CARDIFF (Interstat) — Ollie Tanner scored twice and Cardiff City routed Northampton Town 5-1 on Saturday at Cardiff City Stadium in a League One match that extended the Bluebirds’ dominant season and deepened the Cobblers’ struggles.

Tanner, a defender, opened the scoring in the ninth minute with his first goal of the afternoon. Midfielder Joel Colwill doubled the lead in the 19th minute before Callum Robinson made it 3-0 in the 37th minute. Tanner struck again in the 54th minute, and Jake Evans added a fifth goal in the 68th minute. Northampton Town’s Yousef Salech scored in the 85th minute to deny Cardiff a clean sheet.

Northampton Town’s Sam Hoskins received a yellow card in the 42nd minute, and Alex Robertson was booked in the 74th minute for the Cobblers.

The victory improved Cardiff City’s League One record to 27 wins, 7 losses and 6 draws, with 30 wins, 7 losses and 7 draws across all competitions. Northampton Town fell to 9 wins, 27 losses and 8 draws in league play, and 9 wins, 30 losses and 9 draws overall.

Cardiff entered the match having won three of its previous four league contests, including a 1-0 victory at Port Vale on April 22 and a 3-1 win at Reading on April 18. The Bluebirds had also drawn 1-1 at Hfield Town and beaten Bolton Wanderers 2-0 in the weeks prior. Their only recent stumble came in a 2-0 loss to Wycombe Wanderers on March 17.

Northampton Town arrived on a seven-match losing streak across all competitions, a run that included a 3-1 home loss to Doncaster on April 18, a 2-1 defeat at Luton Town on April 15, a 3-1 loss at Wigan Athletic on April 6, a 1-0 loss at Bradford City on April 3, a 4-1 defeat at Mansfield Town on March 21, a 2-1 loss at Stockport County on March 17 and a 2-0 home defeat to Burton Albion on March 14. The Cobblers had not won since a 3-1 victory over Stevenage on Feb. 7, a span of more than two months.

The teams had met once earlier this season, with Cardiff winning 3-1 at Northampton on Nov. 22, 2025. That result marked the most recent head-to-head encounter before Saturday.

Cardiff City’s next scheduled match is on May 2 at Mansfield Town. Northampton Town is scheduled to host Barnsley on April 28 before welcoming Plymouth Argyle on May 2.

InterStat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Cardiff City 1, Northampton Town 1. InterStat’s ELO system gave Cardiff City a 96.10 percent probability to win.