CARDIFF CITY 3 BRISTOL CITY 0: If City believed the passing of Ninian Park would in any way render arch rivals Cardiff less effective, they were made to think again as they slumped to emphatic defeat in the Welsh capital.

True, the Bluebirds' new stadium may lack some of the vitriolic atmosphere which made playing at their former headquarters such a hazardous business, but its advent shows no sign of making a trip to the Principality any less daunting for visiting teams and their supporters.

Eager to put on a good show in front of the Sky TV cameras, the proud hosts set about their Severnside rivals with a relish which suggests Dave Jones' side has what it takes to maintain their impressive start to the Championship campaign.

Something had to give in this clash between two hitherto unbeaten sides and it was City who gave way in the face of a blue barrage which produced three goals and threatened a good many more.

City held their own until unfortunate captain Jamie McCombe turned the ball into his own net nine minutes before the interval. Goal machine Michael Chopra then made it 2-0 in first-half injury time and Gavin Rae skipped through to add a third midway through the second period, confirming Welsh superiority on this occasion and affording his team parity with early pace-setters Middlesbrough, Newcastle United and West Bromwich Albion.

Injury and illness offered partial mitigation for a City side forced to negotiate arguably their toughest assignment of the season to date without several influential players.

Defenders Bradley Orr and Lewin Nyatanga succumbed to a virus and mumps respectively, Cole Skuse failed to recover from a calf strain in time to feature and skipper Louis Carey was considered only just fit enough to make the bench.

Absenteeism on such a scale forced manager Gary Johnson to change formation, forsaking the 3-5-2 system which had served City so well in previous games for a more orthodox 4-3-3.

It worked up to a point, but goals change games and Cardiff's pre-eminence was seldom challenged after Chopra afforded the home side crucial breathing space.

Johnson introduced big John Akinde at the start of the second half in an attempt to give his team more of an attacking presence, only to see the Bluebirds further extend their lead and put the outcome beyond reasonable doubt.

City strained every sinew to redress the balance but, in truth, looked a beaten side long before the end.

Billed as a shoot-out between in-form strikers Chopra and Nicky Maynard, this contest proved both sides possess alternative match-winners.

Determined not to be outdone by his strike partner, Danny Haynes set Welsh alarm bells ringing when showing two defenders a clean pair of heels, surging into the penalty area and dragging the ball back for Maynard, who was denied a shooting opportunity by Anthony Gerrard's last-ditch intervention.

If City expected Bluebirds' £4m signing Chopra to provide the main threat to their unbeaten record, they were quickly disabused of the idea, Chris Burke skipping past two defenders and rounding keeper Dean Gerken, only to see his goal-bound effort clip Liam Fontaine's heel and rebound to safety.

Welsh international Joe Ledley was the next to breach Bristol lines, letting fly with a shot which Gerken deflected behind for a corner.

English pride obliged City to give as good as they got and Marvin Elliott's lofted cross invited David Clarkson to rise at the far post and perpetrate a glancing header which required teenage defender Adam Matthews to make a crucial clearance close to his own goal.

Burke's pace was proving a thorn in the side for the visitors and a punt up-field from Mark Hudson forced Gerken to rush from his line and clear under duress from the hard-running winger.

Gerken again came to his side's rescue on the half hour, scampering across goal and diving full-length to keep out a speculative long-range effort from left-back Paul Quinn which threatened to embarrass him.

Pressure was building and it came as little surprise when the Cardiff breakthrough materialised nine minutes before the interval. A well-worked throw-in routine on the right engineered sufficient room for Matthews to deliver a telling cross and, amid the ensuing confusion inside the six yard box, McCombe inadvertently turned the ball past his own goalkeeper.

In need of a response, the Robins almost conjured an equaliser from the restart. Paul Hartley floated a free kick into the mix and McCombe's header was deflected to Elliott, whose rising shot from six yards out thumped against the upright.

How the visitors must have wished that effort had gone in when Cardiff doubled their lead in first-half injury time. Once again, Burke's quick feet and speed off the mark caused panic in City's defence and his deft pass invited Chopra to come alive for the first time.

The Geordie needed no second invitation; his first touch carried him clear of the covering defence and his finish, delivered with the outside of his boot, proved too good for Gerken, who was powerless to prevent the impish striker's seventh goal of the campaign.

City urgently needed to score the next goal and the game was effectively over as a contest when Rae latched onto Ledley's through ball and raced clear to beat Gerken with an angled shot on 66 minutes.

Cardiff (4-4-2): Marshall; Matthews, Hudson, Gerrard, Quinn; Whittingham, Rae, Ledley, Burke; Chopra (Etuhu 80), Bothroyd (Magennis 89).

City (4-3-3): Gerken; Wilson, McCombe, Fontaine, McAllister; Elliott, Hartley (Sproule 75), Johnson (Williams 75); Haynes, Clarkson (Akinde 46), Maynard.

Referee: Kevin Friend (Leicestershire)

Attendance: 20,853