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Cardiff City vs Crystal Palace. Sky Bet Championship.

Ninian ParkAttendance17,478.

Bluebirds back on track

Image: Ledley: First goal of the season

Cardiff bounced back from the disappointment of two successive defeats with a 2-1 win over Crystal Palace.

Ledley nets winner in 2-1 victory over Palace

Cardiff bounced back from the disappointment of two successive defeats with a 2-1 win over Crystal Palace. On-loan striker Michael Chopra opened the scoring from the penalty spot for the Bluebirds in the 31st minute after being brought down by Jose Fonte. Sean Scannell seized on a defensive mistake to draw Palace level five minutes later but Joe Ledley netted his first goal of the season early in the second half to seal the points for Cardiff. The game began in cagey fashion and chances were few and far between in the opening period with Chopra's blocked effort and Ben Watson's wayward free-kick for Palace the nearest either side came to scoring in the first 25 minutes. But, after a period of increased pressure, Cardiff took the lead in the 31st minute as Chopra won and scored a penalty on his second home debut for the club. A clumsy challenge by Palace centre-back Fonte had brought the striker crashing down. But the lead lasted barely five minutes as the visitors equalised courtesy of a mix-up in the Bluebirds defence. The Cardiff back-line failed to deal with a long ball up the field from Palace keeper Darryl Flahavan and opposite number Tom Heaton was caught in no-man's land, leaving Eagles midfielder Scannell to tap home into the empty net. The home side would have been forgiven for being deflated after conceding so close to the interval but they came out for the second half rejuvenated and immediately surged forward in search of regaining the lead and they only had to wait five minutes to get it.

Fine finish

Darren Purse - in the starting line-up after his dismissal against QPR was rescinded by the Football Association of Wales this week - swung a deep free-kick into the Palace area and Ledley gathered Eddie Johnson's flick-on before dispatching a fine finish past Flahavan. The game was now being played at a frantic pace and Neil Warnock introduced attacking duo Shefki Kuqi and Victor Moses in a bid to give his side some much-needed attacking impetus. But it was Cardiff who continued to provide the biggest threat and striker Johnson won another penalty in the third minute of injury-time when he was brought down with a needless challenge from Matthew Lawrence, but Chopra's spot-kick was well saved by Flahavan.

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