Cardiff City were forced to settle for a point against Sheffield United as they were held to a 2-2 draw despite dominating large spells of the match. The Bluebirds produced a hugely-entertaining display at Cardiff City Stadium but were unable to find the decisive third goal after repeatedly putting the Blades under pressure late in the second half.
Fast Start and Quick Response
Brian Barry-Murphy's side started brightly and took the lead inside two minutes through new signing Jack Moylan. Rubin Colwill won possession in midfield before releasing Cian Ashford, who carried the ball forward and found Moylan on the left. The summer arrival cut inside Jamal Baptiste before firing a low effort into the near-post bottom corner.
But Cardiff's lead lasted only two minutes. Sheffield United were awarded a contentious penalty after Alex Robertson was adjudged to have brought down Tom Cannon in the box. Robertson appeared to tug the striker's shirt, although there was little contact, but referee John Busby pointed to the spot. Cannon stepped up and sent Nathan Trott the wrong way to level.
The visitors then turned the game around in the seventh minute after Cardiff failed to deal with a goal kick. Robertson miscontrolled the ball and Patrick Bamford pounced, feeding Callum O'Hare with a clever reverse pass. O'Hare raced through and calmly slotted past Trott to make it 2-1.
Cardiff's Response and Equaliser
Cardiff responded impressively and began to take control of the contest. Ollie Tanner was causing problems down the right, while Moylan and Joel Bagan combined effectively on the opposite flank. Bagan saw a dangerous effort tipped over by Michael Cooper before Cardiff eventually found their equaliser in the 38th minute.
Tanner powered his way into the box and fired a low shot which Cooper did well to keep out with his leg. The rebound fell perfectly for Ashford, who made no mistake with the finish. Cardiff went into the interval level at 2-2 after a breathless opening 45 minutes.
Second-Half Dominance Without Reward
The second half was largely one-way traffic. Cardiff immediately began asking questions of the Sheffield United defence, winning a succession of corners and creating openings from open play. Salech headed over from one opportunity, while a flowing counter-attack involving Bagan, Moylan and Ashford ended with Tanner forcing another good save from Cooper.
Moylan then went close again, fizzing an effort wide after being picked out by Colwill, before combining with Salech on the edge of the area and seeing another effort blocked. The pressure continued to build. Ollie Tanner was played in and looked to have his shirt pulled inside the area, although no penalty was given, before Cardiff produced more sustained pressure around the Sheffield United box.
Moylan had another effort blocked and the Blades were increasingly hanging on, with Cardiff winning corner after corner. Cooper then produced perhaps his best save of the afternoon when Willock's cross found Moylan, whose header appeared destined for the net before the goalkeeper flew across to keep it out.
Cardiff were dominant, but were unable to make it count. Perry Ng came closest to breaking the deadlock when his left-footed strike hit the crossbar in the 84th minute. The rebound dropped to Salech, but the striker could not get the ball under control.
Barry-Murphy made a triple change shortly afterwards, sending on Callum Robinson, Joel Colwill and Isaak Davies for Salech, Moylan and Ashford as he looked for a winner. Chris Willock and Isaak Davies continued to probe, with the latter winning another corner late on after battling his way past his man.
Debutant Krystian Bielik also went close in the closing stages, seeing a low effort saved after another Cardiff corner. The new signing was then forced off after going down in some pain, with Calum Scanlon coming on. But despite three minutes of added time, Cardiff could not find the breakthrough.
They had dominated the second half, created the clearer chances and repeatedly pinned Sheffield United back, but ultimately had to settle for a point. For Barry-Murphy, it was another performance which offered plenty of encouragement in attack — but also the frustration of knowing his side had done enough to win.
