Andri Gudjohnsen and Todd Cantwell's first-half goals punished Cardiff City as Blackburn Rovers marked the return of Championship action with a home victory.

Iceland international Gudjohnsen fired Blackburn ahead by following up a Cantwell chance before the Rovers skipper doubled their lead 10 minutes later.

Cardiff improved after the break, and Callum Robinson pulled one back soon after the restart, but they could not turn their pressure into a comeback draw.

This win lifts Blackburn up to 12th in the table, while Cardiff, who have won just once this season, sit 21st in the division.

Tony Mowbray had warned Rovers fans that Cardiff would dictate possession, but the visitors were taught a lesson by a well-drilled team in the first half.

Though the Bluebirds did enjoy plenty of the ball, as predicted, they failed to turn it into meaningful chances, and Gudjohnsen's hard work off the ball paid dividends when he closed down Joel Bagan's clearance and rifled Blackburn ahead.

Cardiff continued to work the ball out from the back and got into dangerous areas, only to be undone by a slick three-pass move from the hosts, which resulted in an unmarked Cantwell tucking the ball past Nathan Trott to double Rovers' lead.

The trend was broken early in the second half when Cardiff's main threat Jack Moylan squeezed between two Blackburn defenders to tee Robinson, who finished low and hard into the corner to open his account for the season.

From there, Cardiff enjoyed a period of sustained pressure, but Blackburn remained a constant threat on the break, and the visitors were saved by Bagan's goal-line clearance and a Trott double-save.

The all-important equaliser did not arrive for Cardiff, as Blackburn stood firm to extend their unbeaten run to three games, despite the best individual efforts of Moylan.

No team in the Championship had registered more shots (152) than Cardiff after the first eight games of the season, but Brian Barry-Murphy's side lacked creativity in the first half.

They managed just one effort before the break - a curling attempt from Ollie Tanner that never looked like testing the goalkeeper - but did improve in the second half, with Moylan a real threat and Robinson pulling one back.

The lack of a back-up option for striker Yousef Salech is likely to be a talking point among supporters once again, after a defeat in which Cardiff's goal was their only effort on target.

Blackburn deserve credit for their defensive performance, and though they were not ruthless in front of goal as Mowbray had called for, their first-half goals were enough as they racked up 17 shots.

Mowbray will, however, be pleased to see the return of Augustus Kargbo, who came on in the second half for his first Championship minutes after nearly a year out with various injuries.

Judging by Kristi Montgomery's performance, there were no signs of disappointment from the young midfielder after his first Scotland call-up did not yield a maiden cap. The 22-year-old made five successful tackles, the joint-most alongside Cardiff's Bagan.

Blackburn Rovers head coach Tony Mowbray told BBC Radio Lancashire:

"We knew it was going to be a tough game. I don't think we touched the ball for the first five minutes, but the team expected that.

"I thought we executed what we had worked on in transition - the second goal epitomised that. We broke quickly, cut it across and scored.

"It was a good day for us. I would have been much happier if I was sitting here and we had scored another one or two.

"We had plenty of opportunities to score in the second half. We didn't manage it, but we will take the three points, put them in the bag and move on."

Cardiff City head coach Brian Barry-Murphy told BBC Radio Wales:

"I'm very disappointed with our performance. We didn't feel as though it was good enough to give ourselves a chance to win the game.

"We showed signs of what we are capable of in the second half, which probably only heightens our disappointment with how we played in the first half.

"We created good chances in the second half and should have scored a second. We can't shy away from the fact that we were not good enough in the first half."