Cardiff City 4 Brighton & Hove Albion 1
The Albion suffered thier heaviest defeat of the season after quick-fire successive first half goals from the Bluebirds’ Peter Whittingham and Anthony Pilkington.
Whittingham poked the ball past David Stockdale on 16 minutes as Cardiff counterattacked. Albion were the better team early on. Then, from a poor Stockdale clearance, Pilkington smashed a shot past the Albion keeper who could only parry the ball into the net.
Inigo Calderon tested Cardiff keeper David Marshall from range before more hesitancy in the Albion defence and a wicked deflection allowed Lex Immers to put the home team three goals clear at half time.
Jiri Skalak was one bright note for Albion and his cross enabled Dale Stephens to claw one goal back for the Seagulls with a header just after half time. For a while the Albion threatened to reduce the arrears further until Lewis Goldson upended Pilkington for a clear penalty which Whittingham duly dispatched to restore the three-goal cushion.
Albion drop to fourth – after Burnley beat Rotherham – and travel to Bristol City on Tuesday (23 February).
