by Ethan Harris
CARDIFF City secured a crucial three points in their race for Premier League survival, beating a West Ham side that failed to show up on the day.
Goals from Junior Hoilett and Victor Camarasa were ultimately the difference between the two sides.
Neil Warnock’s men remain in the bottom three but the victory ended a run of three successive defeats and will have breathed new life into their relegation battle.
The home side started with a sense of urgency, hounding the Hammers on the ball and allowing no breathing room.
The bluebirds got the dream beginning to the game they were looking for, when a loose ball in the middle of the park started a quick counter attack for the hosts.
Barreling down the right hand side, a low ball whipped into the middle of the area found Junior Hoilett, and the winger buried his effort from close range to fire Cardiff into the lead.
In a half of few chances, Cardiff came closest again with a throw in set piece nearly paying dividends.
With Aron Gunnarsson heaving the ball into the area, a flick on from Sean Morrison landed at the feet of Oumar Niasse.
The forward swiveled looking to fire home, but Declan Rice covered well to make sure he slotted the ball wide of the mark.
Once more Cardiff started brightly after the restart, and yet again they were rewarded for their efforts.
Victor Camarasa was on hand to bundle the ball into the back of the net five minutes into the second period, doubling the hosts advantage after some impressive build-up play.
Fabianski had to be alert moments later, a superb double save keeping the Hammers from going down further.
Oumar Niasse acrobatically turned the ball towards goal, with the Polish stopper palming the ball away before leaping back to his feet and pushing another effort out of danger.
It wouldn’t be until the seventieth minute that West Ham had their first meaningful effort, with Declan Rice heading forward into space, the Englishman writhed in agony as his shot clattered off the post.
Marko Arnautovic forced Neil Etheridge into a good save moments later, as the Austrian rifled a shot towards goal but the Cardiff stopper parried it wide.
The Bluebirds comfortably saw the game out from there, with West Ham out of ideas heading into the final whistle, Neil Warnock will be proud of his sides performance.
Star Man: Harry Arter
The midfield man was everywhere for Cardiff on the day, battling for every ball and never stopped running. It was certainly an impressive display, picking up what seemed like every loose ball for the Bluebirds and running the show comfortably alongside Victor Camarasa, who was also exceptional in the middle of the park.
Cardiff started with a sense of urgency, hounding the Hammers on the ball and allowing them no breathing room.
The Bluebirds got the dream start to the game when a loose ball in the middle of the park started a quick counter-attack for the hosts.
Barreling down the right hand side, a low ball whipped into the middle of the area found Junior Hoilett, and the winger buried his effort from close range to fire Cardiff into the lead.
In a half of few chances, Neil Warnock’s men came closest again with a throw-in set piece nearly paying dividends.
With Aron Gunnarsson heaving the ball into the area, a flick on from Sean Morrison landed at the feet of Oumar Niasse.
The forward swiveled looking to fire home, but Declan Rice covered well to make sure he slotted the ball wide of the mark.
Once more Cardiff started brightly in the second half, and yet again they were rewarded for their efforts.
Victor Camarasa was on hand to bundle the ball into the back of the net five minutes into the second period, doubling the hosts’ advantage after some impressive build-up play.
Fabianski had to be alert moments later, a superb double save keeping the Hammers from going down further.
Oumar Niasse acrobatically turned the ball towards goal, with the Polish stopper palming the ball away before leaping back to his feet and pushing another effort out of danger.
It wasn’t until the seventieth minute that West Ham had their first meaningful effort, with Declan Rice heading forward into space, the Englishman writhed in agony as his shot clattered off the post.
Marko Arnautovic forced Neil Etheridge into a good save moments later, as the Austrian rifled a shot towards goal but the Cardiff stopper parried it wide.
The Bluebirds comfortably saw the game out from there, with West Ham out of ideas heading into the final whistle. Neil Warnock will be proud of his side’s performance.
Star Man: Harry Arter
The midfield man was everywhere for Cardiff on the day, battling for every ball and never stopped running. It was certainly an impressive display, picking up what seemed like every loose ball for the Bluebirds and running the show comfortably alongside Victor Camarasa, who was also exceptional in the middle of the park.