Championship: Cardiff 3 Wolves 1

A Peter Whittingham hat-trick inspired Cardiff City to an impressive 3-1 victory at home to Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Wolves handed a start to new signing Bakary Sako, who made the switch from Ligue 1 outfit St Etienne before the deadline, and he marked his debut with a 10th-minute opener.

Sylvan Ebanks-Blake drew a foul from just outside the penalty area and Sako unleashed a powerful strike past Cardiff goalkeeper David Marshall.

However, the visitors lead was short lived as Cardiff hit back just seconds later.

Whittingham, who gave away the earlier free-kick, netted a penalty after Craig Noone was brought down by Wolves defender Ronald Zubar.

Cardiff then doubled their advantage three minutes later.

Nicky Maynard, a recent signing from West Ham, picked out Whittingham and the Englishman found the bottom corner with a well placed strike.

Malky Mackay’s troops went into the break with a 2-1 lead and came close to extending their advantage at the start of the second but Carl Ikeme was up to the task, denying Whittingham from a direct free kick.

But it was not long before Whittingham claimed his hat-trick and the match ball.

Noone was on the receiving end of another tough challenge, upended by Tongo Doumbia in the 65th minute.

Whittingham made no mistake from the resulting free kick, curling the ball past a helpless Ikeme in goals and handing Stale Solbakken’s Wolves their second defeat of the season.