Championship strugglers Cardiff City had to play with 10 men for almost half the game as Coventry City recovered from a goal down to draw in south Wales.
Alex Robertson scored Cardiff's first goal at home since November to give his side an early lead but the game was turned on its head in the opening two minutes of the second half.
Tatsuhiro Sakamoto volleyed Coventry level less than a minute after the restart and, seconds later, Cardiff's Callum Robinson was sent off for elbowing Bobby Thomas.
The home fans were furious with that decision by James Durkin, who had started the game as fourth official but had to replace injured referee Geoff Eltringham during the first half.
Coventry took control following Robinson's dismissal and had several chances but were repeatedly thwarted by Cardiff goalkeeper Jak Alnwick.
The Bluebirds also came close to scoring a winner and, although there was frustration they were unable to secure successive wins for only the second time this season, the applause from their supporters at the final whistle illustrated their appreciation of a valiant effort from the 10 men.
The result does not make the Championship table any nicer to look at for Cardiff, who remain second from bottom, while Coventry move up one place to 14th.
Frank Lampard had started his Coventry reign with a home match against Cardiff a month earlier, with a late Victor Torp penalty earning the Sky Blues a 2-2 draw.
Since then, Coventry had won three, lost two and drawn one to steer themselves seven points clear of the relegation zone before their trip to south Wales.
Cardiff had not fared so well since their trip to the CBS Arena, having dropped into the bottom three, but they had at least arrested a nine-match winless run with victory at Watford last time out.
The next aim was to secure successive wins for the first time since October, and Omer Riza's side made the ideal start as Robertson put them in front in the sixth minute.
Callum O'Dowda was the architect, surging forward from his own half and crossing from the left to the back post, where Cian Ashford's header across goal was turned in by Robertson.
That was Cardiff's first goal at home since 9 November – nearly five hours of action ago – and they thought they had another 10 minutes later but Robinson was flagged offside after diverting O'Dowda's volley into the net.
Referee Eltringham's departure prompted a long delay, with the stadium announcer asking if there were any qualified referees in the crowd able to replace new referee Durkin as fourth official before one was eventually found.
There was little to separate the teams in the first half as Coventry built play patiently without creating much in the way of genuine chances, while Ashford's pace made Cardiff a threat on the break.
Just as the hosts were starting to feel cautiously optimistic, however, they were dealt two severe setbacks inside the opening two minutes of the second half.
First, Coventry equalised in farcical circumstances, with Jesper Daland's misjudgement allowing Ellis Simms to get into the box and shoot. Alnwick saved his low effort but the ball bounced off Daland to Sakamoto, who volleyed in.
Then seconds later, Robinson was shown a red card for catching Coventry defender Thomas with his elbow as he challenged for a header.
Cardiff felt it was a harsh dismissal, and their fans made it clear they thought stand-in referee Durkin was not up to the job.
With their opponents in disarray, Coventry smelt blood and twice came close to taking the lead as Alnwick made excellent saves to deny Josh Eccles and Victor Torp.
To their credit, Cardiff still tried to attack and they were equally close to retaking the lead as Ollie Tanner had a shot saved by Oliver Dovin and Yakou Meite fired inches wide.
Coventry still looked the likelier winners but Alnwick was in inspired form as he denied Simms and earned Cardiff a hard-fought point.
Post-match reaction
Cardiff manager Omer Riza:
"I'm frustrated. I think we dominated first half and had good control. My only one question for the players was that we could have punished a bit more, took the opportunities we created and put the game to bed.
"Second half, the goal that was conceded was cheap. We get muscled off the ball too easily and it's rebounded and scored from right after half-time when we'd had a good first half. We worked so hard so that's disappointing.
"Then to get the red card - and for me it wasn't a red card. The arm is up, he has caught him, yellow card, yes. No malice in it at all. All due respect to the referee, it's his first Championship game. The moment maybe got to him and he wanted to make a big call and it was the wrong one. It's something we have to deal with."
Coventry manager Frank Lampard:
"The first half wasn't good enough. Too slow, too many mistakes, not at it – simple as that. At half-time, we spoke about it and the reaction got us the goal, to play forward quicker.
"The red card means we have 40 minutes to win the game. We had the chances to win it. A lot to consider, all part of our story at the moment.
"I think it was a red card and you're grateful for the opportunity to play against 10 men. We created enough to score but we didn't take those chances and we weren't effective enough. To be fair to them [Cardiff], they defend in numbers and make it difficult for you."
