Cardiff City 3-2 Birmingham City: Morrison wins it late

Birmingham manager Aitor Karanka had lost his last two away Championship matches against Cardiff since leading Middlesbrough to a 1-0 win in September 2014.

Sean Morrison's towering last minute header completed Cardiff City's 3-2 comeback victory against Birmingham.

Robert Glatzel fired Cardiff into an early lead after some terrible Blues defending, but Marc Roberts equalised after some ponderous play from Cardiff.

Sanchez's solo strike put the visitor ahead before Neil Etheridge saved Glatzel's penalty against his old club.

But Harry Wilson levelled from an acute angle before Morrison headed home Wilson's corner to win it for Cardiff.

The victory means Cardiff rise to 10th in the Championship, while Birmingham stay 17th.

The Bluebirds, still smarting after being outclassed in the south Wales derby at home on Saturday when Swansea romped to a 2-0 win, were forced to make changes to their personnel due to injury and suspension.

Wales striker Kieffer Moore, out until 2021 with a hamstring injury sustained against the Swans, was replaced by Glatzel with Marlon Pack in for the suspended Joe Ralls.

Harry Wilson was moved to a number 10 role with Mark Harris dropping out for winger Gavin Whyte, with Harris one of five youth academy players on the Cardiff subs bench.

The visitors who featured goalkeeper Etheridge returning to the club he played 99 league matches for, were seeking a third successive away win in the Championship, but the omens were not good for Aitor Karanka's side.

The Blues had won just twice in their past 15 visits to the Welsh capital with Cardiff winning five of the past seven.

However, a lack of fans does appear to be damaging the Bluebirds' effectiveness at home where they had already lost four home league matches this season before Birmingham's visit, one more than they lost in each of their last two Championship campaigns.

Birmingham were on the front-foot from the off and created the first chance of the contest, but Sanchez's speculative effort was easily held by Cardiff goalkeeper Alex Smithies.

Cardiff responded when Wilson headed across goal after Whyte's fine cross, before Birmingham gifted the hosts the advantage.

Jake Clarke-Salter's terrible back-pass completely exposed his side and Cardiff took full advantage as Wilson collected and cleverly fed Glatzel who scored at Etheridge's near post from close range.

However, Cardiff did not build on their early advantage as the visitors got back into things and it was no surprise when they equalised just past the half hour mark when Roberts hammered through a crowded penalty area and found the bottom corner after Curtis Nelson failed to close him down.

The impressive Pack saw his effort deflected wide on 40 minutes, but parity at half time was probably just.

This was a contest full of effort and intensity but moments of inspiration were less common with Will Vaulks trying his luck from distance twice after the restart, but he could not find the target.

In an increasingly scrappy game the manner Birmingham's second goal took everyone by surprise, not least Cardiff, as Sanchez ripped through their defence with a slaloming run as he skipped past three defenders and lashed the ball home left footed from the edge of the area.

Wilson did test Etheridge on 67 minutes when he cut inside, but his shot was straight at the former Bluebird.

Cardiff thought they had equalised when Sean Morrison's header was deflected by Lukas Jutkiewicz onto the post and Glatzel's shot on the rebound was cleared off the line.

Etheridge again was forced to save from Wilson's drive, before Cardiff's pressure told when Clarke-Salter handled Wilson's cross, with Glatzel's firm penalty brilliantly saved by Etheridge.

However, Birmingham could not contain Wilson and he finished with a flourish after Pack slid him through with 13 minutes remaining.

Jutkiewicz slipped at the vital moment when presented with a good late chance for the Blues, while Smithies was forced to save to deny Sanchez a second goal.

Jonthan Leko thought he had won the contest with just three minutes left, but he curled agonisingly wide and Cardiff took full advantage when Morrison rose to head home from a corner to break Birmingham hearts.

Cardiff City manager Neil Harris told BBC Sport Wales:

"As a manager I went through every emotion in that one... we went in front and could have gone more in front.

"We were disappointed to be level at half time and I didn't think we deserved to be behind.

"But fair play to my players for the way they came back and dominated the game in the final 15 minutes.

"I am delighted for the players, they've dealt with a lot of criticism for losing to Swansea, but we can't do anything about that until March."

Birmingham manager Aitor Karanka said:

"We should have been better in the first 20 minutes with the way we approached the game, when you don't start theme it takes time but we finished the first-half much better and then when we had control of the game, we had two or three individual mistakes which cost us.

"When you play away from home, score two goals and have the game under control it is very disappointing (to lose).

"Mistakes are difficult to plan for, we knew how dangerous they were with Wilson when he plays as a winger and we knew how dangerous Morrison is from set pieces, but we conceded those goals.

"We need to learn, because we had individual mistakes against Watford as well, they have been awful for us."

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