Kieffer Moore scored on his return to former club Cardiff City, but two stoppage-time strikes saw Ipswich Town fall to a 2-1 defeat in the Welsh capital.
The match had threatened to fizzle out heading into the latter stages before Moore pulled the trigger from the left flank, firing the Blues ahead with just over 10 minutes to play. However, with eight minutes of stoppage time, the hosts were able to strike twice to take all three points, stunning the travelling supporters.
Cardiff had the first real chance of the game as David Turnbull forced Vaclav Hladky into a good save with an awkward near-post shot from the edge of the area. It saw them win a corner in the fifth minute, which Cameron Burgess struggled to clear properly. It allowed Josh Bowler to flash a shot across goal which Perry Ng almost turned into the net, but Moore was able to clear it off the line.
They could clearly smell blood and kept pushing. In the ninth minute, Grant was given too much space to rush past Sam Morsy down the left, setting up Josh Wilson-Esbrand to fire a deflected shot off Luke Woolfenden.
Town began to grow into the game a couple of minutes later as Harry Clarke played a quick one-two with Wes Burns, allowing the latter to fire a low cross into the box for Moore, who got himself in front of Nat Phillips. The striker tried a clever flick to beat Ethan Horvath, but he fired just wide of the target.
Morsy was fortunate to avoid his 13th booking of the season shortly after Bowler forced Hladky to spill a curling shot from the right flank, clattering Manolis Siopis from behind. The Blues tried to break forward but were quickly stopped before Conor Chaplin pulled up with a knock, giving Kieran McKenna a chance to pass on some instructions.
Nothing really changed in the immediate aftermath. While Ipswich were able to find a few more pockets of space and enjoy more time in possession, chances were hard to come by. Cardiff’s rigid shape saw them limited to a handful of chances. It was summed up by Woolfenden’s audacious long-range shot, which bobbled miles away from the goal.
Grant pounced on some sloppy defending in first-half stoppage time, shrugging off Morsy again before blasting his shot over the bar. The visitors would’ve been happy to hear the half-time whistle.
The start to the second half felt slow, with no real opportunities for either side. The tempo dropped around the 55 minute after Moore and Dimitrios Goutas clashed heads, meaning the former had to be patched up with a big black bandage. Substitutions were the obvious solution as the clock ticked past the hour-mark.
On came Nathan Broadhead and Omari Hutchinson, replacing Jeremy Sarmiento and Chaplin respectively.
It took a while for things to spark to life. Hutchinson was afforded space to curl a shot from the right of the box, but Horvath was able to punch it out of pay before Cardiff cleared the resulting throw-in in the 75th minute.
In the end, it was Moore who made the difference on his return to the Welsh capital. The striker picked up a low pass from Marcus Harness, who was brought on minutes earlier, before rifling a low shot into the box from the left and running off with a low-key celebration in front of a jubilant away end.
There was always going to be a sizeable chunk of added time, with eight minutes signalled on the board. Cardiff came close to equalising in the 95th minute as Rubin Colwill's cross evaded Woolfenden and Famara Diedhiou before Callum O'Dowda turned his shot over the bar.
Their goal did come two minutes later, however, as O'Dowda's headed knock-down bounced past Cameron Burgess, allowing Ryan Wintle to stab it into the net to make it 1-1.
They weren't done there, piling on the pressure as the clock ticked towards full time. A corner gave them once last chance, and Town failed to clear the danger. It allowed Perry Ng to set up O'Dowda, who fired home to win the game in the 10th minute of stoppage time.
Cardiff XI: 4-2-3-1: Horvath; Ng, Goutas, Phillips, Wilson-Esbrand; Wintle (Ralls 90+8), Siopis; Bowler (Diedhiou 84'), Turnbull (Colwill 75'), Grant; Meite (O'Dowda 75')
Town XI: 4-2-3-1: Hladky; Clarke, Woolfenden, Burgess, Davis; Morsy, Luongo (Taylor 76'); Burns (Harness 75'), Chaplin (Hutchinson 65'), Sarmiento (Broadhead 65'); Moore (Al-Hamadi 89')
Attendance: 21,771
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel