Match ends, Cardiff City 1, Nottingham Forest 1.
CardiffCardiff City1Nottm ForestNottingham Forest1
Cardiff City fell further adrift of the Championship play-off places as they drew with Nottingham Forest.
Oliver Burke's sweet finish gave Forest an early lead before Cardiff responded with Aron Gunnarsson's deflected strike.
The Bluebirds dominated for long spells but were frustrated by a Forest side now unbeaten in seven games.
Tenth-placed Cardiff are now six points behind the play-off spots with Forest up to 14th.
Wayward finishing was the cause of Cardiff's demise as they had lost both their previous matches, and they were similarly unable to make their dominance pay against Forest.
Dougie Freedman's side had to withstand heavy pressure and, although they seemed content with a point, it was the visitors who took the lead.
A quick counter-attack culminated in a pass from Dexter Blackstock to Burke, who used the outside of his right foot to deftly guide a swerving shot into the net for his first Forest goal.
Cardiff's response was swift as, three minutes later, Gunnarsson's 20-yard shot took a sharp deflection to leave Forest keeper Dorus de Vries stranded.
The former Swansea stopper had a busy first half, holding on to a Joe Ralls shot before reacting superbly to deny Tony Watt with a one-handed save low to his left.
Despite Cardiff's dominance, the score remained 1-1 at the interval, and Russell Slade's side continued to press in the second half with Gunnarsson heading wide.
The hosts' attacking threat faded as the game wore on, however, and it was Forest who had the final chance as another former Swansea player, substitute Nelson Oliveira, blazed a close-range rebound over the bar.
Cardiff boss Russell Slade: "They parked the bus in the second half, sat very, very deep and made it difficult for us.
"They lived on the counter-attack and we could not unlock the door which is very frustrating, even though we did a lot of very good things in the game.
"They tried to kill the game and see it out from an early stage, but we should have been adding to our tally with the three good first-half chances we had.
"We will just keep working at it, and we played well against a good Forest side who, had they been any deeper, they would have needed snorkels."
Nottingham Forest manager Dougie Freedman: "I think we should have won it at the end, we had the two best chances of the game during that last 15 minutes.
"We tried to slow everything down and quiet their fans down and we felt that was the best way to do it.
"We made a lot of changes and we didn't complain about the number of fixtures. The younger guys we had come in gave us some freshness and allowed us to keep some guys on the bench and bring them on to try and win the game.
"With our transfer embargo I am going to need to be able to call on these players to get us through to the end of the season."
Line-ups
Cardiff
Formation 4-4-2
- 1Marshall
- 2Peltier
- 5Ecuele Manga
- 16Connolly
- 3da SilvaBooked at 87mins
- 11NooneSubstituted forMachedaat 82'minutes
- 17GunnarssonSubstituted forWhittinghamat 70'minutes
- 8Ralls
- 13Pilkington
- 33Watt
- 9JonesSubstituted forAmeobiat 65'minutes
Substitutes
- 7Whittingham
- 10Mason
- 14Macheda
- 21Moore
- 22O'Keefe
- 28Malone
- 38Ameobi
Nottm Forest
Formation 4-2-3-1
- 1de Vries
- 2Lichaj
- 5Mills
- 25Hobbs
- 4Mancienne
- 32Tesche
- 18Trotter
- 35BurkeSubstituted forLansburyat 85'minutes
- 20WilliamsSubstituted forOsbornat 71'minutes
- 19WardBooked at 77mins
- 23BlackstockSubstituted forOliveiraat 80'minutes
Substitutes
- 10Lansbury
- 15Mendes da Graça
- 17Oliveira
- 26Evtimov
- 27Burke
- 29O'Grady
- 38Osborn
- Referee:
- Tim Robinson
- Attendance:
- 15,461
Match Stats
Home TeamCardiffAway TeamNottm Forest
- Possession
- Home62%
- Away38%
- Shots
- Home16
- Away6
- Shots on Target
- Home5
- Away2
- Corners
- Home4
- Away1
- Fouls
- Home10
- Away7
Live Text
Post update
Full Time
Second Half ends, Cardiff City 1, Nottingham Forest 1.
Post update
Attempt missed. Nélson Oliveira (Nottingham Forest) right footed shot from the centre of the box is too high following a set piece situation.
Post update
Attempt saved. Henri Lansbury (Nottingham Forest) left footed shot from outside the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Nélson Oliveira.
Post update
Foul by Matthew Connolly (Cardiff City).
Post update
Nélson Oliveira (Nottingham Forest) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Post update
Delay over. They are ready to continue.
Post update
Delay in match Eric Lichaj (Nottingham Forest) because of an injury.
Post update
Attempt missed. Sammy Ameobi (Cardiff City) header from the right side of the box is too high. Assisted by Joe Ralls.
Booking
Fabio (Cardiff City) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Post update
Foul by Fabio (Cardiff City).
Post update
Henri Lansbury (Nottingham Forest) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Substitution
Substitution, Nottingham Forest. Henri Lansbury replaces Oliver Burke.
Substitution
Substitution, Cardiff City. Federico Macheda replaces Craig Noone.
Substitution
Substitution, Nottingham Forest. Nélson Oliveira replaces Dexter Blackstock.
Booking
Jamie Ward (Nottingham Forest) is shown the yellow card.
Post update
Foul by Craig Noone (Cardiff City).
Post update
Jamie Ward (Nottingham Forest) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Post update
Foul by Sammy Ameobi (Cardiff City).
Post update
Jamie Ward (Nottingham Forest) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
