Plymouth Argyle could only muster a point against 10 man Cardiff City in a frustrating 1-1 draw at Home Park.
The visitors deservedly took the lead after a bright start when Yousef Salech tapped in a dangerous Will Alves delivery.
Cardiff looked well on their way to three points against a tired looking Argyle until Dimitrios Goutas hacked down the goalbound Bali Mumba on 53 minutes.
That proved costly as Argyle equalised when Muhamed Tijani fired home following good work from Mustapha Bundu with 67 minutes on the clock.
Despite their man advantage and 14 minutes of added time Argyle couldn’t break down the time-wasting Bluebirds back line as the spoils were shared.
Here are the ratings from the game:
Conor Hazard GK – 6. Helpless with Cardiff’s goal and made a good stop just before it. Besides that it was a quiet game for Hazard.
Kornel Szucs RWB – 5. Preferred to Sorinola at right back but didn’t offer loads going forward. When Palsson was subsituted he moved to centre back where he looked more comfortable. Infuriated his manager when he played a short throw to Mumba rather than loading into the box in stoppage time, the move resulted in Szucs slicing out for a goal kick.
Maksym Talovierov RCB – 6. Struggled to handle Cardiff’s Rubin Colwill while he was on the pitch. It wasn’t Maxi’s best display but his pinpoint long ball picked out Bundu for Argyle’s equaliser.
Nikola Katic CB – 6. Commanded the air as ever and even went up front as Argyle chased a winner but to no avail.
Victor Palsson LCB – 5. An unremarkable display from Palsson who was replaced early in the second half.
Tymotuesz Puchacz LWB – 5. One of a number of Argyle players who just looked completely knackered at times in this game. Deliveries not on point compared to his previous displays.
Adam Randell CM – 5. Not his finest display in green with a few missed passes. Came close to scoring on two occasions but saw efforts fly narrowly wide of the mark. Subbed after picking up a yellow card when he lost possession on the counter attack and lunged into his man in frustration.
Jordan Houghton CM – 5. Struggled to get involved in the game as Cardiff were first two every loose ball during the first half. Replaced by Boateng after the break.
Rami Al Hajj LAM – 4. Another quiet display from Al Hajj who kept his place in one of the attacking midfield position. Beaten into 50/50 challenges on multiple occasions as well as the loose ball. One highlight of his game was his through ball to Mumba which resulted in the Cardiff red card. Following this he was substituted for Tijani.
Callum Wright RAM – 4. Hooked at half time for Mumba. Wright simply looked exhausted it must be said and you could see it in some of his decision making, most notably when Argyle had a break but he attempted an audacious reverse pass back to Bundu.
Mustapha Bundu ST – 6. The preferred option up front but came up against tough opposition with the Cardiff defenders. Got the assist for Argyle’s goal when he did really well to knock the ball into Tijani’s path.
Subs:
Bali Mumba – 8 POTM. Another position to add to his repertoire. Mumba came on and did what Argyle had been crying out for and that was to run with the ball. He drove at defenders, caused problems and won the red card for Cardiff when Goutas hacked him down. Mumba was unlucky not to score himself when his looping header came back off the underside of the bar.
Matty Sorinola – 6 Replaced Palsson in a defensive reshuffle but couldn’t get too involved in the game.
Malachi Boateng – 5 An unremarkable display in his half hour on the pitch, summed up when he volleyed way wide of the mark as Argyle chased a winner.
Muhamed Tijani – 6 Scored his first league goal for Argyle when he got on the end of Bundu’s knockdown to lace home in what was Argyle’s only major scoring opportunities of the game.
Darko Gyabi – N/A A replacement for Randell late on, perhaps needed his legs and energy earlier in the half.