Match Report | Cardiff City 3-2 Birmingham City
Sean Morrison’s late header secured Cardiff City a 3-2 victory over Birmingham City on Wednesday night.
After Robert Glatzel’s early opener, the visitors had turned things around through Marc Roberts and Iván Sánchez. However, Harry Wilson’s equaliser and the skipper’s late winner gave City all three points.
Marlon Pack, Gavin Whyte and Robert Glatzel came into the starting line-up at CCS, with the Academy’s Keenan Patten, Kieron Evans and Chanka Zimba amongst the Bluebirds’ substitutes.
The visitors had the first sight of goal when Iván Sánchez called Alex Smithies into action from range, but City soon applied some early pressure.
Harry Wilson came close to giving the Bluebirds the lead inside ten minutes. Racing on to Gavin Whyte’s cross, the Welsh international headed just wide of Neil Etheridge’s post.
Just two minutes later, City found the game’s first goal. The Birmingham defence gave the ball away to Wilson, who drove towards goal before teeing up Glatzel to lash the Bluebirds ahead.
The visitors were largely reduced to long-distance efforts in a hard-fought first half that saw three players go into the book.
However, they drew level just after the half-hour mark as Marc Roberts latched on to Lukas Jutkiewicz’s knock-down to hit home an equaliser.
Will Vaulks twice tried his luck from range at the beginning of the second half but wasn’t able to test the returning Etheridge.
Just before the hour mark, a solo goal from Sánchez gave the visitors the lead. The Spaniard cut in from the right before hammering the ball into the top corner. Wilson looked for a response at the other end as he drifted inside but saw his curling effort saved.
City came closer still when Sean Morrison’s header from a corner cannoned off the post, before Glatzel’s follow-up effort was deflected wide.
The Bluebirds had another gilt-edged chance to equalise as Jake Clarke-Salter handled in the box. The home side were awarded a spot-kick, but Etheridge saved Glatzel’s powerful effort.
Just when it seemed that the goal was evading the Bluebirds, they final drew level as Pack split the visiting defence with a superb pass. Wilson raced onto it and converted from a tight angle with just over ten minutes remaining.
And a dramatic contest in the Welsh capital had a final flourish in the last minute of normal time. Wilson whipped his corner-kick delivery to the back post for Morrison to step up with another captain’s goal and head home the winner.
Cardiff City: Smithies, Bennett, Morrison, Nelson, Bacuna, Pack, Vaulks, Whyte (Harris 63), Ojo (Cunningham 90+2), Wilson, Glatzel (Bamba 90+1). Subs Not Used: Phillips, Benković, Bagan, Evans, Patten, Zimba.
Birmingham City: Etheridge, Colin, Roberts, Kieftenbeld, Jutkiewicz, Dean, Leko (Halilović 61), Clarke-Salter, Sánchez, Toral (Bela 61), Šunjić. Subs Not Used: Prieto, Clayton, Hogan, McGree, San José, Gardner, Dacres-Cogley.
