Cardiff City remain without a Championship win after being held to a 1-1 draw by Stoke City, with Joel Colwill's second-half header rescuing a point for Brian Barry-Murphy's side.
First-half struggle
The Bluebirds fell behind in the first half when Ben Johnson capitalised on a defensive mix-up involving Joel Bagan and Nathan Trott, despite Cardiff having created some promising opportunities of their own. Ollie Tanner struck the post early on, while Yousef Salech and Chris Willock also had openings as the hosts struggled to turn their possession into a sustained attacking threat.
Improved after the break
Cardiff were much improved after the interval and eventually got their reward when Colwill produced an excellent diving header to level things up. They then pushed for a winner, with Salech going close and Jack Moylan seeing a late effort deflect onto the post, but Stoke held on for a share of the spoils.
Player ratings
Nathan Trott 5 – Should have done more to help Joel Bagan with Stoke's opener, with his indecision allowing Johnson to pounce. He did make an important save to deny George Hirst early in the second half, though.
Perry Ng 6 – Solid enough without being particularly influential. Did his defensive work reasonably well and also produced a neat pass to Joel Colwill early on.
Krystian Bielik 5 – There were some useful moments, but he was too sloppy in possession at times and one poor touch almost allowed Stoke to extend their lead.
Gabriel Osho 6 – Generally dependable at the back and produced an excellent challenge to deny Robert Bozenik a clear run on goal in the first half. Looked composed for much of the evening.
Joel Bagan 5 – A difficult evening. He was at fault for Stoke's goal, failing to deal with Bozenik's ball over the top, although he did offer a threat going forward and was involved regularly in Cardiff's second-half pressure.
Alex Robertson 6 – Kept things ticking over in midfield and showed some nice quality with his distribution, including the excellent pass which sent Salech through in the second half.
Joel Colwill 7 – Quiet in the first half but sparked into life after the break. Took his goal superbly with a tremendous diving header and came close to adding another when he headed against the outside of the post.
Jack Moylan 6 – Had some bright moments and continued to show flashes of his attacking quality. His late effort took a deflection and struck the post, which would have completed a comeback.
Ollie Tanner 7 (star man) – Really bright and was a constant threat, particularly in the first half. Hit the post early on and repeatedly got himself into dangerous positions. So frustrating because if that end product was better, he'd be a world-beater. He remains a bit of an enigma.
Yousef Salech 5 – Needs to offer more. It's a tough task leading that line on your own, but he had opportunities to make a telling contribution but was unable to take them, including big chances when played through by Robertson and Moylan.
Chris Willock 6 – Another who started slowly but grew into the game. His delivery improved significantly after the break and he repeatedly put excellent balls into the box, including the cross for Colwill's equaliser.
Subs: Cian Ashford (Willock 82) N/a
