Michael Chopra and Jay Emmanuel-Thomas scored as Cardiff City maintained their pursuit of the Championship's top two with an impressive win at in-form Hull.
Cardiff striker Chopra headed Kevin McNaughton's cross past Hull keeper Brad Guzan from close-range to score his third goal in as many matches.
Hull hitman Matt Fryatt missed chances but sub Emmanuel-Thomas squeezed in his first Cardiff goal to secure the win.
Cardiff's victory ensured the one-point gap between them and Swansea remained.
And it was important that The Bluebirds won on a day when when Premier League promotion rivals QPR, Swansea and Norwich all won.
But Cardiff's first victory at Hull for 13 years ensured the Welsh club maintained a good run of just one defeat in their 11 league games since New Year's Day.
Record-signing Chopra inspired the triumph with his 11th goal of the season before on-loan Arsenal forward Emmanuel-Thomas made the points safe with a stunning effort in injury time to end Hull's nine-match unbeaten run at The KC Stadium.
Cardiff striker Jay Bothroyd had the ball in the net after 15 minutes only to see the flag raised for offside.
And the Bluebirds top scorer was again at the centre of attention just after as he went down in the penalty area, only to see his appeals waved away by referee Paul Tierney.
The first real moment of threat to Cardiff came after 28 minutes as Fryatt forced goalkeeper Tom Heaton to tip his effort around a post with Bothroyd called on to clear Gerrard's goal-bound header off the line from the resulting corner.
Cardiff had a second reasonable penalty appeal dismissed after Chopra had been brought down.
Boss Dave Jones insists Cardiff 'deserved' win
In the last action of the opening 45 minutes, Cardiff centre-back Dekel Keinan had a header blocked on the line by Corry Evans.
Gerrard was forced off by injury at half-time, but his replacement centre-half Jack Hobbs was eased into the action as both sides struggled to pose an attacking threat after the restart.
The first real chance of the second half came in the 65th minute and it was one which effectively settled the encounter, with the Hull defence's marking going awry going missing for the first time in the game.
McNaughton sent in a cross from out wide and Chopra was afforded plenty of space to head past Guzan at the near post.
The Tigers responded and substitute Nick Barmby fired a good chance over the bar from six yards four minutes later.
Hull pressed hard for a late equaliser but continued to lack the killer instinct in the final third.
Cardiff substitute Emmanuel-Thomas then showed them how it was done when he weaved his way through to finish well in injury time to wrap up victory.
Live text and stats
Saturday, 26 February 2011
Npower Championship
Home Team
Score
Away Team
Time
Hull
0-2
Cardiff
FT
(HT 0-0)
Chopra 65
Emmanuel-Thomas 90+3
Hull
34 Guzan
03 Dawson
16 Chester
25 Gerrard (Hobbs 46 yellow card)
30 Rosenior
08 Harper (Devitt 81)
22 Koren
28 C Evans
12 Fryatt
23 Simpson
33 Mclean (Barmby 65)
Substitutes
29 Mannone,
04 Hobbs,
14 Cairney,
18 Barmby,
20 Devitt,
24 Solano,
37 Belaid
Cardiff
22 Heaton
02 McNaughton
05 Hudson
12 Keinan
14 Quinn
07 Whittingham
10 McPhail yellow card
24 Ramsey
08 Chopra (Burke 80)
09 Bothroyd
39 Bellamy yellow card (Emmanuel-Thomas 80)
Substitutes
01 Marshall,
03 Naylor,
04 Rae,
11 Burke,
23 Blake,
25 Emmanuel-Thomas,
16 Parkin
Ref: TierneyAtt: 21,441
HULL
CARDIFF
Possession
Hull50%
Cardiff50%
Attempts on target
Hull10
Cardiff7
Attempts off target
Hull2
Cardiff1
Corners
Hull8
Cardiff5
Fouls
Hull11
Cardiff8
Final Result
Full Time
90:00+4:23 The referee signals the end of the game.
90:00+2:49 GOAL - Jay Emmanuel-Thomas:Hull 0 - 2 Cardiff A goal is scored by Jay Emmanuel-Thomas from inside the six-yard box to the bottom right corner of the goal. Hull 0-2 Cardiff.
