Joe Ledley struck his second goal in as many games to give Cardiff their third win of the festive period by beating Plymouth at Ninian Park.

The Wales midfielder enhanced his burgeoning reputation as his first-half strike was enough to clinch all three points by sealing a 1-0 win for the Bluebirds.

Cardiff's festive form has eased the pressure on boss Dave Jones and brought a sense of renewed optimism to Ninian Park following a miserable start to the campaign that saw them hovering just above the relegation zone last month.

Jones kept faith with the same starting XI that came from behind to beat Preston 2-1 at the weekend as former Chelsea striker Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink continued his partnership with Paul Parry in attack.

Meanwhile, Plymouth were flying high in sixth prior to kick-off but would have to cope with the loss of striker Barry Hayles who agreed to follow former boss Ian Holloway to Leicester on Monday.

Both teams were hesitant to commit themselves too early and while Plymouth strikers Sylvan Ebanks-Blake and Jermaine Easter posed a cnstant threat, it was the home side that broke the deadlock in the 29th minute.

Former Pilgrims full-back Tony Capaldi pounced on a poor clearance before drilling in a shot from the edge of the area which goalkeeper Romain Larrieu could only parry into the path of 20-year-old midfielder Ledley who gratefully tapped home from close range.

It was the Wales international's second goal in as many games and his exhilarating performances on the Cardiff wing have caught the eye of several Premier League clubs.

But a determined Plymouth side were almost on level terms when David Norris' shot from distance deflected off Roger Johnson and on to the post with goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel beaten.

The visitors increased the pressure before the interval but shots from Peter Halmosi and Krisztian Timar were cleanly dealt with by the Bluebirds defence.

After the break, former Wycombe forward Easter capitalised on hesitancy in the Cardiff defence to latch on to a bouncing ball before smashing a goal-bound effort which was tipped round the post by Schmeichel.

Boss Jones then withdrew Hasselbaink in favour of bringing on the fresh legs of Steven MacLean as he attempted to invigorate the Cardiff attack.

And MacLean almost made an instant impact after the dangerous Ledley slid a through-ball to the feet of the former Scunthorpe striker but he could not take it around goalkeeper Larrieu who successfully smothered MacLean's effort.

A frantic final five minutes included chances for both sides as Parry had his effort cleared off the line by retreating Pilgrims defender Paul Connolly while Plymouth applied some strong late pressure as they went in search of a late equaliser.

But it was the Bluebirds who almost scored again to double their lead when they hit the visitors on the counter attack with just one minute remaining but a neat move involving MacLean and Ledley resulted in the goalscorer firing narrowly wide.

The Pilgrims refused to give up and the home side had keeper Schmeichel to thank once again as he pulled off another fantastic save to his right as loan signing Lukasz Jutkiewicz's overhead kick looked to be heading in with the last kick of the game.

Teams

Cardiff Schmeichel, McNaughton, Loovens, Johnson, Capaldi,Whittingham (Thompson 71), Rae, McPhail, Ledley, Parry,Hasselbaink (MacLean 61).

Subs Not Used: Oakes, Purse, Blake.

Booked: McNaughton.

Goals: Ledley 30.

Plymouth Larrieu, Connolly, Timar (Doumbe 55), Seip, Hodges,Norris, Halmosi, Martin (Nalis 55), Abdou (Jutkiewicz 76),Ebanks-Blake, Easter.

Subs Not Used: McCormick, Summerfield.

Booked: Martin, Easter, Norris.

Att: 14,965

Ref: Alan Wiley (Staffordshire).