Cardiff City 4-0 Peterborough: Bluebirds move clear of danger after thumping win

Peterborough were brought crashing down to earth after their FA Cup joy last weekend as they were beaten 4-0 at relegation rivals Cardiff.

Cardiff came into this crucial relegation clash battle-hardened by their 1-0 win at bottom-of-the-table Barnsley and never looked in danger of losing after hitting the front as early as the fifth minute.

Visiting manager Darren Ferguson admitted pre-match that if Cardiff won and went 12 points clear of his side that they would probably be safe from the dreaded drop.

He was hoping his team could recreate the magic that helped them beat QPR in the FA Cup to earn a dream fifth-round tie against Manchester City next month.

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Bluebirds boss Steve Morison made seven changes to the side he sent to Anfield on Sunday for the 3-1 FA Cup defeat by Liverpool and his team got off to a flying start.

Tommy Doyle hit the post with a right-footed shot from the edge of the area in the fourth minute and a minute later Joe Ralls hit the back of the net.

Josh Knight was hustled off the ball wide on the right by Isaak Davies and the speedy forward went into the box and picked out his skipper with an inch-perfect pass to allow him to lash home into the bottom right corner.

If Peterborough were hoping to give their manager an early 50th birthday present then they did not look capable of doing so throughout a first half totally dominated by the home side.

Jordan Hugill hit the post with a header from a delightful free-kick by Doyle and Cardiff threatened from every dead ball situation.

It was only a matter of time before the second goal came and it arrived in the 38th minute from a Ralls corner from the right. The giant Aden Flint had been the target for all the earlier corners and free-kicks swung in by Doyle, but this time the centre-back dropped back from the aerial battle.

Posh goalkeeper Stephen Benda just managed to punch the inswinging corner, but only managed to find Flint on the edge of the box. He chested the ball down before volleying home to double the lead.

The visitors' best chance of the game came in the shape of a free-kick on the edge of the Cardiff area in the 52nd minute, but Oliver Norburn merely crashed his shot into the wall.

The response from the Bluebirds was almost immediate as they added a third goal to their tally.

Codey Drameh intercepted on halfway and sprinted up the right wing. He saw Hugill running across the box and picked him out with a perfect cross that allowed the on-loan striker to make it two goals in four games since his arrival last month.

Another of last month's new loan recruits, Uche Ikpeazu, rounded things off with a goal on his home debut as he converted a Rubin Colwill near post cross.

What the managers said...

Cardiff's Steve Morison: "That was the most complete performance since I took over. We controlled the game without the ball really well and when we had our moments we were spot on. To a man we were top drawer and it was a good night. This game was always going to be much bigger than the FA Cup tie in Liverpool on Sunday. If I had been sat here having beaten Liverpool and lost to Peterborough we would have been dragged back to within six points of relegation.

"We had fresh legs tonight and I was able to bring some players off at the end to rest them ahead of Millwall on Saturday. That performance shows where I want to take this club and how I want the team to look on a weekly basis if I get the chance. Winning breeds confidence and we have to go again in 48 hours. The good thing is the players are starting to believe in themselves."

Peterborough's Darren Ferguson: "I'm devastated. It was a humiliation and a complete embarrassment to the club. A performance of that level in a game of this magnitude will never, ever be acceptable. When you come into a game knowing Cardiff have lost nine games at home, and on the back of a performance last weekend that everyone agreed was a positive one, I cannot take one positive out of that performance, not one. I could have made about two subs after 20-25 minutes.

"It's not going to make much difference but I do have to apologise to the fans who came down to watch what was an unbelievable performance. It could have been four or five-nil after 20 minutes. From the top to bottom of the game, in terms of the fundamentals - tackles, second balls, headers, set-pieces, running on the ball - they annihilated us. To see a performance like that is worrying. We changed formation three or four times and I'm trying everything I can to try to salvage a run of games where we can get wins, but it just isn't working. That's football and that lies with me."