Freddie Sears, Cole Skuse and Daryl Murphy were on target for the Blues as they beat Cardiff 3-1 at Portman Road to cement their position in the play-off places. Sears put Town ahead after eight minutes and Eoin Doyle equalised for the Welshmen before Cole Skuse lashed in a 30-yard stunner on 29 - his first goal for the Blues - then Murphy sealed the victory in second-half injury time.

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 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.

Cole 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.

Three minutes after the break, Murphy wasn’t far away from netting his 24th goal of the season, Marshall impressively tipping his near-post header over from Parr’s right-wing cross.

After Whittingham had been extremely fortunate to get away without a yellow card for a cynical foul on a breaking Sears - Skuse and Berra had been booked for rather less - Tabb took over from Hunt on the left of the Town midfield.

While Whittingham had been lucky not to see yellow, Fabio could count himself even more fortunate not to have seen red in the 61st minute.

The Brazilian had already looked certain to be booked for a foul on Mings but then reacted angrily to what appeared to be a comment from the Town full-back, manhandling players and referee Ward out of his way as he tried to get to the Blues’ number three.

After Fabio had been calmed down by his team-mates and order was restored, Ward incensed the already angry home crowd by merely booking the Cardiff man and also cautioning Mings.

From the freekick taken by Tabb, Berra’s header was blocked and then after the ball had been sent back into the area the Scot’s hooked shot was also cut out.

Cardiff probably wisely withdrew Fabio on 63, the former QPR loanee appearing to make a gesture towards Mings as he left the field. Craig Noone took over.

There were sarcastic cheers from home fans in the 67th minute when Malone was booked for a foul on Sears.

Paul Anderson took over from Parr in the 74th minute, while the Bluebirds switched former Norwich winger Anthony Pilkington for Joe Ralls.

On 76, having been fouled by Sean Morrison, Sears’s 25-yard curling freekick deflected wide off the wall.

From the corner the Town twice went very close to extending their lead. Anderson sent the flag-kick over from the right and Marshall did well to block Smith’s downward header. The loose but difficult bouncing ball fell to Berra, but the Scot couldn’t keep his shot down and his effort struck the top of the bar before flying over.

Cardiff spurned another opportunity to get back on level pegging with five minutes remaining when sub Noone beat Mings on the right and cut the ball back to Gunnarsson on the penalty spot but the Icelander steered wide when he should have scored.

At the other end, Chambers saw an effort blocked from Anderson’s pass, then Skuse wasn’t too far away from his second of the game, volleying the loose ball into Marshall’s arms from the edge of the box.

Zeki Fryers replaced Bishop for the final three minutes of scheduled time, the on-loan Crystal Palace man going to left midfield with Tabb switching to the centre.

The points were finally sealed in injury time when Murphy netted his 24th goal of the season, the Irishman stabbing past Marshall from the edge of the area having been found by Skuse.

The Blues saw out the remaining minutes to claim another vital home victory. It was a well-deserved win on the overall balance of the game, despite Cardiff having missed two big chances to level at 2-1.

However, Town had largely been in control and had had other chances of their own prior to Murphy breaking his five-game dry spell - the longest of his season - at the death.

The result sees the Blues go three points ahead of both Brentford, who lost 1-0 at Sheffield Wednesday, and Wolves, who were defeated 2-1 at Middlesbrough, ahead of Saturday’s crunch sixth-versus-eighth clash at Molineux.

Town: Bialkowski, Chambers (c), Mings, Berra, Smith, Skuse, Bishop (Fryers 87), Parr (Anderson 74), S Hunt (Tabb 59), Murphy, Sears. Unused: Gerken, Chaplow, Williams, Wood.

Cardiff City: Marshall, Peltier, Malone, Ecuele Manga, Morrison, Whittingham, Gunnarsson, Fabio (Noone 64), Ralls (Pilkington 74), Doyle, Mason. Subs: Moore, Adeyemi, O'Keefe, Kennedy, Harris. Referee: Gavin Ward (Surrey). Attendance: 17,722 (Cardiff: 197)

Photo: Action Images

PJH added 18:23 - Apr 15 Sorry to read of your loss TimmyH
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Jimmy86 added 18:45 - Apr 15 Condolences to you TimmyH your mum will be up there watching down on the team!!! Ripping it up into the play offs
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Elizabeth added 20:50 - Apr 15 So sorry for your loss TimmyH . My Mum was a true supporter too and passed away last year. Some wonderful memories of football ups and downs with her. A great win. As I see it there are eight teams for six places. Hope we don't miss out now!
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bennyitfc added 21:43 - Apr 15 Mick seemed in really high spirits after this one, he seems very relaxed and hopefully we'll continue to see that replicated in the team he selects for Saturday. Hopefully the same one which started last night - we are so much better when we go for the win.
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Steve_ITFC_Sweden added 21:53 - Apr 15 Great two games for our Swedish trip, especially Tuesday's match, but I can't believe some people think it's more or less in the bag now. Plenty more time for a few more twists and turns. Brentford and Wolves are not out of it and Naarwich haven't yet got automatic promotion. I'm on a high, but permit me to be a little cautious a while longer. COYB!
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austractor added 23:26 - Apr 15 Blackpool highlights incase anyone hasnt found them:
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dude added 04:31 - Apr 16 I'll find you a chef right now with my arms.
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bobble added 09:21 - Apr 16 nice one
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swarby_7 added 12:17 - Apr 16 I think we've done amazing to achieve our position with such a low budget squad. Top two was perhaps a bit false as we cant compete (mainly financially) with some of those top sides but we are giving it a good go and reaping some rewards. Hopefully play-offs will be the reward for this season and who knows what might happen in the final if we got there! I've always rated Skuse so pleased to see him finally break his goal scoring duck for us. Hunt has had a few negative comments but i think he deserves a bit of a let off. He's been out for a while so coming back at this stage of the season with so much at stake in edgy games isnt going to be easy for him like it might be earlier on in the season when things are a bit more relaxed. I think Mick is doing well with Williams too. He wasn't needed tonight so no need to risk him when he is in a similar position to Hunt, long time out and working his way back. He may have been thrown in if we were 1-2 down but no need in the end. Save him for when we need him to rip the opposition up. COYB! Lets get a result sat!

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