Cardiff City began their return to the Championship with a
1–1 draw against Wrexham, recovering from an early Kieffer Moore goal to score with
virtually the final kick of the match from Rubin Colwill.
Moore gave Wrexham the lead after only three minutes. Danny Imray found the former Cardiff striker, who finished emphatically to put the visitors ahead.
The early goal left Cardiff chasing the game for most of the
evening. Wrexham were the more threatening side on the break despite having
considerably less possession, and finished with 18 shots to Cardiff's 11,
including eight on target compared with Cardiff's three.
Cardiff had 67.3 per cent of the ball but struggled to turn
that possession into clear opportunities. Wrexham's counter-attacking threat
remained evident throughout, with Moore coming close to adding a second when he
headed against the crossbar.
Callum Doyle also tested Cardiff goalkeeper Jack Trott,
while Nathan Broadhead and Sam Smith were involved in several of Wrexham's
better attacking moments.
Brian Barry-Murphy introduced Rubin Colwill late in the game, and the substitution ultimately decided the result.
With Cardiff still trailing in the eighth minute of added
time, George Dobson brought down Joel Colwill just outside the Wrexham penalty
area. Joel’s brother Rubin took the free kick sending a powerful effort towards
goal. Anthony Patterson got a hand to the ball but could not keep it out.
Wrexham were left to reflect on a game in which they had
created the clearer chances but failed to make their advantage count. Phil
Parkinson subsequently questioned the amount of added time, while Cardiff left
with a point after spending much of the match trying to find a way back into a
game they had trailed in for so long.
The 31,421 attendance was also the second-highest crowd of
the entire EFL opening weekend, behind only Middlesbrough's 31,487 against
Lincoln City.
Cardiff City: Trott, Scanlon (Kpakio 80’), Osho,
Bagan, Ng, Robertson (Robinson 80’), Moylan, Ashford (Davies 80’), Willock
(J.Colwill 62’), Tanner (R.Collwill 62’), Salech. Unused Subs: Tyrer,
Turnbull, Tankiewicz, Anyadike.
Wrexham: Patterson, Vyner, Hyam, Doyle, Imray
(Longman 73’), James (Dobson 73’), O’Brien, Thomason, Rathbone (Whiteman 67’),
Broadhead (Keilor-Dunn 72’), Moore (Smith 72’). Unused Subs: Ward,
Cleworth, Scarr, Cadamarteri.
