Cardiff City fought back from a two-goal deficit to secure a 2-2 draw against promotion-chasing Middlesbrough at the Riverside Stadium, despite Gabriel Osho being sent off late on.
Jack Moylan and Ollie Tanner gave Brian Barry-Murphy's side a commanding first-half lead. But Middlesbrough responded after the break through Tommy Conway and Will Lankshear, before Osho's 83rd-minute red card left Cardiff to withstand a barrage of pressure in the closing stages.
Moylan and Tanner give Cardiff a dream start
Cardiff began brightly and took the lead in the 22nd minute through Moylan, who continued his excellent recent form after scoring twice in Tuesday's 5-1 demolition of Watford. The striker collected the ball, cut inside Borges and beat Aidan Morris with a clever turn inside the penalty area before drilling a low finish past Radek Vitek at his near post.
Middlesbrough attempted to respond, with Amario Cozier-Duberry testing Nathan Trott on several occasions, while Alex Robertson produced an important block to deny the winger after the Cardiff goalkeeper had parried a dangerous cross.
The visitors struck again in first-half stoppage time with a superb counter-attacking goal. Moylan carried the ball forward before feeding Tanner, who cut inside his marker and unleashed a stunning strike from the edge of the area into the top corner.
Middlesbrough fight back after the break
The hosts made changes at half-time, introducing Will Lankshear and Sebastian Berhalter, and the impact was immediate as Middlesbrough began to turn the screw. The pressure eventually told in the 58th minute when Conway arrived in the penalty area to meet a pull-back and finished first time to reduce the deficit.
Just three minutes later, Middlesbrough were level. David Turnbull gave the ball away in midfield, allowing the hosts to break quickly. Lankshear received possession on the edge of the area and curled a precise effort around the Cardiff defenders and into the bottom corner.
Barry-Murphy responded by introducing Will Fish for Chris Willock, with Krystian Bielik moving into midfield. Cian Ashford then produced a moment of quality, cutting inside from the left before slipping a reverse pass into Moylan, but the striker could not get enough on his effort to restore Cardiff's lead.
Osho sent off as Cardiff hold firm
Cardiff were increasingly forced onto the defensive as Middlesbrough pushed for a winner. The closing stages brought another setback when Osho was dismissed in the 83rd minute for a rash challenge on Lankshear, leaving Cardiff to see out the final minutes with 10 men against a side sitting second in the Championship.
Barry-Murphy's side held firm through four added minutes to claim a hard-earned point. The draw leaves the Bluebirds still searching for that first away league win of the season, but a point earned against one of the Championship's in-form sides represents a result they can take something from.
