Cardiff claimed a third successive Championship win by beating Huddersfield 1-0 at home.

Famara Diedhiou’s first goal in English football since a brace for Bristol City at Middlesbrough in February 2021 moved Cardiff to within seven points of the play-off places.

The on-loan Senegal striker converted Josh Bowler’s cross on the half-hour mark to put his name on a Championship scoresheet again after spells in Turkey and Spain.

Huddersfield were left to bemoan a curious second-half decision by referee Matthew Donohue when they might have been awarded a penalty.

Perry Ng appeared to kick out at Michal Helik at a corner and was booked by Donohue, who was looking at the incident, but the official chose to take no further punishment.

Huddersfield had not lost under new manager Andre Breitenreiter, with the German having taken four points from his first two games.

Confidence from winning at Watford and holding promotion-chasing Leeds to a draw was reflected by a bright start that saw Ben Wiles fire over after Joe Ralls made a mess of clearing Delano Burgzorg’s centre.

As the half wore on, Huddersfield’s best moments were restricted to Sorba Thomas’ dead-ball delivery.

Dimitrios Goutas, Cardiff’s Greek centre-half, got an invaluable touch on one Thomas free-kick sent into a crowded six-yard box.

Another fine ball from the Wales international ended with a Brodie Spencer header that home goalkeeper Ethan Horvath grasped.

Cardiff’s own attacks often petered out, despite Bowler being a regular threat down the right flank.

But Lee Nicholls reacted well at his near post after Karlan Grant had cut back on to his right foot to deliver both power and accuracy.

The deadlock was broken after 30 minutes as Cardiff produced a superb sweeping move out of keeping with the contest.

Ryan Wintle’s excellent cross-field pass was matched by the touch of Bowler and Diedhiou guided his cross beyond the diving Nicholls.

Huddersfield made a double change at the break – Jaheim Headley and Alex Matos replacing Spencer and Wiles – and carved out a couple of half-chances.

Burgzorg tested Horvath and Jack Rudoni headed over as Cardiff toiled to clear a corner.

Nicholls comfortably held David Turnbull’s free-kick and, after Helik had complained of being kicked by Ng, tempers continued to fray.

Cardiff goalkeeping coach Mario Galinovic was shown a red card and banished from the dugout as Huddersfield pushed for an equaliser.

Danny Ward miskicked in front of an open goal to secure his old club’s third consecutive win for the first time since September.

Huddersfield remain deep in relegation trouble, just above the bottom three by virtue of having scored more goals than 22nd-placed Stoke.

Erol Bulut hailed the impact of Liverpool loanee Nat Phillips after Cardiff completed a Severnside derby double over Bristol City.

Perry Ng’s second-half header gave Cardiff a 1-0 success at Ashton Gate and back-to-back wins for the first time since October.

The Robins’ best moments were snuffed out by centre-back Phillips, who has proved a key player since arriving from Anfield in January.

“Nat is a big add to us, he gives confidence in the defence and organises the defence,” said Cardiff manager Bulut after his side had leapfrogged their opponents in the Championship standings.

“Other players next to him are acting on it and that’s important.

“He has played for Liverpool and Celtic, big teams, and he knows when you get pressure how to stay calm.

“He gives this to the other players too and with (goalkeeper) Ethan (Horvath) there now we can also play better from the back.”

Cardiff’s 66th-minute winner was their 17th goal from a set-piece this season – a Championship high.

Ng rose highest from a David Turnbull corner for his sixth goal of the season and second against Bristol City after scoring in Cardiff’s 2-0 home win over the Robins in October.

Bulut said: “I think the game was 50-50 over the 90 minutes, but congratulations to my players because they worked really hard and the luck was on our side.

“We are one of the best teams in the league from set-pieces.

“We always work on it and, if you analyse my previous clubs, it’s something we did there too.

“We kept our concentration and closing down the spaces, so I am happy.

“We are getting a little confidence back, which is good, and we have to stay together.”

Bristol City have now lost three in a row since winning at Middlesbrough and beating promotion-chasing Southampton at home.

A chorus of boos from home fans greeted the final whistle and boss Liam Manning said he would “take it on the chin”.

Manning said: “I’ve got thick skin. Of course I don’t want to hear it.

“I want the team to perform and succeed, I’ve had to fight and scrap in my career to get where I am.

“I’ll take it on the chin, be calm and get ready to go again on Tuesday.”

Asked what the Robins were short on in defeat, Manning replied: “Quality in the final third.

“We need people to step up and take responsibility in high-pressure moments and deliver.

“On the goal, set-pieces are probably Cardiff’s biggest threat – and most of their goals come from first contacts as well – and it’s hugely annoying.

