Carvalho double as Hull end winless run at Cardiff

Fabio Carvalho (centre) has scored six goals in his past eight games for Hull

Fabio Carvalho scored twice as Hull City beat Cardiff City to earn a first win in seven games and keep alive their slim hopes of making the Championship play-offs.

Karlan Grant pulled a goal back for Cardiff with a low finish after the break, only for former Bluebirds winger Jaden Philogene to break clear and swiftly restore Hull's two-goal lead.

Victory lifts Hull up to ninth in the Championship table, six points behind sixth-place Norwich City with a game in hand.

Liam Rosenior's men might still be viewed as outsiders for the play-offs but ending their winless run of six games at least keeps them in the hunt.

It was important they won in south Wales, as Norwich's win over Ipswich Town earlier on Saturday had opened up a nine-point gap between the Canaries and Hull.

As for Cardiff, this defeat effectively ends any lingering fanciful ideas they might have had of sneaking into the top six.

While neither promotion or relegation are realistic prospects for the Bluebirds, there is still plenty at stake for their manager Erol Bulut, whose contract expires at the end of this season. He has stated that he is keen to stay but has yet to start talks about a new deal.

His team started the match in a manner which suggested they were keen to make an impression, with left-back Jamilu Collins forcing former Cardiff goalkeeper Ryan Allsop into a save.

Evan Horvath was called into action twice in quick succession at the other end as he palmed away one shot from Abdulkadir Omur, before tipping another from the Turkish midfielder on to the post.

From the subsequent corner, Cardiff failed to clear, Carvalho ran on to the ball and, without breaking stride, hit a low left-footed volley which took a deflection on its way into the net.

The 21-year-old Liverpool loanee scored his and Hull's second with almost embarrassing ease, exchanging passes with Tufan before strolling into the home side's penalty area and finishing calmly.

There were grumbles from the stands as Cardiff trudged off at half-time, but Grant gave cause for optimism as he cut in from the left and squeezed a right-footed shot past Allsop at his near post.

Less than two minutes later, however, Hull had their two-goal advantage back.

Once again, Cardiff's defence was all too obliging as Philogene was allowed far too much time and space to scamper clear of his opponents and slot the ball beyond Horvath.

Omur was close to adding a fourth with a curling shot which hit the post, while Philogene shot wastefully over the bar when clean through in added time.

By that point, several Cardiff fans had left having endured another lifeless home performance from their team.

Hull's supporters, by contrast, could celebrate a well-deserved victory which ended their winless run in fine fashion and kept them in play-off contention.