Superb late strikes from Perry Ng and Callum Robinson earned Cardiff a 2-0 win at Birmingham – a first under new boss Sabri Lamouchi.
Both sides defended stubbornly, meaning the game lacked many clear-cut opportunities.
Ng stole the show with a superb free-kick in the 84th minute and Robinson then sealed a first win in 13 games for the Bluebirds as he drove into the box before firing a shot into the top-right corner.
Having recorded back-to-back wins for the first time since October, it was expected Birmingham would start strongly, and they did as Scott Hogan looked very lively in the opening 10 minutes.
The first chance of the evening fell to Auston Trusty in the 15th minute when Juninho Bacuna curled a teasing cross into the box, but Trusty’s header went well wide of the target.
Goalkeeper John Ruddy was almost called into action three minutes later when Andy Rinomhota’s deflected cross found Sory Kaba on the edge of the area, but his audacious attempt at an overhead kick sailed wide.
As the first half progressed, the quality of football dropped as both teams resorted to hoofing the ball every time they had possession.
Cardiff had the last chance of the half in the 40th minute when Ryan Wintle collected a loose ball on the edge of the area but his shot was well blocked by Hannibal Mejbri.
The second half replicated the first in regard to the quality of football on display and it took until the 62nd minute for either side to record a noteworthy effort.
Kaba again proved to be the brightest spark for the Welsh side as he cleverly took down a powerful cross from Romaine Sawyers, before sending a bicycle kick over the bar.
The deadlock was broken six minutes from time when Ng curled a sensational free-kick into the top-left corner.
Then, 11 minutes later, Robinson gave the 845 travelling Cardiff fans something else to cheer about as he cut in from the left wing before smashing a shot past Ruddy.