“I didn’t think there was a huge amount of quality from both sides, so you’ve got to make sure you don’t lose and it finishes 0-0.”

Cardiff completed a Severnside derby double over Bristol City by winning 1-0 at Ashton Gate.

Perry Ng’s 66th-minute header gave Cardiff back-to-back victories after going four without a win and took them above Bristol City in the Championship table.

Both teams kicked off knowing they were in need of a strong late-season flourish to force their way into the play-off picture.

There was little to choose between them over 90 minutes when clear-cut openings were rare.

But Cardiff lived up to the title of Championship set-piece kings by scoring a league-leading 17th goal from such a situation this season.

Bristol City had some good moments but they were often repelled by the head of Nat Phillips as the Liverpool central defender showed what an outstanding acquisition he has been since arriving on loan in January.

Cardiff’s 2-0 derby home win in October had signalled the end of Nigel Pearson’s Ashton Gate tenure and the eventual arrival of Liam Manning in the Robins’ hot seat.

On that occasion Rubin Colwill had lit up the Welsh capital with a stunning strike, but the Wales forward was kept on a tight leash this time.

A sedate opening sparked into life with the hosts having three penalty appeals rejected by referee Sam Allison.

Nahki Wells tumbled in the box after 11 minutes and handball claims after shots from Andy King and Taylor Gardner-Hickman were blocked in the same attack were waved away.

Mark Sykes tested Ethan Horvath for the first time after 20 minutes, with the ball striking the Cardiff goalkeeper squarely in the chest before the Bluebirds cleared.

Cardiff’s tactic appeared one of containment and counter and David Turnbull sent a tame effort wide after slick approach play from Josh Bowler.

Ng let fly from 25 yards to warm the hands of Robins’ goalkeeper Max O’Leary, with the Cardiff full-back soon in more familiar territory to snuff out Sykes.

Bowler was off-target after combining well with Turnbull, and the latter’s free-kick at the start of the second period provided comfortable catching practice for O’Leary.

Yakou Meite replaced the injured Kion Etete in the Cardiff attack and Ryan Wintle took over the captaincy from Joe Ralls.

The changes had a positive effect as Ollie Tanner, another substitute, won a corner and Ng rose highest for his sixth goal of the season and second against Bristol City.

Horvath protected Cardiff’s victory by producing a superb reflex stop to deny Rob Dickie with Tommy Conway’s follow-up effort ruled out for offside.

Ian Foster urged Plymouth to look up the table after claiming his first Championship win as Argyle head coach with a 3-1 win over Cardiff at Home Park.

Argyle soared to 15th on the back of two goals by Scottish striker Ryan Hardie, who also set up top scorer Morgan Whittaker for his 15th Championship goal of the season, after Cardiff had taken a 10th-minute lead through Perry Ng.

Foster said: “We expected a difficult game and they always are, they are tight at this level. You have seen the results in the league today. There is never an easy game.

“The message to the players was to claw these (Cardiff) back. I think they were six places and seven points above us. If it becomes 10 it’s almost impossible. It’s four now.

“I am really pleased with the players because there was evidence again today that they are taking on the information we are giving to them.

“I have been (in post) two weeks yesterday so we have not had that many sessions, four players very new to the football club on the pitch today and two of them have only had very limited time with the group.

“A lot of positives today but a game I thoroughly thought we deserved to win.

“We don’t want to be looking over our shoulders, we want to be looking up at the next team and that’s how we did it today.

“We looked at these and said ‘let’s get these back’ and that’s our challenge.

“Cardiff are the next team above us, four points, and we have got to bridge that gap as soon as possible.

“I am happy. It’s really challenging, I knew it would be. I am really enjoying it.”

Cardiff boss Erol Bulut said his side stopped playing after taking the lead.

Bulut said: “It is not the first time that I have been disappointed, the fans are disappointed.

“They are right because today we had the game in our hands, we started well and were leading 1-0 but after that the game is not finished.

“We stopped playing and the result was we lost 3-1. We had some changes but we didn’t score again, there was too many individual mistakes in different situations and they (Plymouth) scored from those mistakes.

“The game is not only 31 minutes, it is 95 minutes.

“We can speak about having only 15/16 players available, we had 11 players on the pitch so we have to do everything. We stopped after scoring the goal and it is not easy after that.

“We had similar problems in other games, we have to be more aggressive, we have been more aggressive and won games and the last two games – Leeds and today – was not like that.

“I don’t have players outside to replace them and they are getting tired, I don’t have anyone on the bench to make that change in defence. My players are doing their best and it is not enough.”