Callum Robinson came off the bench to score a late equaliser as Cardiff City fought back against arch rivals Swansea City to earn their first point of the season in the south Wales derby.

Liam Cullen fanned an already fervent atmosphere as he put the Swans in front after 10 minutes, pouncing from close range after Ronald’s volley was saved by Ethan Horvath.

Cardiff looked to be heading for a sixth derby defeat from seven after a listless first-half display, but manager Erol Bulut's substitutions instigated a marked improvement which culminated in a well-worked equaliser for Robinson.

That 79th-minute leveller transformed the mood inside the Swansea.com Stadium and, although the Bluebirds could not push on to find a winner, this draw will have felt like a triumph of sorts having lost their opening two games of the season at an aggregate score of 7-0.

This was also the first draw between the teams since 2020 and a relatively tame affair by derby standards - until tempers boiled over in added time.

Cardiff manager Bulut was sent off for refusing to hand the ball back and arguing with Swansea's players, before Oliver Langford handed out four yellow cards.

It was a messy end to a game which had seemed to be there for the taking for Swansea before Cardiff's revival.

The home side's most recent derby triumph had come at this stadium only five months ago as a one-sided 2-0 triumph reinstated the Swans as the dominant force in this fixture following a dismal defeat by the same scoreline during last season's reverse encounter.

That Cardiff victory - their first in the derby since 2021 - was seen as a paradigm shift in this rivalry, only for the Bluebirds to revert to type with a lifeless display at the Swansea.com Stadium in March.

This time there was precious little form on which to judge the two teams beforehand, as they had not met at such an early stage of the season since 1957.

Of the limited evidence on offer, Swansea came into the contest in better shape having beaten Preston 3-0 here eight days earlier, whereas Cardiff's 5-0 demolition at the hands of Burnley had left them pointless and goalless at the bottom of the Championship.

Swans head coach Luke Williams struck a cautionary tone in the build-up to this game when he stressed his team are "nowhere near where we want to be" after a summer in which 13 senior players had left and only six had been signed.

Just as well for Cardiff because, even with a threadbare squad, Swansea dominated the first half.

The Swans are renowned for the way they keep possession but, in the early stages of this season, they have become more direct at times, moving the ball quickly to their dynamic wingers, Ronald and Eom Ji-sung.

Both were instrumental in the win over Preston and Ronald had a hand in the opening goal here as his powerful volley was palmed away by Horvath, but only into the path of Cullen, who tapped in for his third goal in three derby starts.

Swansea continued to cause problems for Cardiff out wide, with a dangerous Josh Tymon cross from the left calling Horvath into action and Eom probing on the right.

For all their control, the Swans did not create much in the way of genuine chances and, as a result, Cardiff were not out of the contest despite the flat and unimaginative nature of their performance.

The Bluebirds could barely keep possession before running out of ideas and their only effort of note before the break came when Ronald gave the ball away and Wilfried Kanga curled a 20-yard shot narrowly wide.

The visitors upped their game in the second half as Bulut went for broke by replacing central midfielder Alex Robertson with the more attack-minded Rubin Colwill.

The Wales international posed a new threat to Swansea, running at their defenders and offering Cardiff a much-needed creative spark.

It was Colwill who started the move for Cardiff's equaliser, driving forward from midfield and passing the ball out the right, where fellow substitute Ollie Tanner's low cross was fired in first time by Robinson.

Revitalised, Cardiff poured forward and Manolis Siopis had a shot from the edge of the penalty area saved by Lawrence Vigouroux.

Swansea, who had been in total control for so much of the game, suddenly looked hurried and lacking direction.

But the frenetic and ill-tempered closing stages interrupted the flow of the match as the old rivals had to settle for a draw for the first time in nine meetings.