Championship Cardiff City 1 Bristol City 1 Full time

Cardiff City and Bristol City drew the reverse fixture 1-1 last October

Substitute Yousef Salech scored a last-minute equaliser to salvage a draw for Cardiff City in the Severnside Derby against play-off-chasing Bristol City.

After a dreary first half, the game came to life with a flurry of chances at both ends before Robins captain Jason Knight headed in from Yu Hirakawa's free-kick.

Cardiff searched desperately for a leveller, but struggled to summon the necessary quality as they seemed to be heading towards a third successive league defeat.

That was until Aaron Ramsey and fellow substitute Cian Ashford combined to set up Salech for a close-range finish that rescued what could be a precious point for the Bluebirds in their battle to avoid relegation.

Bristol City stay seventh in the Championship table and miss the opportunity to climb into the play-off places, of which they remain one point adrift.

Cardiff remain in 20th position, but are now three points above the drop zone with the majority of their relegation rivals still to play on Saturday.

The Bluebirds were eager to rediscover the form which had inspired an eight-match unbeaten run before their 7-0 demolition at Leeds a fortnight ago but, other than Callum O'Dowda's tame effort against his former club in the first minute, Omer Riza's side started sluggishly here.

The same was true of Bristol City, only two points adrift of the play-off places coming into this game but lacking imagination as they failed to register a shot on target until the closing stages of a forgettable first half.

Fortunately there was an improvement from both sides after the break, with more entertainment within 10 minutes of the restart than there had been in the entire first half.

Cardiff created several good chances, with Anwar El Ghazi heading over before nodding the ball into the path of Callum Robinson, who volleyed wide.

That seemed to jolt Bristol City into action as substitute Hirakawa drew a fine low save from Jak Alnwick.

Five minutes later, the Robins took the lead as Hirakawa's outswinging free-kick from the right was headed in by Knight to spark wild celebrations in the away end, with Cardiff appealing in vain for the offside flag.

Another substitute, Sam Bell, had a glorious chance to double the visitors' lead but headed over from Haydon Roberts' floated cross to the back post.

Cardiff's bench was similarly impactful, with Ramsey - making his first league appearance since last August - and Ashford in particular adding guile and urgency to a hitherto misfiring attack.

As the game entered its final minute, Ramsey threaded a delicate through ball to Ashford, whose low cross was converted by a sliding Salech.

The home crowd erupted, sensing how important that point could be, while the Bristol City travelling contingent were crestfallen as a chance to get into the Championship's top six slipped through their grasp.

Post-match reaction

Cardiff manager Omer Riza:

"I thought we played quite well. We just need to be a little more threatening at times and we made life hard for ourselves with the goal we conceded.

"To go 1-0 down and show the character to take a point is really important. We have to be happy with a point because every point is valuable.

"It's important to take every point whether you're top or bottom of the league."

Bristol City manager Liam Manning:

"I'm frustrated, disappointed to concede so late. The lads were quite honest as to why, the difference away from home in the way we manage the game.

"We were relatively comfortable but the one time we switched off we got punished. The big bit for me is taking more care of the ball. How do you take the sting out of it?

"We're hugely frustrated. I feel for the lads a little bit because they left it all out there. The schedule has been ridiculous. It becomes neglectful on the players when you cram in so many games."