Plymouth Argyle are winless in three league matches
Plymouth Argyle came from behind to prevent 10-man Cardiff City landing a significant blow in the Championship relegation fight.
The Bluebirds looked on course to dent the recent Argyle optimism built up under manager Miron Muslic when Yousef Salech scored early on.
But the game swung when visiting centre-back Dimitrios Goutas was sent off eight minutes into the second-half for bringing down substitute Bali Mumba on the edge of the area.
And Muhamed Tijani's first goal in English football ensured the hosts continued a run of form that has boosted hopes of survival.
It is now just one defeat in seven - a run that has included the FA Cup win over Liverpool.
Still, with Cardiff holding out with a man down, Plymouth still missed out on the chance to climb out of the bottom three for the first time since November.
They remain in relegation places, three points behind Cardiff in 21st who have now not won in their last four league outings.
Omer Riza's side face another of their rivals from the bottom end of the Championship on Tuesday when they welcome fifth-bottom Hull City.
Returning Ramsey impresses
Cardiff could well be without goalkeeper Jak Alnwick against the Tigers after he played the final stages of a match that went beyond 102 minutes with a desperate-looking hamstring injury.
Still, Riza will take heart from the way Cardiff performed before Goutas' dismissal where they seemed destined for a comfortable victory.
With striker Salech justifying a first Championship start with a fourth goal since arriving in January - and Aaron Ramsey excellent in his first league start since August - Cardiff were impressive.
But Plymouth ultimately deserved their point after taking the initiative following the sending-off, with Mumba impactful off the bench.
It will be a relief to Muslic whose side were slow to start a fixture the manager had identified as key to launching a survival bid.
Cardiff were hungrier, in control – and soon in the lead. Salech's 12th-minute finish may have not been the cleanest as he connected with the cross from fellow January arrival Will Alves, but it was all that was needed with the space he was allowed inside the six-yard box.
A well-caught half-volley from Argyle captain Adam Randell aside, Cardiff were comfortable.
And Ramsey's influence was obvious, the Wales captain bringing the best out of others around him, frustrating home fans who knew their side could have easily been further behind at the break.
The mood turned when the dismissal came on 53 minutes, Goutas deemed to have denied Mumba an obvious goal scoring opportunity when they collided chasing a scrappy through ball.
The resulting free-kick came to little, but the momentum shifted and Mumba was unfortunate when his well-time header struck the Cardiff crossbar on the hour mark.
Plymouth's pressure eventually told when Mustapha Bundu nodded down Maksym Talovierov's searching ball and invited Tijani to finish and level just five minutes after coming off the bench.
Plymouth pushed for a winner but Cardiff held on in extended injury time, with the Pilgrims now ready to focus on Saturday's FA Cup fifth-round tie at Manchester City.
Cardiff manager Omer Riza told BBC Radio Wales Sport: "I think we're disappointed we were put into a position where we had to struggle for 40-45 minutes to get a point.
"I thought we controlled the game quite well in the first-half and started the second okay, but then obviously the red card helped them get their tails up. We tried to stop them but they scored the goal and we're happy to come away with a point because it was difficult.
"But overall we're disappointed because we wanted to come here and get three, but sometimes you don't account for the little things that happen and today the red card put us on the back foot."
Plymouth manager Miron Muslic told BBC Radio Devon: "Mixed emotions and mixed feelings because we threw away the first 45 minutes. In our situation we can't throw away four-and-a-half seconds.
"We were sloppy and the goal was an example of our first-half; we could have cleared the ball three or four times.
"How we got out of it was very positive; we had the energy we wanted from minute one and suddenly we could put pressure on the opponents and create goal scoring opportunities.
"I'm just a little bit disappointed because we had the red card, we had the equaliser, but we just did too many wrong decisions. These are the learnings we need to take."