90:00+2:01 Foul by Jack Hobbs on Mark Hudson, free kick awarded. Tom Heaton takes the indirect free kick.
89:50 Aaron Ramsey is flagged offside by the assistant referee. Indirect free kick taken by Bradley Guzan.
88:09 Free kick awarded for a foul by Kevin McNaughton on Nick Barmby. The ball is swung over by Corry Evans, Andy Dawson takes
a shot.
86:29 Liam Rosenior takes a shot. Blocked by Dekel Keinan.
84:53 Peter Whittingham takes a short corner.
84:24 Jack Hobbs gives away a free kick for an unfair challenge on Jay Bothroyd. Aaron Ramsey takes the free kick.
83:46 Matt Fryatt takes a shot. Comfortable save by Tom Heaton.
82:54 Centre by Liam Rosenior, clearance by Peter Whittingham.
81:32 Jack Hobbs gives away a free kick for an unfair challenge on Jay Bothroyd. Aaron Ramsey crosses the ball from the free kick
right-footed from right wing.
81:32 Booking Booking for Jack Hobbs for unsporting behaviour.
80:26 Free kick awarded for a foul by Corry Evans on Craig Bellamy. Kevin McNaughton takes the indirect free kick.
80:26 Substitution Jamie Devitt joins the action as a substitute, replacing James Harper.
79:32 Substitution Chris Burke comes on in place of Michael Chopra.
79:32 Substitution (Cardiff) makes a substitution, with Jay Emmanuel-Thomas coming on for Craig Bellamy.
76:09 Corner taken by Robert Koren, Tom Heaton makes a save.
75:19 Booking Booking for Stephen McPhail for unsporting behaviour.
73:08 Stephen McPhail fouled by James Harper, the ref awards a free kick. Mark Hudson takes the free kick.
70:55 The ball is sent over by Robert Koren.
69:34 The assistant referee signals for offside against Matt Fryatt. Indirect free kick taken by Mark Hudson.
68:42 Nick Barmby takes a shot from close range clearing the crossbar.
67:49 Booking The referee shows Craig Bellamy a yellow card.
65:42 Jay Bothroyd is adjudged to have handled the ball. James Chester takes the free kick.
64:11 Assist by Kevin McNaughton.
64:11 Substitution Nick Barmby on for Aaron Mclean.
64:11 GOAL - Michael Chopra:Hull 0 - 1 Cardiff Michael Chopra scores a headed goal from close range. Hull 0-1 Cardiff.
63:04 Paul Quinn produces a cross, clearance by Corry Evans.
62:32 Peter Whittingham fouled by Aaron Mclean, the ref awards a free kick. Mark Hudson takes the free kick.
59:48 Corner from the left by-line taken by Robert Koren, Aaron Mclean gives away a free kick for an unfair challenge on Mark Hudson.
Tom Heaton takes the free kick.
59:02 Robert Koren takes a shot. Tom Heaton makes a comfortable save.
56:24 Aaron Ramsey gives away a free kick for an unfair challenge on Corry Evans. Andy Dawson crosses the ball from the free kick
left-footed from left channel.
55:56 Peter Whittingham delivers the ball, clearance by James Chester.
54:36 Jay Bothroyd handles the ball and concedes a free kick. Bradley Guzan takes the free kick.
50:33 Centre by Paul Quinn, Jay Bothroyd has a headed effort from close in and clears the bar.
48:44 Matt Fryatt fouled by Kevin McNaughton, the ref awards a free kick. The free kick is swung in left-footed by Andy Dawson,
Peter Whittingham makes a clearance.
46:04 Kevin McNaughton crosses the ball.
45:01 The referee blows his whistle to start the second half.
45:01 Substitution Jack Hobbs is brought on as a substitute for Anthony Gerrard.
Half Time
45:00+2:08 The first half comes to an end.
45:00+0:34 Corner from right by-line crossed in by Peter Whittingham, clearance made by James Chester. Inswinging corner taken by Peter
Whittingham from the right by-line, Dekel Keinan takes a shot. Blocked by Corry Evans.
