First half goals from Jay Bothroyd and Gabor Gyepes helped Cardiff City sink Ipswich Town at Portman Road.
Bothroyd and Gyepes on target as Cardiff see off Ipswich
First half goals from Jay Bothroyd and Gabor Gyepes were enough to give Cardiff City a 2-1 success over Ipswich Town at Portman Road.
Jon Stead pulled one back for Jim Magilton's side just before half-time, although their attempts to secure an equaliser were hindered when Ben Thatcher collected his second yellow card of the game on 68 minutes.
The win moves Dave Jones' Bluebirds up one place in the table ahead of Sheffield United, who claimed a last-gasp share of the spoils at Swansea City.
The game started at a frantic pace and the visitors took the lead after only eight minutes.
Ipswich defender Thatcher's poor clearance fell kindly to Paul Parry, whose cross found Wayne Routledge at the back post and his cut-back was coolly dispatched by Bothroyd from close range.
The goal seemed to inspire confidence in the visitors and they began to attack with real impetus, and Gavin Rae's drilled, 20-yard effort whistled inches wide.
Off the line
The hosts should have been 2-0 down in the 21st minute when Moritz Volz's woeful backpass sold Richard Wright short and Michael Chopra skipped round the goalkeeper only to have his shot superbly cleared off the line by Gareth McAuley.
But the visitors did double their lead in the 26th minute when another Parry cross eventually found centre-back Gyepes on the penalty spot and his drive found the net.
Cardiff manager Dave Jones was forced to introduce Eddie Johnson in place of Chopra, who hobbled off with an apparent hamstring injury, in the 31st minute.
And the home side struck back five minutes before the interval as striker Stead was on hand to nod home Jonathan Walters' precise cross and bring his side back into the game.
Jones will have rued his side conceding so close to half-time but it was the Bluebirds who came out of the tunnel determined to push for another goal.
Firstly Bothroyd was denied by a fine save from Wright when the Cardiff striker headed goalwards after some intricate wing play by Routledge.
Constant menace
Former Perugia striker Bothroyd was a constant menace and came close to scoring his second of the day but his volley from the edge of the area whistled over the bar.
Jim Magilton's men had made an instant recovery from the crushing defeat by Norwich in last weekend's East Anglia derby with victory over Bristol City in midweek, but they were again looking fragile.
And things went from bad to worse for the home side when Thatcher was dismissed for a second yellow card in quick succession.
Routledge had been getting the better of Thatcher all afternoon and when the ball broke to the on-loan Aston Villa winger, he was cynically hacked down by the Ipswich defender and referee Andy Woolmer had no hesitation in sending him off.
The Bluebirds were now well in the ascendancy and Routledge's cross-shot had to be tipped on to the bar by veteran Wright.
But Jones' visitors were unable to make the most of their numerical advantage with any further goals as Ipswich regrouped and defended stoically in the final period.
