Cardiff City 2, Leeds United 1

The Cardiff bogey struck again tonight in the npower Championship as sloppy Leeds defence allowed the Welsh side to bring to an end United’s 12-match unbeaten run.

The Bluebirds haven’t lost to Leeds since 1984, and Dave Jones' team were the last to beat United in the league before they set off on the run that took them into the top four.

After being second best throughout the first half, Leeds were lucky to go in only 1-0 down but when Robert Snodgrass curled in the equaliser on the hour the odds were on Leeds to win and move up to second in the table.

Instead their defence failed to pick up Michael Chopra’s run, and the striker looped the ball over Kasper Schmeichel to take all three points.

Ben Parker returned to the Leeds line-up for the first time since April.

Simon Grayson also rested Luciano Becchio, putting Billy Paynter alongside former Cardiff striker Ross McCormack up front, with both men still searching for their first Leeds goal.

The match kicked off in pouring rain and a lively start from Cardiff was rewarded after only ten minutes when Leeds went to sleep at a corner, allowing Craig Bellamy to play a one-two with Peter Whittingham before slotting it past Schmeichel.

It was hard to believe that Cardiff had lost five of their previous seven matches, a record that had the future of manager Dave Jones under scrutiny. They were far more incisive than Leeds and put plenty of pressure on a shaky Leeds defence.

Leeds were struggling to make any impression – it was the 38th minute before they forced a corner by which time the Bluebirds had had nine, and it was only some unconventional saves from Schmeichel that kept the score to 1-0 at the break.

Grayson only waited ten minutes into the second half to decide to make changes, Lloyd Sam and Herschel Sanchez Watt replacing McCormack and Max Gradel, and it paid off immediately.

Watt set up Sam who ran at the Cardiff defence and, even though his shot was saved by Tom Heaton, the ball ran clear to Snodgrass just outside the area and he curled a shot into the corner.

Sam’s game lasted only five minutes when he picked up a thigh injury and was replaced by Becchio.

Suddenly Leeds had their tails up and Cardiff’s defence, tested for the first time, looked uncertain as nervy home fans started to shout their displeasure.

But instead of pushing on, Leeds took their foot off the gas and were hit with a sucker punch ten minutes from the end when a long ball from Whittingham found Chopra, who clipped the ball over Schmeichel.

Leeds scrambled for an equaliser but, despite going close when Becchio headed just wide, it was too much to ask for them to pull yet another game out of the fire in injury time.