Cardiff fight back to beat stuttering Stoke

Stoke’s long wait for a win went on after they let a first-half lead slip before slumping to a 2-1 defeat at Cardiff.

Michael O’Neill’s side have not won since they beat Swansea 3-0 on February 8 and defeat extended their winless run to nine games, while the home side made it 10 points in their last four.

Cardiff created more chances in the early stages and forced Jack Bonham in the Stoke goal to move quickly to palm away a cross from Cody Drameh after seven minutes.

Bonham then had to be even more decisive in the 21st minute when Joel Bagan got free eight yards out in front of goal and hammered in a shot that the Stoke keeper tipped over the bar.

To underline how significant a save that was, two minutes later the visitors took the lead.

Perry Ng gave away the ball on the right edge of his area and two passes later Lewis Baker was able to steady himself and fire a 25-yard shot through a crowd of players to beat Alex Smithies in the home goal.

That goal was largely against the run of play and drew an immediate response out of the home side, with Mark Harris latching onto a through ball on the edge of the area but missing the target.

Tommy Doyle then levelled things up in the 39th minute as he finished off a great move down the left flank. Harris made the initial running and Bagan flicked on to Doyle who finished with his left foot.

That was his second goal since arriving from Manchester City in January and another loanee, Jordan Hugill, notched his third two minutes before the break.

Drameh lost control of the ball 30 yards out but joined Hugill in hunting down the Stoke defenders. Taylor Harwood-Bellis was then caught in possession by Drameh on the edge of his area and Hugill banged in his side’s second goal of the night.

Stoke came out more positively in the second half as they looked to get back on level terms and had a strong period of pressure in the 69th minute, forcing Smithies into two saves from a string of corners.

The introduction of Mario Vrancic gave the Stoke midfield a considerable boost and he also forced Smithies into a save 10 minutes from time.