45:00+0:15 Craig Bellamy takes a shot. Blocked by Liam Rosenior.
43:05 Inswinging corner taken by Andy Dawson from the right by-line, Paul Quinn manages to make a clearance.
41:24 Robert Koren takes a shot. Matt Fryatt gets a block in. Matt Fryatt is flagged offside by the assistant referee. Tom Heaton
takes the free kick.
39:11 Anthony Gerrard concedes a free kick for a foul on Jay Bothroyd. Indirect free kick taken by Stephen McPhail.
38:23 Foul by Jay Bothroyd on Anthony Gerrard, free kick awarded. Free kick taken by Bradley Guzan.
37:46 Michael Chopra takes a shot. Save by Bradley Guzan.
37:03 Aaron Ramsey takes a shot. Clearance by Anthony Gerrard. Inswinging corner taken by Peter Whittingham from the right by-line
played to the near post, Andy Dawson makes a clearance.
33:06 Aaron Ramsey crosses the ball, Anthony Gerrard makes a clearance.
32:44 Jay Bothroyd delivers the ball, blocked by Andy Dawson.
31:03 Unfair challenge on Jay Bothroyd by Andy Dawson results in a free kick. Free kick crossed right-footed by Peter Whittingham
from right wing, Bradley Guzan makes a save.
29:47 The assistant referee signals for offside against Michael Chopra. Anthony Gerrard restarts play with the free kick.
Correction - 27:00 Matt Fryatt takes a shot. Save made by Tom Heaton. Inswinging corner taken by Andy Dawson from the right by-line, Anthony
Gerrard takes a shot. Dekel Keinan makes a clearance.
27:00 Dekel Keinan takes a shot. Save by Tom Heaton. Corner taken left-footed by Andy Dawson from the right by-line, Anthony Gerrard
takes a shot. Dekel Keinan makes a clearance.
24:34 Mark Hudson gives away a free kick for an unfair challenge on Matt Fryatt. James Chester delivers the ball from the free kick
right-footed from right channel.
22:55 Jay Bothroyd fouled by Anthony Gerrard, the ref awards a free kick. Free kick crossed by Aaron Ramsey.
20:59 The official flags Aaron Mclean offside. Tom Heaton restarts play with the free kick.
20:22 Centre by Corry Evans, Kevin McNaughton manages to make a clearance.
19:41 Foul by Stephen McPhail on Robert Koren, free kick awarded. James Harper restarts play with the free kick.
16:43 The ball is swung over by Liam Rosenior, save made by Tom Heaton.
15:35 Aaron Mclean takes a shot. Dekel Keinan gets a block in.
15:07 Corner taken right-footed by Robert Koren from the left by-line to the near post, clearance made by Peter Whittingham.
14:40 The referee blows for offside. Bradley Guzan takes the free kick.
13:49 The ball is swung over by Kevin McNaughton, Corry Evans gets a block in. Corner taken by Craig Bellamy played to the near
post, Corry Evans manages to make a clearance.
11:51 Corry Evans concedes a free kick for a foul on Craig Bellamy. Tom Heaton takes the free kick.
11:20 Robert Koren takes a shot. Paul Quinn gets a block in. Corner taken right-footed by Robert Koren to the near post, Peter Whittingham
manages to make a clearance.
10:32 Robert Koren takes a inswinging corner from the left by-line to the near post, Jay Bothroyd makes a clearance. Inswinging
corner taken right-footed by Robert Koren from the left by-line, save by Tom Heaton.
9:38 Mark Hudson gives away a free kick for an unfair challenge on Jay Simpson. Andy Dawson crosses the ball from the free kick
left-footed from right channel.
5:59 Corry Evans takes a shot. Tom Heaton makes a comfortable save.
2:57 Liam Rosenior delivers the ball, clearance by Mark Hudson.
0:52 Jay Bothroyd challenges Anthony Gerrard unfairly and gives away a free kick. Free kick taken by Bradley Guzan.
0:36 James Harper takes a shot. Comfortable save by Tom Heaton.
0:00 The game gets underway.
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