A brilliant Cole Skuse strike has given Town a 2-1 lead over Cardiff City at Portman Road at half-time, Freddie Sears having put the Blues in front before Eoin Doyle equalised for the Welshmen.

Jonny Parr returned to the side at right midfield for Luke Varney, who dropped out of the squad having suffered a hamstring injury during Saturday’s 3-2 victory over Blackpool.

Stephen Hunt also came back into the team - his previous appearance was the Sheffield Wednesday game on February 10th - on the left for Jay Tabb, who switched to the bench. Former Town schoolboy Stuart O’Keefe was amongst the subs for the Bluebirds.

Town were first to threaten with Teddy Bishop sending over two early corners from the right. On two, skipper Luke Chambers headed over, then three minutes later Daryl Murphy flicked across goal and wide.

But the Blues faithful didn’t have to wait long for the opening goal. In the eighth minute Christophe Berra won the ball from Doyle in the Town area then looked up and hit a superb ball forward for Sears to chase.

The former Colchester man did well to hold off Bruno Ecuele Manga - who really ought to have done much better - before beating David Marshall with a shot which took a deflection to claim his eighth goal for the Blues and his 22nd of the campaign.

The visitors forced Bartosz Bialkowski into his first action of the game two minutes later. Joe Mason’s shot was blocked and the Polish keeper easily claimed Fabio’s weak header from the rebound.

Skuse picked up his 10th booking of the season - fortunately with the deadline which would have seen him serve a two-match ban having passed on Sunday - for pulling back Mason on 12 and following an exchange of passes from the freekick the Bluebirds levelled.

Scott Malone was given time to cross from the left and an unmarked Doyle headed into the corner of the net.

Both sides probed for a further opening without significantly testing either keeper, Aron Gunnarsson, a trialist with the Blues as a schoolboy, heading a Peter Whittingham freekick from the left wide in the 27th minute when he might have done better.

But, after Berra had been booked for a foul on Doyle, it was the Blues who would reclaim the lead in the 29th minute, and what a goal it was.

Ecuele Manga stabbed away Tyrone Mings’s ball from left from the edge of the box and Skuse - previously without a goal in his near two seasons with the Blues - unleashed a fearsome 30-yard drive which beat Marshall and hit the inside of the post before nestling in the back of the net.

The delighted midfielder ran towards the bench arm raised before beginning lengthy celebrations with club masseur and former keeper James Pullen and his team-mates.

Skuse, playing his 82nd game for Town, last found the net for Bristol City in a 2-0 home win over Barnsley in April 2012, having scored in a 1-1 draw with West Ham only four days earlier. It was his 10th career goal in 389 senior games.

The Blues came close to increasing their lead soon after when Murphy stabbed the ball away from Lee Peltier on the left but it just wouldn’t fall for Parr when in space on the edge of the area. On 41 Tommy Smith headed another Bishop corner over.

A minute later, the Bluebirds should have got themselves back on terms when Mason did well on the left and crossed to Fabio in space eight yards out at the far post. The former Manchester United man seemed set to score but instead cut the ball across the six-yard box ahead of the sliding Doyle and wide. It was a lucky escape for Town.

Referee Gavin Ward, who had irked the home support with a number of decisions, was booed off having signalled half-time.

The Blues just about deserved their lead at the end of a very open first period, although the visitors will feel that Fabio should have levelled just before the whistle.

The highlight of the period and the talk of half-time, however, was Skuse’s stunning strike for its quality as much as its rarity.

Town: Bialkowski, Chambers (c), Mings, Berra, Smith, Skuse, Bishop, Parr, S Hunt, Murphy, Sears. Subs: Gerken, Fryers, Anderson, Chaplow, Tabb, Williams, Wood.

Cardiff City: Marshall, Peltier, Malone, Ecuele Manga, Morrison, Whittingham, Gunnarsson, Fabio, Ralls, Doyle, Mason. Subs: Moore, Adeyemi, O'Keefe, Kennedy, Harris, Noone, Pilkington. Referee: Gavin Ward (Surrey).

Photo: Action Images

MeenoITFC added 21:46 - Apr 14 Great result tonight, the other games went out way. Big game at wolves 3 points come on town
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