Cardiff 2
Reading 2
TWO GOALS IN the last 10 minutes saw high-flying Cardiff come back from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 with Reading in a thrilling Championship clash on Monday.
Lee Tomlin chose a good time to score his first goal for the club, hooking the ball home in time added on to pull the Welsh side level.
The draw, which ends a five-match winning run, sees Cardiff remain second but four points adrift of leaders Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Their comeback, though, went unseen at least from the dugout by veteran manager Neil Warnock as he was sent off midway though the second-half.
It is the second time the irascible 69-year-old has been dismissed at Reading having been given his marching orders in 2006 when he was Sheffield United boss.
However, Warnock — who came out of retirement last October when Caridff were 23rd in the second tier — will have been ecstatic by the character shown by his players in his absence.
“It just proves our character,” Tomlin told Sky Sports.
“We dig deep and that’s what happens when you don’t take your foot off the gas.”
The first half could not have been worse for Cardiff as first Callum Paterson, who was only recalled to the starting line-up because of injury to Danny Ward, headed into his own net.
Then four minutes from the end of the first-half they went 2-0 down — it was only the third time this season they have conceded more than one goal — as Gambian international winger Modou Barrow struck.
His shot from outside the area took a deflection off Joe Bennett to wrong foot Neil Etheridge for his sixth goal of the campaign.
Cardiff pressed hard in the second half and fully deserved a share of the spoils.
Bennett made amends for his earlier blemish by rifling home a fine right-footed volley from inside the area to give the visitors some hope seven minutes from time.
Tomlin — who had come on as a substitute — then made the away fans forget the ice-cold conditions by steering the ball home from close range.
There was still time for Reading to launch one more attack and they came within a whisker of stealing the three points as Paul McShane rose to meet a cross only for his header to come back off the post.
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Must say I love this new format. Three cracking games ahead today. You’d be waiting around for weeks to see a decent game any other year.
@Mike: for me it just doesn’t have the championship game feel. Not a lot of hype for the games. Much prefer the knockout format.
@Patrick Corbett: Ara things were gone very stale. The buzz was gone way back since the great days of 1995-2005. Even last summer, there was only a very small Clare crowd at the Munster final. Cork’s resurgent support made up for it. Two years ago, there was just 26,000 at the Munster Final in Limerick. The Clare-Waterford semi-final had 19,000. None of the two other games in Munster broke 30,000. People were tired of it. We’ve rose-tinted glasses when it comes to change. This new format is the job.
@Mike: we’re spoiled for games now mike. long may it last. another great Sunday of hurling!
Michael Ryan can relax, he has only one interview left for the year
Waiting for how long for a championship match in Galway and they produce a pitch like that
Anto Nash is some goalie
Would it be too much to ask to put the scores at the top of the page – jeez!
Do a usability course
That pitch in Salthill is very poor, what were they doing on it, ploughing?
@Victor Sonovich: Ed Sheeran was on it two weeks ago.
2 cracking games to look forward to, As a neutral it’s tipp and Galway for me to win today.
@Conor Noonan: Tipp look to have no interest,very disappointing first half from them,
Unfortunately it looks like we’ll be blessed to even get out of the round robin format this year – disappointed Waterford fan
Wasn’t so long ago they were calling for john meyler to be sacked after just a handful of games.now his corks prodigy in the championship