Wrexham headed to the Welsh capital to take on Cardiff for the first time since 2002, as the two sides played out what was certainly the game of the weekend.
Kieffer Moore netted the only goal of the game when he broke free in the area and lifted the ball over Nathan Trott to give Wrexham the lead after just three minutes.
Cardiff had plenty of the ball throughout the encounter, but lacked the cutting edge required to take anything from the game, that was until homegrown star Rubin Colwill stepped up to a free-kick in the 97th minute and picked out the top corner to level the match and rescue a point for The Bluebirds.
As it happened
Wrexham made two changes following their Carabao Cup defeat to Middlesbrough last time out, with Anthony Patterson and Moore replacing Danny Ward and Sam Smith. Meanwhile, Cardiff brought Jack Moylan, Calum Scanlon and Chris Willock in for Ronan Kpakio, David Turnball and Isaak Davies.
It didn’t take long for Wrexham to net the opening goal, and it came through Moore, who broke free in the area and lifted the ball over Nathan Trott and into the far corner with an excellent finish before wheeling away in celebration in front of the Canton End. Two nearly became three just a few minutes later, but Trott tipped Callum Doyle’s header over the bar.
Wrexham continued to push in the early stages; this time it was Danny Imray who drove into the box before being thwarted by Scanlon’s sliding tackle. A break in play followed shortly after, when Imray landed awkwardly after going up for a header; thankfully, he was able to continue after receiving treatment.
Cardiff’s first real chance of the game came in the 21st minute, when Yousef Salech bared down on goal but was met by Patterson, who came off his line at speed to make the save. They continued to grow into the game, registering another shot two minutes later, but Moylan fired well over the bar from inside the area. Another chance followed shortly after, when Cian Ashford forced a save from Patterson.
Moore picked up the first yellow card of the night on the half-hour mark, after he body-checked Gabriel Osho. Mere minutes later, Moore nearly doubled his tally for the night, but his header clipped the crossbar before going over. Imray’s attacking exploits continued when he got in behind Scanlon and forced Trott into an excellent save down to his right, meaning Wrexham led by just one at the break.
The Red Dragons started the second half with purpose, when Doyle’s marauding run into the area culminated in a save from Trott. The Cardiff keeper was called into action again shortly after, when some brilliant movement by Moore opened up a shooting opportunity for Nathan Broadhead.
Dom Hyam was added to the referee’s notebook in the 54th minute, handing Perry Ng a dangerous free-kick opportunity, which he fired into the wall. Doyle came close again at the other end when his thunderous strike cannoned off the post and behind for a goal kick.
Brian Barry-Murphy turned to his bench on the hour mark, introducing homegrown talents Joel and Rubin Colwill, in favour of Willock and Ollie Tanner. Wrexham’s first change came shortly after, as Oliver Rathbone was replaced by Ben Whiteman.
Moylan looked to get the hosts level with 20 left to play, taking aim from the left-hand side of the box and drawing a save from Patterson. Then, more changes came for Wrexham as Davis Keillor-Dunn, Ryan Longman, George Dobson and Smith replaced Moore, Imray, Matty James and Broadhead for the visitors.
Cardiff made a triple change as the final 10 minutes loomed in the Welsh capital, with Callum Robinson, Kpakio and Davies replacing Ashford, Alex Robertson and Scanlon. Smith looked to kill the game off following his introduction, but Trott was on hand once again to keep his side in the game.
As six minutes of additional time were announced, Smith came close again, this time lofting the ball over Trott and narrowly wide of the far post. Cardiff came agonisingly close to a leveller in the 94th minute, when a searching cross found the head of Hyam, who headed the ball onto his own crossbar, stopping it from reaching the far post, in an extraordinary piece of defending.
More drama was to follow, however, when referee Andrew Kitchen gave a foul just inches outside of the Wrexham penalty area. Almost everyone else in the ground thought he had pointed to the spot; however, it was a free-kick, which saw Colwill step up and pick out the top corner to send the Cardiff City stadium into raptures and rescue a point for The Bluebirds.