Match ends, Cardiff City 1, Fulham 0.
CardiffCardiff City1FulhamFulham0
Cardiff marked their return to their traditional blue kit by beating Fulham at a jubilant Cardiff City Stadium.
There had been fears the game would be delayed when strong winds damaged the roof of the Ninian Stand.
But the match kicked off on time and Sean Morrison headed in from Aron Gunnarsson's long throw to give Cardiff a scrappy 1-0 half-time lead.
Cardiff were untroubled in a second period low on quality and incident, as they sealed a first league win in six.
The return to blue - two-and-a-half years after Malaysian owner Vincent Tan controversially changed their home strip to red to increase their international appeal in Asia - inspired a stirring atmosphere at Cardiff City Stadium, unrecognisable from the discontent of recent fixtures.
Cardiff's last home match, a 3-1 FA Cup win over Colchester, was watched by only 4,194 fans, the venue's lowest attendance since it opened in 2009.
That result at least broke a sequence of five matches without a win, and Cardiff looked on course for a first league victory since November when Morrison headed them in front against Fulham.
From Gunnarsson's long throw, the centre-back's header was half-saved by Marcus Bettinelli before looping over the line.
Morrison was close to claiming a second soon afterwards, but his first-time effort from a tight angle was cleared off the line by Kostas Stafylidis.
Former Cardiff forward Ross McCormack was Fulham's most prominent attacking threat, curling one effort narrowly over shortly before half-time and hitting a free-kick straight at Simon Moore after an hour.
Cardiff brought on new striker Alex Revell in the second half - their second debutant of the match alongside left-back Scott Malone - but chances were scarce.
An uneventful end suited the hosts, as they celebrated their return to blue and consigned Fulham to a third successive league defeat.
Cardiff manager Russell Slade:
"It was an enormous result for us. It was just staying in control because it was a big day for the football club and not let the occasion get to the players.
"Whether we scored the first goal or didn't score the first goal, I felt they would stay behind us anyway.
"That's a huge difference when you've got the 12th man out there, keeping you going.
Fulham manager Kit Symons:
"It was always going to be hard for us coming here because that decision gave everyone at Cardiff City a lift. I came here two weeks ago to watch them against Watford and the atmosphere was very different.
"We had good possession but didn't create enough clear-cut opportunities for all the ball we had. We had excellent possession and good periods with the ball.
"We've got creative players and we made changes to bring on more creative players to get forward."
Line-ups
Cardiff
Formation 4-4-2
- 33Moore
- 2Brayford
- 36Morrison
- 6Turner
- 4MaloneSubstituted forJohnat 81'minutes
- 18Adeyemi
- 17Gunnarsson
- 7Whittingham
- 11Noone
- 9JonesSubstituted forRevellat 45'minutes
- 10Le FondreSubstituted forK Harrisat 90+2'minutes
Substitutes
- 12John
- 13Kim
- 16Connolly
- 21Ralls
- 29Revell
- 40K Harris
- 42Wilson
Fulham
Formation 4-1-2-1-2
- 40Bettinelli
- 37Grimmer
- 4HutchinsonBooked at 6mins
- 6Bodurov
- 3Stafylidis
- 8Parker
- 12FofanaSubstituted forKavanaghat 61'minutes
- 19Tunnicliffe
- 44McCormack
- 20RodallegaSubstituted forDembeleat 73'minutes
- 16WoodrowSubstituted forKacaniklicat 61'minutes
Substitutes
- 1Kiraly
- 11Kacaniklic
- 14Roberts
- 25Dembele
- 27Williams
- 32Kavanagh
- 33Burn
- Referee:
- Nigel Miller
- Attendance:
- 22,515
Match Stats
Home TeamCardiffAway TeamFulham
- Possession
- Home37%
- Away63%
- Shots
- Home19
- Away7
- Shots on Target
- Home4
- Away2
- Corners
- Home4
- Away6
- Fouls
- Home8
- Away9
Live Text
Post update
Full Time
Second Half ends, Cardiff City 1, Fulham 0.
Post update
Corner, Fulham. Conceded by John Brayford.
Post update
Attempt blocked. Alexander Kacaniklic (Fulham) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
Substitution
Substitution, Cardiff City. Kadeem Harris replaces Adam Le Fondre.
Post update
Corner, Fulham. Conceded by Ben Turner.
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Nikolay Bodurov (Fulham) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
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Foul by Alex Revell (Cardiff City).
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Alexander Kacaniklic (Fulham) wins a free kick on the right wing.
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Foul by Aron Gunnarsson (Cardiff City).
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Foul by Jack Grimmer (Fulham).
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Adam Le Fondre (Cardiff City) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
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Offside, Cardiff City. Aron Gunnarsson tries a through ball, but Alex Revell is caught offside.
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Attempt missed. Peter Whittingham (Cardiff City) left footed shot from long range on the right is close, but misses to the right. Assisted by John Brayford.
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Attempt missed. Sean Morrison (Cardiff City) header from the centre of the box misses to the right. Assisted by Peter Whittingham with a cross following a corner.
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Corner, Cardiff City. Conceded by Konstantinos Stafylidis.
Post update
Foul by Shaun Hutchinson (Fulham).
Post update
Alex Revell (Cardiff City) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Substitution
Substitution, Cardiff City. Declan John replaces Scott Malone.
Post update
Attempt missed. Adam Le Fondre (Cardiff City) right footed shot from the centre of the box misses to the left. Assisted by Tom Adeyemi with a cross.
