Wilson makes his point as Cardiff City draw 1-1 with Millwall

Wales international Harry Wilson came off the bench at a bitterly cold Cardiff City Stadium to rescue a point for Cardiff and show Mick McCarthy what he’d been missing.

This was McCarthy’s first home game in charge of the Bluebirds, having taken over the reigns from former Millwall boss Neil Harris.

Former Cardiff striker Ken Zohore started upfront for Millwall, with the Lions also including ex-Cardiff man Scott Malone in their 11. Sean Morrison returned to the starting line up in a back three alongside Aden Flint and Curtis Nelson.

The opening exchanges saw little activity of note until the lively Jed Wallace outpaced Morrison after ten minutes to zip in a cross which Flint could only divert past Alex Smithies in the home goal to put Millwall ahead.

Cardiff tried hard to pull level but the robust Londoners were in no mood to indulge their hosts.

Leandro Bacuna was looking the most creative of the home players, with surging runs and eager passing. The home side were playing plenty of balls forward, with Welsh international Will Vaulks particularly prominent. At the other end, Wallace fired a free-kick over.

The game developed into something of a stalemate though, with the towering Jake Cooper leading his defensive partners in belligerent opposition to Cardiff’s top scorer Kieffer Moore – though the Wales star escaped their attentions in the 32nd minute to head narrowly over.

Any Cardiff corner or long throw was met with a melee of shoving by the men from the Den. McCarthy hopped about, urging greater effort. Cooper responded with an airborne two-footed lunge on Perry Ng.

As the interval neared, Shaun Hutchinson sent Moore sprawling on the very edge of the box but the wall did its job to repel the resulting free-kick. Joe Ralls sent a firm header in as Cooper continued to do whatever it took to keep Cardiff at bay.

If anything, the freezing conditions grew even colder in the second half, as Zohore almost warmed Millwall hearts by forcing a fine save from Smithies in the 48th minute.

With Millwall on the front foot, McCarthy introduced the guile of Harry Wilson and Joe Murphy to add some creativity. The move almost paid immediate dividends as Wilson’s neat lob was cleared for a corner with Moore lurking.

Ryan Woods joined in the war of attrition on Moore in the 65th minute as the injuries and fouls built up – Ben Thompson sporting a head bandage as the Lions maintained their stubborn resistance. Joe Bennett saw yellow for a clear dive as the Lions continued to hold out.

Eventually, in a rare moment of quality from the home side, Wilson played in Moore for the towering Welsh talisman to fire easily past Bartosz Bialkowski to level the scores.

A dazzling Wilson pirouette was brought to a shuddering halt via a hefty challenge from Cooper and the Welshman then fired the resulting free-kick wide.

You sensed that Wilson had a point to prove after being left out of the starting line up and we saw him display his class as the game continued – Murphy, on the other hand, had made less impact.

Zohore and Nelson indulged in a spot of handbags in the 77th minute as the Danish striker continued to occupy the home defence.

McCarthy introduced Robert Glatzel for Moore with eight minutes to go, with the Welsh target man having battled all day with the uncompromising visitors.

Both sides sought the three points as the cold continued its icy grip. Morrison quelled a raid with a superbly timed tackle deep in the penalty box.

Wilson continued to exert his influence and almost set Murphy up in the closing stages. Sadly his fellow substitute saw his shot fly wide as the Millwall defence charged in.

After six defeats on the bounce, the Bluebirds had rallied to a draw with Barnsley and now Millwall. It had not been pretty, but then it rarely is.

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