Jeremy Sarmiento's goal was his just his second since joining West Brom on loan from Brighton
West Brom moved up to third in the Championship as Jeremy Sarmiento's fabulous second-half strike proved the difference at play-off-chasing Cardiff City.
Sarmiento came closest to scoring in a goalless first half with a shot that hit the post after a swift counter-attack from the visitors.
The Ecuadorian attacking midfielder on loan from Brighton then put the Baggies ahead with a fine whipped effort which dipped and curled into the far corner.
Cardiff struggled to create many genuine chances as they searched for an equaliser and were limited to long-range shots from Josh Bowler and Rubin Colwill.
West Brom's win closes the gap on Ipswich Town in the second automatic promotion spot to seven points, but Kieran McKenna's men will have a chance to restore their advantage at home to Millwall on Wednesday.
As for Cardiff, defeat sees them slip to eighth in the table, three points adrift of the play-off places.
They had briefly climbed into the top six on Saturday with a dramatic late comeback win at Preston - but lasted only a couple of hours there as West Brom ended Ipswich's 12-match unbeaten run at the Hawthorns.
As disappointed as Erol Bulut and his players will be to lose this game, though, being in their current position still represents a huge improvement on the previous two seasons and their successive battles against relegation.
For West Brom, meanwhile, six points from their two tricky matches suggests Carlos Corberan's side are in promising form as the promotion race intensifies with the looming festive fixture pile-up.
More to follow.
- Line-upsMatch StatsLive Text
Line-upsCardiff
Formation 4-2-3-1
13Rúnarsson2Romeo4Goutas5McGuinness38Ng23Siopis8Ralls14Bowler47Robinson32Tanner22Méïté
- 13Rúnarsson2RomeoSubstituted forPanzoat 56'minutes4Goutas5McGuinness38Ng23Siopis8RallsSubstituted forWintleat 56'minutes14BowlerBooked at 87mins47RobinsonSubstituted forColwillat 65'minutes32TannerSubstituted forEteteat 75'minutes22MéïtéSubstituted forUgboat 56'minutes
Substitutes
- 6Wintle9Etete12Ugbo18Adams19Sawyers21Alnwick24Panzo27Colwill35Rinomhota
West Brom
Formation 4-2-3-1
24Palmer2Furlong5Bartley4Kipré3Townsend35Yokuslu27Mowatt7J Wallace11Diangana17Sarmiento19Swift
- 24Palmer2FurlongBooked at 88mins5BartleyBooked at 90mins4Kipré3Townsend35YokusluSubstituted forMolumbyat 74'minutes27Mowatt7J WallaceSubstituted forThomas-Asanteat 21'minutes11DianganaSubstituted forFellowsat 65'minutes17SarmientoSubstituted forPhillipsat 65'minutes19SwiftSubstituted forMajaat 74'minutes
Substitutes
- 6Ajayi8Molumby9Maja10Phillips14Chalobah21Thomas-Asante26Ávila Gordón31Fellows33Griffiths
Referee:Josh SmithAttendance:18,248Match StatsHome TeamCardiffAway TeamWest BromPossessionHome44%Away56%ShotsHome11Away8Shots on TargetHome1Away1CornersHome6Away3FoulsHome7Away9Live Text Post update
Match ends, Cardiff City 0, West Bromwich Albion 1.
90'+6'Full Time
Second Half ends, Cardiff City 0, West Bromwich Albion 1.
90'+5'Post update
Attempt missed. Manolis Siopis (Cardiff City) right footed shot from outside the box is close, but misses the top right corner following a corner.
90'+5'Post update
Corner, Cardiff City. Conceded by Conor Townsend.
90'+4'Post update
Corner, Cardiff City. Conceded by Cédric Kipré.
90'+3'Post update
Attempt blocked. Kion Etete (Cardiff City) header from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Rubin Colwill.
90'+1'Post update
Attempt missed. Rubin Colwill (Cardiff City) right footed shot from outside the box misses to the left. Assisted by Manolis Siopis.
90'Booking
Kyle Bartley (West Bromwich Albion) is shown the yellow card.
90'Post update
Foul by Kyle Bartley (West Bromwich Albion).
90'Post update
Kion Etete (Cardiff City) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
90'Post update
Attempt blocked. Jayson Molumby (West Bromwich Albion) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
90'Post update
Hand ball by Darnell Furlong (West Bromwich Albion).
88'Booking
Darnell Furlong (West Bromwich Albion) is shown the yellow card.
87'Booking
Josh Bowler (Cardiff City) is shown the yellow card.
86'Post update
Attempt missed. Darnell Furlong (West Bromwich Albion) right footed shot from a difficult angle on the right is high and wide to the right. Assisted by Matt Phillips with a cross following a corner.
85'Post update
Corner, West Bromwich Albion. Conceded by Manolis Siopis.
83'Post update
Corner, West Bromwich Albion. Conceded by Rubin Colwill.
82'Post update
Corner, West Bromwich Albion. Conceded by Mark McGuinness.
81'Post update
Attempt missed. Josh Bowler (Cardiff City) left footed shot from outside the box is too high. Assisted by Mark McGuinness with a headed pass following a corner.
81'Post update
Attempt blocked. Rubin Colwill (Cardiff City) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Ryan Wintle.
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Source: bbc.com