Gudjohnsen and Cantwell sink Cardiff as Blackburn make it back-to-back Ewood Park wins

Blackburn Rovers 2-1 Cardiff City — Sky Bet Championship, Ewood Park, Saturday 10 October 2026

Blackburn Rovers made it back-to-back home wins with a battling 2-1 victory over Cardiff City at Ewood Park on Saturday, with first-half goals from Andri Gudjohnsen and Todd Cantwell proving decisive in a game in which the visitors dominated the ball but starved themselves of reward.

Tony Mowbray's side were ruthlessly clinical before the interval, turning two chances into two goals against a Cardiff team enjoying the lion's share of possession, and despite being made to sweat after the break they created enough to deserve the three points that lift them into the top half of the Championship table.

Clinical Rovers punish Cardiff's carelessness

The game settled into the expected pattern, with Cardiff monopolising possession and Blackburn lying in wait to press a mistake. After an uneventful opening, that approach paid dividends in the 28th minute: the visitors lost the ball in a dangerous area, a through ball towards Cantwell was cleared into the path of Gudjohnsen 12 yards out, and the striker coolly lashed home his fourth league goal of the season.

Rovers doubled their advantage 10 minutes later, again at speed. Dapo Afolayan's incisive ball released Ryoya Morishita down the right and his low cross was swept in first time by Cantwell — a shot that squirmed in despite Bluebirds goalkeeper Nathan Trott getting a hand to it, and one the Cardiff keeper will feel he ought to have saved.

Todd Cantwell in action for Blackburn Rovers against Cardiff City

Robinson responds as second half turns chaotic

Cardiff needed inspiration and got it shortly after the break. Jack Moylan picked up a loose ball in midfield, charged beyond Sean McLoughlin and squared for Callum Robinson, who slotted into the bottom-left corner for his first goal of the campaign in the 53rd minute.

What followed was a chaotic final half hour with chances at both ends. Substitute Jayden Fevrier went agonisingly close in the 64th minute with his first contribution, rounding Trott after latching onto Cantwell's pass, only for Dylan Lawlor to get back and clear. Fevrier then saw a shot saved by Trott's legs, and from the ensuing corner the Cardiff keeper produced a stunning reflex stop to parry away McLoughlin's near-post header.

At the other end, Chris Willock raced forward after a poor pass but his weight of pass deserted him just as a stronger ball would have released Robinson. Cardiff's best hope lay with Moylan, who danced inside from the left in the 76th minute only to see his goalbound shot deflected wide by Hayden Carter.

The returning Augustus Kargbo almost made the game safe 10 minutes from time, only for Trott's outstretched leg to divert his rasping shot away. Trott then palmed away a rising Cantwell effort in stoppage time, and Cardiff substitute Isaak Davies headed over in the dying seconds to extinguish the visitors' hopes of an equaliser.

What it means

Blackburn's second successive home win — following September's 3-1 victory over Millwall at a discontented Ewood Park, when Dapo Afolayan scored twice, according to reporting at the time — lifts Mowbray's men into the top half of the Championship table.

For Cardiff, it is another frustrating afternoon in a stop-start season under Brian Barry-Murphy. The Bluebirds were also beaten 1-0 at Bolton in September, when Thierry Gale headed in a last-minute winner and goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu made 10 saves to keep them at bay, and once again at Ewood Park possession did not translate into points.

Off the pitch, owner Vincent Tan's absence continues to draw criticism — BBC Sport reported in September that the Malaysian billionaire had reached 1,000 days without attending a match at Cardiff City Stadium, having last watched his side in person in a Boxing Day 2023 draw against Plymouth.

Robinson's 53rd-minute strike at least gave Cardiff something to build on, but with the game stretched in the closing stages they could not find a second goal, and Blackburn held on for a victory their first-half ruthlessness had earned.