Jack Moylan scored a stunning first-half hat-trick, but Cardiff City surrendered a three-goal lead as West Ham United fought back to snatch a dramatic 3-3 draw at the Cardiff City Stadium.
The Bluebirds looked to be heading for a famous victory after their Irish star produced an extraordinary opening 45 minutes, but a second-half capitulation saw the Hammers roar back to claim a point in Scott Parker's first match in charge.
Moylan's First-Half Masterclass
Moylan opened the scoring after just 11 minutes with a quite stunning strike. Alex Robertson picked him out 25 yards from goal and the Irishman took one touch before unleashing an unstoppable effort into the top corner.
Cardiff were rampant. Calum Scanlon almost doubled their advantage when his delicate chip forced Mads Hermansen into a fine save, while Will Fish headed narrowly over from a corner.
Moylan won a penalty after being hauled down by Morato in the 36th minute and duly dispatched the spot-kick, sending Hermansen the wrong way. Just two minutes later, the Irishman completed his hat-trick, flicking Joel Bagan's corner against the underside of the crossbar and into the net to send the home crowd into dreamland.
West Ham's Second-Half Fightback
Parker made changes at the interval and West Ham emerged a completely different proposition, pinning the hosts inside their own half. The comeback began in the 59th minute when Jarrod Bowen picked out Divine Mukasa with a clever ball over Cardiff's defence, allowing the youngster to lift his finish over Nathan Trott.
Seven minutes later, Arne Engels raced onto Joel Piroe's header and coolly slotted beyond Trott to reduce the deficit to one. Cardiff were suddenly hanging on desperately, their composure completely evaporating as West Ham poured forward.
Yousef Salech squandered a glorious opportunity to restore some breathing space when he failed to capitalise after heading the ball around Hermansen, allowing Joel Veltman to recover.
Late Equaliser and Dramatic Finish
The inevitable equaliser arrived in the 82nd minute. Bowen delivered another wicked cross and Max Kilman ghosted in to volley home. West Ham might even have completed an extraordinary turnaround, with Edvin Austbo testing Trott and Ezra Mayers blazing wide in stoppage time.
Trott then produced a vital late save to deny Tomas Soucek as Cardiff somehow clung on. Before kick-off, a minute's applause was held for Cardiff legend Don Murray, who died this week aged 80.
A breathtaking hat-trick from Moylan should have been the story of the night. Instead, it was Cardiff's spectacular collapse that dominated as two precious points slipped through their fingers.
