Cardiff City 1-1 Stoke City: Jack Bonham saves Sory Kaba penalty to earn draw

Cardiff City striker Sory Kaba spent last season on loan at Belgian side OH Leuven

Jack Bonham saved Sory Kaba's second-half penalty to earn Stoke City a point at relegation-threatened Cardiff.

The Potters took the lead from their first corner, Will Smallbone's cross met by Josh Laurent who headed home.

It was a half of few chances, but Cardiff were level when Kaba took advantage of a Stoke mix-up to level.

Kaba had the chance to win it for Cardiff from the spot after Jaden Philogene was fouled, but Bonham got down quickly to earn Stoke a point.

Cardiff dropped a place to 20th, but moved to three points clear of the relegation zone after Reading fell to defeat at Coventry.

QPR's shock win at already-promoted Burnley moves them above the Bluebirds on 47 points, while Rotherham's loss at Bristol City sees them sit on 46 - above the Bluebirds on goal difference.

Victory for the Championship's bottom two teams - Wigan and Blackpool - means with two or three games remaining, no team is yet guaranteed relegation.

It was an uninspiring first 15 minutes of football which did little to encourage an atmosphere among either set of supporters at Cardiff City Stadium.

But from the first corner of the match, Laurent met Smallbone's delivery and added a deft touch which diverted the goal into the far corner of the net.

The Bluebirds had their first chance four minutes later when Callum O'Dowda and Joe Ralls combined well down the left and played through Kaba, but he dragged his effort wide across the goal.

Cardiff were level though before the half hour mark as Kaba added his eighth goal since joining on loan in January.

A simple long ball should have been dealt with by Stoke, but Morgan Fox and Phil Jagielka got in each others' way and the ball dropped kindly to Kaba, who finished low past Bonham.

The game suddenly had life, and Ralls' rash challenge on Connor Taylor - which resulted in a yellow card - only added fuel to the fire.

Stoke City have gone six games away from home without losing, winning three and drawing three

Cardiff were on top for the first time in the contest, but they could not capitalise on sloppy passes out the back from Stoke, which should have resulted in goal-scoring chances.

Kaba was almost through on goal again with five minutes remaining in the half, but Etete's through ball took a slight deflection of Jagielka's leg which put the ball out of the Cardiff striker's reach.

The Midtjylland loanee was then picked out by Ryan Wintle on the break with just Taylor back for cover, but the Stoke defender did excellently to win the ball back and deny a shooting chance.

The final chance of the half fell to Stoke striker Dwight Gayle from 10 yards out, but Cedric Kipre got back well to block the shot away to safety.

Much like the first half, the opening quarter of an hour in the second half provided little in the way of chances - though Kaba had a close-range effort flagged for offside.

On the hour mark Cardiff boss Sabri Lamouchi brought on Philogene and Mark Harris for Ralls and Etete and it had an instant impact.

Philogene was picked out on the left wing and he drove into the box, tempting a tackle from Taylor, who made no contact with the ball and conceded the penalty.

However, the in-form Kaba was denied from the spot by Bonham, who got down brilliant to his left to save.

The visitors went straight down the other end and should have taken the lead themselves when Tyrese Campbell played through Gayle, but the striker hesitated and allowed Wintle to get back and block the shot.

Stoke enjoyed a period of momentum after the penalty save, but as the game moved into the closing stages Cardiff looked the most likely to find a winner.

Callum O'Dowda forced a smart save of Bonham with eight minutes remaining before corners started raining on the Potters' 18-yard box.

Cardiff had multiple penalty appeals waved away, most notably when Mark McGuinness was dragged down, as Stoke closed in on a point.

The Bluebirds' final chance came with the last kick of the game, but Wintle's shot from the edge of the area was never troubling Bonham.

Cardiff City manager Sabri Lamouchi told BBC Sport Wales:

"A point is better than nothing. A few weeks ago was terrible for us against Sunderland and Swansea, so today I am happy with a point, but my players probably deserved three points.

"After the second half and the penalty we can say we were better in the game, but both teams had not a lot of energy, six games in three weeks is terrible for players."

Stoke City manager Alex Neil said:

"I thought first half we started well, a couple opportunities and we controlled the game.

"The goal we conceded is really disappointing, it was a mix up from a straight ball down our throat.

"I didn't think there was much in the game, I don't think either team will think they were far better than the other."