Dismal Town fell to their third home defeat of the season as Cardiff City left Portman Road with a 2-1 victory having been gifted two early goals. Jon Stead pulled one back just before half-time, but Town rarely looked like getting back on terms and had Ben Thatcher red-carded after the break.
David Wright was a surprise omission from the starting line-up, the full-back having picked up a chest infection, and Ben Thatcher came in at left-back. Richard Naylor replaced the suspended Alex Bruce alongside skipper Gareth McAuley.
With rain falling heavily and a strong wind blowing towards the North Stand goal Town were defending, Jon Stead struck the game's first shot in the third minute but sent the ball into the sidenetting.
Richard Wright made an important save in the fifth minute after Michael Chopra had been sent away on the left of the area in space.
Two minutes later Darren Ambrose skipped past a couple of defenders on the edge of the box but shot over.
The visitors went in front on eight after a catalogue of Town defensive errors. A failure in communication meant Naylor headed the ball wide to Paul Parry when Volz was better placed to clear behind him. Parry crossed, Thatcher failed to prevent the ball from reaching Wayne Routledge at the back of the box and McAuley managed only to deflect the ball weakly to Jay Bothroyd, who beat Wright from close range.
It was a dreadful goal to concede with every member of the back four culpable in some way.
The Blues went looking for an equaliser, Ambrose shot over, prior to Gavin Rae shooting wide at the other end. Ben Thatcher hit a powerful 30-yarder on 20, but too close to Cardiff keeper Peter Enckelman.
A minute later, Gareth McAuley made a fine last ditch block on the line after Town had casually given the ball away on the edge of their own area. Chopra rounded the advancing Wright but McAuley slid in to stop the ball on the line, colliding with the post and injuring his leg in doing so.
The visitors were causing problems with long balls up to Bothroyd and in the 25th minute they won a somewhat fortuitous freekick after the ex-Coventry man went to ground somewhat easily under pressure from Naylor. Parry hit a low ball into the box which Walters appeared to miss and defender Gabor Gyepes was allowed to net from close range. Dreadfully poor defending punished once again, although referee Andy Woolmer had been somewhat generous in the award of the freekick.
Cardiff continued to have the better of the half with the Blues failing to get to terms with the conditions with the wind carrying the ball deep into their half. The visitors were closing Town down quickly when they had the ball and all too often the Blues were forced into losing possession in their own half. Cardiff keeper Peter Enckelman was largely a spectator.
The dangerous Bothroyd flicked a header wide on 39, then just before the break, the Blues pulled a goal back. Thatcher won the ball and found Stead, who played the ball wide to Walters on the right. The ex-Chester man crossed and Stead headed home his sixth goal of the season.
Town were probably a bit fortunate to have been within one goal of the visitors at the break, Cardiff having been much the better of the two sides and the Blues rarely in control of the game and unable to pass the ball around with any fluidity, largely due to the pressing game employed by Dave Jones's men.
Defensively the Blues had been a shambles throughout, with communication poor, mistakes frequent and only a couple of decent saves from Wright and a fantastic block from McAuley preventing further goals for the visitors.
McAuley had spent the latter minutes of the first half hobbling badly and looked certain to be replaced at the break, however, the skipper was still amongst the side which took to the field for the second half.
Cardiff weren't far away from a third goal four minutes into the second period. Routledge crossed and Wright did superbly to stop Bothroyd's header.
More poor communication between the Town defence allowed Bothroyd to break into the area on the hour, but fortunately for the Blues the one-time Arsenal trainee shot over. Moments later, Owen Garvan replaced Veliche Shumulikoski.
On 65 Ben Thatcher was rather harshly yellow-carded by referee Woolmer for a foul on Routledge when the Town full-back had very evidently won the ball. The Northampton-based official was hardly impressing the home crowd with more than a few highly questionable and often unwarranted freekicks.
Two minutes later, Thatcher was shown his second yellow card and then a red after fouling Routledge on the edge of the box, Town again having given the ball away in a dangerous area.
The freekick was hit into the wall, before manager Jim Magilton made two changes, bringing on Pim Balkestein and Danny Haynes for Pablo Couñago and Jon Stead. As before this season, the crowd reacted angrily to the substitutions and chants of "You don't know what you're doing†rang round the North Stand.
Haynes went up front alongside Danny Haynes with Balkestein going to left-back as Town employed a 4-3-2 formation.
Garvan shot wide from 30 yards, then Wright made another good save, this time from a Joe Ledley strike. After Bothroyd had shot wide, Wright pushed Routledge's cross from the right on to the crossbar.
Town were showing very few signs of getting anything from the game, however on 83 Ambrose managed the Blues' first on target shot of the half, albeit a weak effort through to Enckelman.
Garvan was booked for a foul on Kevin McNaughton on 87, one-time Town target Roger Johnson attempting to square up to the Blues midfielder and surprisingly escaping a card of his own. The caution was Garvan's fifth of the season meaning he will miss next week's game at Coventry.
Town made little headway in the four minutes of injury time, the only serious incident a yellow card for Pim Balkestein for a foul.
Another poor performance from Town, who once again failed to have any answer to a side which closed them down quickly and didn't allow them time to play their passing game.
Defensively, the Blues were as bad as they have been at any stage this season with both goals coming from woeful errors and it was only good fortune, good goalkeeping and one outstanding goal-line clearance which stopped further Cardiff goals.
Up front, Town continue to look lacking in physicality with little going right for Couñago, and Stead not able to compete in aerial battles with Cardiff's central defenders, although the former Sheffield United man took his goal well.
Overall, another disappointing display and one which will increase the pressure on manager Jim Magilton as we go into the make or break pre-transfer window period which so often sees managerial changes take place.
Town: Wright, Volz, Thatcher, McAuley, Naylor, Shumulikoski (Garvan 60), Norris, Walters, Ambrose, Couñago (Balkestein 68), Stead (Haynes 68). Unused: Supple, Lisbie. Att: 19,665.