoon.
The Bluebirds took an early lead through Kion Etete, who headed home from a corner to score his first goal since September.
Stoke should've been level ten minutes later, as Niall Ennis found himself alone in the box, however the striker fired wide.
Cardiff made Stoke pay as Karlan Grant doubled The Bluebirds' lead. A strong finish on his weaker left foot saw Cardiff rewarded for a strong start.
Stoke got one back just before half-time, through Jun-ho Bae. After a brilliant stop from Horvath, the Stoke winger nicked in to score his first Potters goal.
Horvath was called into action early in the second half, as he was forced into a save before recovering to catch the second effort.
Cardiff held on after late pressure from the visitors to secure all three points.
Player Ratings:
Ethan Horvath (7.5) - Built on a very good performance in midweek. Made some really good save. Unfortunate for the goal. Distribution wasn't the best.
Perry Ng (7) - Held his own against a good winger. Strong in his battles and dependable as always. Put in a nice cross or two as well.
Dimitrios Goutas (7) - Dimi was very solid. Late on he seemed to be like a brick wall, alongside Phillips. Good on the ball, and altogether a good afternoon.
Nat Phillips (8) - Just getting better every week. So calm at the back and really solid. Dominant in the air once again. Working well with Goutas.
Josh Wilson-Esbrand (7.5) - His best outing in a Cardiff shirt thus far. Got forward really well, Wilson-Esbrand and Grant seemed to have a good understanding of eachother. Good on the ball.
Manolis Siopis (8) - An absolute engine. Didn't stop running until that final whistle. Very good on the ball as well.
Joe Ralls (8) MOTM - Couldn't have gone much better for The Bluebirds skipper. Set piece delivery was brilliant. Worked so hard both offensively and defensively, proved his worth, for sure.
Rubin Colwill (6.5) - Made Grant's goal through his strength. Otherwise I thought he was relitavely quiet, still oozed quality as usual, just quieter than recent weeks.
Josh Bowler (7.5) - An important game for Bowler and he played up to that. Had Thompson on toast in the first half, was quieter in the second half. Worked well with Colwill.
Karlan Grant (8) - Got the goal he's thoroughly deserved for weeks, took it really well. His pace is just a game changer for Cardiff. Just picked up where he left off in midweek, hopefully his injury isn't too serious.
Kion Etete (7.5) - Buzzing for Etete. Needs to build on another decent performance this afternoon. Took his goal well.
Subs:
Ryan Wintle (6) - Definitely tried when he came on. Ran himself into the ground. Didn't do a great deal on the ball, but we didn't have much of it when he was on.
Jamilu Collins (6) - Grew into the game after a shaky start. Was against a very good winger in his defence.
Yakou Meite (5) - Got in some really good positions but didn't do anything with it. Looked a bit slow out there.
David Turnbull (6) - Similar story to Wintle. Tried when he came on and dug in at the back.
Famara Diedhiou (5.5) - Lost the ball in some poor areas. A hard game to come on up front really as Cardiff were purely defending when he came on.
Summary:
A really important win for The Bluebirds, as we need to build on it ahead of a big game next weekend.
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