Portsmouth 2-1 Cardiff City: Bluebirds shoot themselves in foot again as they pay price for dreadful start

A shocking start from Cardiff City saw them pay the ultimate price as Portsmouth ran out 2-1 winners in the relegation six-pointer.

The Bluebirds shot themselves in the foot again, conceding twice in the first 20 minutes away from home for the third successive match on the road courtesy of goals from Colby Bishop and Conor Shaughnessy.

Callum O'Dowda halved the deficit out of nowhere in what was a thrilling first half. But if the first half was exciting, the second was so dour it painted a crystal clear picture of just why these two teams are fighting it out at the bottom of the Championship.

Pompey leapfrog Cardiff, who drop to 20th and suffer back-to-back defeats following the hammering at Elland Road.

It really was a dreadful, almost painful start from Cardiff at Fratton Park. Portsmouth looked like they had come to play and the Bluebirds were just happy to wave them on through.

It was an onslaught from kick-off and Cardiff didn't know how to live with the hosts. It was no wonder they found themselves two down before 18 minutes were on the clock.

The first was shambolic. A lax pass from Cian Ashford gifted the ball to the home side and Josh Murphy, who terrorised City's defence found himself driving at Cardiff's back line before he fed Bishop, who took a touch and finished expertly from the edge of the box.

The second was so simple. After Jak Alnwick had kept Murphy's own shot out, tipping it away from the corner, he couldn't keep the next effort away from the back of his net. A whipped corner, coupled with some dreadful marking, allowed Conor Shaughnessy to rise above Will Fish and power a header home from close range.

At that point, Cardiff had conceded nine unanswered goals in 107 minutes of Championship football