 Marvin Elliott bullies in the match-winning header for the Robins |
A second-half strike from Marvin Elliott sealed the Severnside derby after Steve Thompson's early red card. The controversial sending off for the in-form Cardiff striker came after he made a 15th-minute tackle from behind.
The Bluebirds held on until the break despite long-range efforts from Lee Trundle, Bradley Orr and Lee Johnson.
But in the 57th minute Elliott rose from a melee to head home Lee Johnson's corner from close range, sending Bristol City third in the Championship.
Trundle - whose unhappy relationship with the Cardiff fans dominated the build-up to the game and who was baited mercilessly throughout - also claimed the goal, saying it had struck him on the way in.
Bristol City manager Gary Johnson:
"Sometimes you have to give credit to the opposition and I thought Cardiff reorganised well and closed us down quickly throughout the match. "All I can say about the sending off is that Adriano has some big stud marks down the back of his calf, which swelled to twice its size by the interval.
"Of course, that can happen from a good tackle, but the referee had a good view of the incident. We had to substitute Adriano in the second half because of the challenge so it cost us too.
"It's another great result, even though we didn't play particularly well. We defended when we had to and that's all part of being a consistent side."
Cardiff manager Dave Jones:
"I have to be very careful what I say about referees, but I felt we were let down. "I'll leave it to the assessor to deliver a verdict, but I believe the Thompson incident warranted a yellow card at most.
"The goalkeeper deliberately put his body between our player and the ball so there was bound to be contact between them.
"There were a couple of other big decisions that went against us, including an injury-time penalty appeal, which left us with nothing from a game in which we played very well."
Bristol City: Basso (Weale 66), Orr, Carey, McCombe, Fontaine, Sproule, Johnson, Elliott, McIndoe, Trundle (Noble 82), Showunmi.
Subs Not Used: Skuse, McAllister, Byfield.
Booked: Johnson, McCombe.
Goals: Elliott 57.
Cardiff: Schmeichel, Gunter, Loovens, Johnson, McNaughton (Fowler 89), Parry, Ledley, McPhail, Whittingham (Rae 60), Hasselbaink (MacLean 74), Thompson.
Subs Not Used: Oakes, Purse.
Sent Off: Thompson (15).
Booked: Loovens, Gunter, Ledley, Schmeichel.
Att: 15,753
Ref: Uriah Rennie (S Yorkshire).
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