by Michael Wicherek
A SECOND half fight back ensured Cardiff City shared the spoils with Sheffield Wednesday on a soggy evening in South Wales.
Lee Tomlin’s free kick late in the second half cancelled out Julian Borner’s opener after a much improved second half display from the home side.
Both teams started slowly with a chance-less opening ten minutes, only punctuated by Steven Fletcher’s tame effort, which forced a routine save from Neil Etheridge in the Cardiff goal.
Sheffield began to dominate proceedings keeping hold of possession and broke the deadlock in the 19th minute when Borner turned home former Bluebird Kadeem Harris’ curling effort.
The Bluebirds responded with renewed urgency but struggled to keep hold of the ball as the Owls continued to control the game, Fletcher again forcing a save from Etheridge on the half hour.
Neil Warnock changed the shape for the home side to wrestle back momentum, bringing on top scorer Danny Ward for midfielder Leandro Bacuna, much to the crowd’s delight.
A spell of pressure followed, but a succession of corners returned no joy for Cardiff in their first extended spell in the Sheffield half.
Harris nearly stretched Wednesday’s lead when he rattled the bar with a superb free kick after Sean Morrison brought down Sam Hutchinson just outside the penalty area.
After the break both sides came out with fresh enthusiasm as it became a more open affair, Aiden Flint having a strong penalty claim waved away when he appeared to be dragged down at the back post.
Late stand-in goalkeeper Cameron Dawson was forced into his first meaningful save of the night when Josh Murphy’s whipped cross was deflected towards the bottom corner.
Midfielder Joe Ralls wasted a glorious opportunity to level the scores when he blazed over a free kick from the edge of the penalty area.
The home side continued to put pressure on their visitors, Ward this time testing Dawson from the edge of the box.
It took a moment of brilliance from substitute Lee Tomlin to draw Cardiff level. Tomlin earned himself a free kick with a driving run at the heart of the Wednesday defence before clipping the resulting free kick delightfully over the wall and into the bottom corner.
It was another substitute Gavin Whyte who had the final chance of the game, but his fierce drive was well saved at the near post.
Cardiff City: N. Etheridge, L.Peltier, S.Morrison, A.Flint, J.Bennett, L.Bacuna (D.Ward 33), M.Pack, J.Ralls, N.Mendez-Laing (G.Whyte 75), J.Murphy, R.Glatzel (L.Tomlin 75)
Subs: A.Smithies, C.Nelson, C.Paterson, L.Tomlin, G.Whyte, D.Ward, J.Hoilett
Sheffield Wednesday: C.Dawson, L.Palmer, M.Fox, K.Harris (J.Murphy 78), S.Fletcher, B.Bannan (A.Nuhiu 73), J.Borner, A.Reach, M.Luongo, S.Hutchinson, D.Iorfa
Subs: J.Thorniley, K.Lee, J.Pelupessy, J.Murphy, A.Nuhiu, M.Odubajo, F.Forestieri
