Luton Town came from behind to beat Cardiff City and land what could be a huge blow in the fight for Championship survival.

Calum Chambers had put Cardiff in front early in the second half with a bouncing strike from the edge of the penalty area, only for Jordan Clark to equalise with a stunning, dipping volley from 20 yards.

Luton then took the lead as former Bluebirds winger Josh Bowler's shot was only cleared as far as Thelo Aasgaard, who blasted in from close range.

That goal sparked wild celebrations among the small but loud contingent of travelling ers, who savoured only a second away win of the season for the Hatters.

Luton, who were relegated from the Premier League last season, remain second from bottom of the Championship table but are now just two points behind Cardiff, who stay 21st but just one point clear of the drop zone.

The chorus of boos at the final whistle were an indictment of this latest setback for a Bluebirds side who have picked up just four wins in their past 24 league games.

This had all the hallmarks of an angst-ridden relegation scrap, with Luton coming into the game second-bottom after one win in 14, while Cardiff were hovering above the relegation zone with one win in their past seven.

The two sides mustered a measly one shot on target between them in a first half devoid of entertainment – but there was a vast improvement after the interval.

Less than a minute after losing captain Aaron Ramsey to another hamstring injury, Cardiff got themselves in front when Luton failed to effectively clear an Alex Robertson free-kick and Chambers' half-volley bounced into the ground and into the net.

Their celebrations were short-lived, however, as Clark chested the ball around 20 yards out before unleashing a brilliant volley which rendered Cardiff goalkeeper Ethan Horvath a mere spectator as it whistled into the net.

Both sides attacked from that point, sensing that a draw would do neither of them a great deal of good at this stage of the season.

Chambers almost outdid Clark with a fabulous volley from 25 yards which looked to be arrowing towards the top corner but instead cannoned into the crossbar.

Luton took full advantage of that reprieve as seconds later substitute Bowler, who spent last season on loan at Cardiff, cut inside from the right and fired in a low left-footed shot which Dimitrios Goutas could only turn into the path of Aasgaard, who composed himself and fired beyond Horvath.

That was the Norwegian's first goal for Luton following his January arrival from Wigan Athletic, and it could prove priceless as his new side aim to avoid back-to-back relegations.

Cardiff manager Omer Riza:

"If I said disappointed it would be an understatement. We are not doing all the things we need to be doing to win games. We are still making fundamental mistakes.

"We played into their hands, didn't get the ball down well enough. We forced balls, lost balls too easily and allowed them to apply pressure.

"The goals we gave away were comical. We are just not doing the basics well enough and it's costing us heavily. We put a lot of energy into games, get into good positions at times and the same mistakes are happening over and over."

Luton manager Matt Bloomfield:

"I'm really pleased. It's been a long time since we won away from home and to do it after going behind and finding the personality to get the win was really pleasing.

"There's been a lot of talk about the away form, and understandably so, so it's a relief to share that moment with ers at the end.

"Our boys have been fighting and this was possibly repayment for some of those moments that have not gone our way away from home. We'll keeping fighting. This is not job done by any stretch… but this is a nice moment for players to enjoy and hopefully a stepping stone for more."