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Cardiff City boosted their play-off hopes by beating Blackburn to claim a first win in four Championship matches.

Anthony Pilkington and Joe Ralls mustered the only two meaningful shots as Cardiff shaded a goalless first half of scarce quality.

Joe Mason made the breakthrough for the hosts, scoring on the rebound after Craig Noone's shot was blocked.

Cardiff are now ninth in the table, four points behind the play-off places, while Blackburn drop to 17th.

The Bluebirds dropped Kenwyne Jones as the Trinidadian striker held talks with an unnamed foreign club, paving the way for a first start since November for his fellow joint top scorer Mason.

He and his strike partner Tony Watt struggled to impose themselves on a disjointed first half, with the sticky Cardiff City Stadium pitch - which has drawn criticism - making it difficult to play passing football.

Cardiff conjured the first half's best efforts on goal - Pilkington's shot well saved by Jason Steele and Ralls curling one over - but it remained goalless at the break.

Blackburn's attacking threat was limited to set-pieces, and Shane Duffy's header 10 minutes after the restart was comfortably held by David Marshall.

The home side eventually broke the deadlock after an hour. Noone cut inside from the right wing and saw his shot blocked on the line by Duffy, but Mason pounced on the rebound to score his sixth goal of the season, and his fifth in as many appearances against Blackburn.

Watt had two good chances to double Cardiff's lead and, although both efforts were well saved by Steele, the Bluebirds held on to their victory with relative ease.

Cardiff manager Russell Slade:

"I thought the game was a little bit flat in the first period but you have to take into consideration, it was very difficult on that surface to move the ball quickly and with any intensity and tempo - for both teams, not just for us.

"What was pleasing, despite the busy programme, was we came out in the second period and really got on the front foot.

"Pleased, delighted with a clean sheet. We've won at home - we're proving to difficult to beat, and that's important to us."

Blackburn boss Paul Lambert:

"I felt we should have had a stonewall penalty, I don't know how the referee missed it but I am not going to complain about it and get into trouble.

"But you are always concerned with a run of results like this, our form is not good, we have lost the last three.

"I have seen every player now and everyone has had a chance to show what they can do - and if you do not perform when you have those chances you will not play. That is football."