By Sam Hill
Cardiff City returned to the summit of League One with a dominant 3-0 victory over Mansfield in the Welsh capital
Goals from Will Fish, Yousef Salech and Cian Ashford were enough to secure three vital points for the Bluebirds.
Fish opened the scoring in the first half, following a Joel Bagan cross from a corner, the Irishman registered his first assist of the season on his 100th appearance for the Bluebirds.
Following a convincing opening 45 minutes for the hosts, there was a half-time switch for Mansfield with Stephen McLaughlin withdrawn for Baily Cargill, and from there the visitors’ tempo began to rise.
Five of the next six shots after the break were from the Stags, highlighting their early improvement in the second half.
Elliott Hewitt nodded wide from a corner before Will Evans missed a gilt-edged chance to level the contest, diverting a strike just wide of the Cardiff goal following another set-piece.
The Cardiff head coach Brian Barry-Murphy then shuffled his pack just after the hour mark. Callum Robinson, Perry Ng and Isaak Davies were replaced by Chris Willock, Ronan Kpakio and Joel Colwill.
Just eight minutes later, the hosts found their second through Salech. After missing some earlier chances, the Cardiff striker was not to be denied this time.
Dylan Lawlor sent a lofted ball over the top, the on-rushing Kpakio then raced to the ball first before sending a cross to the back post that Salech nodded home.
As the Mansfield following began to quieten, the Cardiff fans only elevated in noise as their team wrestled back control of the contest.
They found their third late on, when Alex Robertson slipped a neat through ball into Cian Ashford. The winger’s first attempt was saved but he followed up well to secure his second goal of the league campaign.
For Nigel Clough’s men this was a third successive league defeat which sees them slip to 15th in the League One table, after a bright start.
The Stags will now prepare for a trip to the Wham Stadium next Saturday, where they will face Accrington Stanley in the second round of the FA Cup.
Coinciding with Cardiff’s victory was an away draw at Wigan for Stevenage, which saw the Bluebrids leapfrog them in top position in the division.
Barry-Murphy’s squad will now turn their attention to AFC Wimbledon at home on Tuesday night in the last 32 of the EFL trophy, with a rotated team expected.