Cardiff City bounced back from a 5-1 defeat at table toppers Newcastle United to record a unconvincing 2-0 victory over a Peterborough United side that played some pretty football without providing that cutting edge in front of goal in the latest Coca-Cola Championship fixture.

Posh, wearing the all green strip, had the first effort of the game at the impressive Cardiff City Stadium, with George Boyd letting fly from distance, but goalkeeper David Marshall made a comfortable save.

However, the Bluebirds went straight down the other end and came extremely close to the breakthrough as Jay Bothroyd was given time and space to send a left-foot curler towards goal, but the base of the post came to the rescue.

Moments later and strike partner Michael Chopra, who was in fine form earlier in the season, fired wide of the near post after linking up well with Peter Whittingham on the left hand side of midfield.

Whittingham curled an effort from 25-yards well over the top on 16 minutes as Cardiff began to settle into the job in hand after a spell of good Posh possession. Goalkeeper Joe Lewis made a smart fingertip save to deny Whittingham's in-swinging free-kick moments later as City won the first corner kick of the evening.

A snap-shot from Aaron Mclean trickled past the post on 24 minutes after the striker cut inside from the left. Chopra had a similar effort at the other end and the goalkeepers were having an easy night of it so far.

Somewhat against the run of play, although in truth neither side were really showing much going forward, the home side got their noses in front as a left-wing cross was headed back across goal from Bothroyd and BURKE lashed a close-range volley past Joe Lewis.

The goal seemed to lift the home side and their fans and Whittingham fired wide on 33 minutes from distance as Posh struggled to make a tackle in midfield. Burke headed over after leaping above Rowe at the back post on 37 minutes as Cardiff continued to threaten.

Chopra guided a shot wide of the target on the stroke of half time after a good clipped ball into the box by the impressive Burke, after Frecklington's heavy touch stopped him from making a routine clearance.

Half-time: Cardiff City 1-0 Posh

Mackail-Smith was withdrawn at the interval with Kerrea Gilbert introduced as Posh reverted back to a 4-4-2 system to try and combat the Cardiff strength in wide areas. Jim Gannon's men made a bright start to the second period, winning successive corner kicks after good work from Boyd.

A poor back-pass from Aaron Wildig was seized upon by Whelpdale on 57 minutes, but the winger was denied by a smothering save from goalkeeper Marshall who was quick to dash from his line.

A moment of confusion in the Posh back-line allowed Bothroyd to loft the ball over Lewis, but it cleared the crossbar with the home faithful expecting a corner kick after spotting a fine stop from the England under 21 goalkeeper.

Lewis then produced a fine save to deny Whittingham before Burke found the side-netting with the rebound as the Bluebirds began to turn up the heat on Posh on a chilly evening in South Wales.

In a rare foray forward from Gannon's men, Boyd sent a low cross-shot across goal with the hosts appealing in vain for an offside flag, which should have been forthcoming in all honesty.

Excellent work from Whelpdale helped create the clearest opportunity for Posh on 76 minutes as his cutback found Boyd, but his shot went straight at Marshall who made a comfortable save. Boyd should have done better from close-range, firing low at the goalkeeper.

Moments later and it was game over as a simple set-piece from Whittingham yielded a goal for midfielder Anthony GERRARD who guided the ball past Lewis and into the back of the net. Those 60 seconds summed up the Posh season, no clinical finishing at one end and an inability to defend set-pieces at the other.

Josh Simpson came on with 10 minutes remaining, but a comeback inspired by the former Histon man was looking unlikely, despite Frecklington's best efforts, his rasping drive claimed by Marshall.

A deflected shot from Chopra struck the outside of the post on 86 minutes as the hosts counter-attacked with pace, but in truth, the Bluebirds were more than comfortable playing out the game without any real urgency to the dismay of their boss Dave Jones. Frecklington wasted the final opportunity for Posh, firing wide of the near post before the referee brought a half to proceedings.

Final Score: Cardiff City 2-0 Posh

Cardiff City: Marshall, McNaughton, Kennedy, Gyepes, Whittingham, Chopra, Bothroyd (sub Feeney 90min), McPhail (sub Taiwo 77min), Burke, Gerrard, Blake (sub Wildig 23min). Unused subs: Enckelman, Quinn, Matthews, McCormack.

Posh: Lewis, Williams (sub Simpson 81min), Morgan, Bennett, Rowe, Whelpdale, Frecklington, Livermore, Boyd, Mclean, Mackail-Smith (sub Gilbert 46min). Unused subs: McKeown, Lee, Griffiths, Geohaghon, Reid.

Referee: A. Penn
Attendance: 17,686