Callum Robinson scored his 12th goal of the season as Cardiff claimed a much-needed 1-0 Championship victory over fellow strugglers Hull in the Welsh capital.
The Republic of Ireland forward broke the deadlock in the 52nd minute after neither side had really threatened in a cagey first half as Cardiff moved up two places in the table and six points clear of the relegation zone.
Twice in the space of as many minutes in the first half, Cardiff top scorer Robinson was given the chance to shoot from inside the box, but on both occasions his left-footed efforts were comfortably dealt with by Ivor Pandur in the Hull goal.
Some neat interplay between Robinson and Andy Rinomhota down the right flank gave the Ireland striker his first chance, but his shot went inches past the right-hand post. His second was well held by Pandur.
But he would get his goal in the second half. From a corner, Hull were able to clear their lines, but Chris Willock crossed the ball back into the danger zone and Yousef Salech made a big enough nuisance of himself to force the defence to clear only as far Robinson near the penalty spot.
Robinson took the ball early, hit it on the volley and found the bottom right-hand corner to notch his 12th goal of the season.
Middlesbrough eased the pressure on manager Michael Carrick as Ireland midfielder Finn Azaz and Tommy Conway scored second-half goals to seal a 3-1 win at struggling Stoke.
Stoke's South Korean star Bae Jun-ho cancelled out Marcus Forss' first goal of the season, but Boro wrapped up victory to boost their faltering play-off hopes.
Like Robinson's goal for Cardiff, Azaz's goal came on 52 minutes. It arrived with the scores level, before Hayden Hackney powered forward and slipped a pass to Conway who smartly created the assist for Azaz.
The Boys in Green senior international returned the favour for the third goal, with Conway calmly shooting home from 12 yards after 73 minutes following a one-two.
