Cardiff City vs Sheffield United. Sky Bet Championship.
Cardiff City StadiumAttendance18,310.
Report and highlights from the Sky Bet Championship clash between Cardiff City and Sheffield United at the Cardiff City Stadium as Sean Morrison's red card with the Bluebirds in the lead cost them as the Blades bounced back to win.
Saturday 4 December 2021 18:33, UK
Sheffield United fought back from a goal down to beat 10-man Cardiff 3-2 thanks to a second-half masterclass from Morgan Gibbs-White.
The midfielder, on loan from Wolves, scored a stunning equaliser before laying on goals for Billy Sharp and David McGoldrick after Cardiff captain Sean Morrison was sent off in the 52nd minute.
It was the least the Blades deserved after dominating the first half only to go in a goal down.
Veteran striker Sharp could have had an early brace but the 35-year-old failed to get enough power on his header from Jayden Bogle's cross from the right and then fired against the legs of Cardiff goalkeeper Alex Smithies a minute later after being put through by Gibbs-White.
The chances kept coming for Paul Heckingbottom's men as Conor Hourihane curled just over from the edge of the area after Oliver Norwood picked him out from a corner, and McGoldrick shot straight at Smithies from the left of the six-yard box.
Sharp then turned provider as he crossed from the left but Gibbs-White's stabbed effort was well wide.
Having created nothing for half an hour, Cardiff could have scored three in four minutes but they had to settle for one.
Visiting goalkeeper Wes Foderingham produced a superb reflex save at point-blank range to deny Curtis Nelson, tipping the defender's deflected header onto the post.
That warmed the home fans on a bitterly cold afternoon and it also appeared to rouse the Cardiff players as they broke the deadlock two minutes later.
Mark Harris controlled a delightful chipped through-ball from Joe Ralls on his chest before turning in the area and expertly firing past Foderingham in the 32nd minute.
And Isaak Davies was close to doubling Cardiff's lead two minutes after that with a brilliant run into the box and a fierce drive that was palmed away impressively by Foderingham.
The match swung in the visitors' favour seven minutes after the restart when Morrison was shown a straight red card for chopping down Sharp as he raced on to McGoldrick's through-ball.
Gibbs-White wasted the subsequent free-kick from the edge of the box but he made amends in some style with an unstoppable curling effort from 20 yards to level the match after 61 minutes.
McGoldrick almost squeezed in a second for United a minute later but Smithies just about scrambled it off the line.
Sharp completed the fightback on 73 minutes as he finished off a quickfire passing move from close range by firing in from Gibbs-White's centre.
And McGoldrick put the result beyond doubt two minutes later as his shot trickled inside the post after another assist from Gibbs-White.
Mark McGuinness' 90th-minute header proved to be mere consolation for Steve Morison's Bluebirds.
Cardiff's Steve Morison: "The sending off killed us but everything around that was really good, it was a positive performance. I thought it was a game we were in control of. They had a couple of chances early doors where we were sloppy but we got a deserved goal and we were on top at the start of the second half before the sending off.
"We made a couple of changes to try to stop them from scoring for as long as we could. Unfortunately, the guy cuts in and scores a worldy so you take that on the chin. They're a really good team and they overloaded us in wide areas and they got their second goal and then their third. Credit to the lads, they showed that they're giving everything for the football club in the last 15 or 20 minutes. We got one and we could have come away with an unexpected draw."
Sheffield United's Paul Heckingbottom: "It was definitely a deserved win. I was angry at half-time because we had plenty of chances to be well in front but we came unstuck from their big threat.
"To go in 1-0 down at half-time was really disappointing. But I'm pleased with how we responded, how we moved the ball and they type of goals we scored."
