Sorry it has been a while, leaves on the line or something. This isn’t a proper match report as I only watched on the TV, but I can safely say that this was a cracking match that I think made a decent advertisement for football at this level. The stoppage-time equaliser by Lewis McGugan will make the headlines, but I have been reassured that the equaliser was down to the fact that my almost-six-year-old niece made a wish and it came true!

Forest lined up with Campo in goal, ex-Cardiff man Chris Gunter alongside Wes, Casual Kelv and Chrissy Cohen at the back, the three Ms of McKenna, Mooooosssssse and Majewski in the middle, with Joe Garner and Ando on the flanks and Goldie as the lone striker. We started much the stronger, with Ando having a strong (and to my mind cast-iron) penalty shout turned down when young full-back Matthews clipped him, and Goldie firing wide after some route-one play involving a punt forward from Campo and a flick-on from Joe Garner. Ando had Matthews on toast in the first half, and he really should have put Forest ahead when another header from Garner gave him a shooting chance which he put just wide from an angle.

Cardiff are no mugs however, and they came back into the game after the first twenty minutes or so. Jay Bothroyd was having an excellent game and his flicks allowed Michael Chopra and Peter Whittingham space to try and exploit, which led to a brilliant double-save from Campo, first from Whittingham and then he was quickly up to thwart Joe Ledley. Just a few minutes later, an excellent volley by Whittingham was parried over by Campo at full-stretch. It should be said that Forest were not necessarily defending badly, but Cardiff were willing to shoot on sight. Whittingham picked up a caution for a late (but not malicious tackle) on Gunter, which prompted a minor melee, and Casual Kelv deservedly saw yellow for bringing down Bothroyd when he was attempting to maraud into the Forest box.

I would have taken 0-0 at half-time, but I would also have taken off Madge, who was struggling to get involved in the “link-man” role. Happily, he got himself going a bit more in the second period, although there was still a paucity of chances at both ends (although the play was generally very good and entertaining from both teams). The best chance was Ledley stabbing the ball towards goal, Campo got a hand on it before Madge cleared off the line, despite Wes almost getting in his way. However, just after withdrawing Madge for Big Dele Adebola, Cardiff took the lead. It was a flowing counter-attack, ending with Bothroyd sweeping the ball home from just inside the box; Chris Gunter was screaming for offside, although he was playing Bothroyd on, and I was annoyed that Chris Cohen lost his man.

Cardiff seemed galvanised by their goal and Forest just couldn’t get hold of the ball. However, there weren’t a huge amount of efforts on goal, and eventually Forest brought on G-Man McCleary and Lewis for Garner and Moose respectively (Joe must remain annoyed at not getting a chance upfront – I actually thought he had a decent match today). However, the G-Man tried his hardest, using his ability to run at defenders with the ball, and this created a decent chance which Goldie could only sidefoot gently towards goal, giving Marshall an easy save. Goldie also had a chance from an acute angle, with Marshall parrying his left-footed effort around the angle of post and bar.

As the stoppage time board was held up, and just as I was starting to give up hope (and Cardiff were looking to corner flag it), there came a goal out of almost nowhere. The ball came to the edge of the box from the left-hand side, and after a bit of pinball involving Dele, Lewis and the Cardiff rearguard, Lewis hit a thunderous left-footed volley past Marshall into the far corner, giving the Cardiff custodian no chance at all.

I jumped off the sofa in celebration and jarred my knee

There were still four minutes of stoppage time to play, and it was still end-to-end, but as the final whistle went, it was 1-1. Cardiff probably had more chances, but I thought a score draw was a fair result on the balance of play.

Gold stars to Campo for a confident performance in net, Wes and Casual Kelv who were majestic (and hasn’t Kelvin’s game come on in leaps and bounds this season? He seems to be walking tall, as opposed to the slouch of last season); the skipper who directed things from the middle of the park, and Goldie who was particularly effective when he dropped back to his more natural link-man role, but who tried his hardest up front as well.

Silver to Gunter (who was singled out for boos by the Cardiff fans), Ando (started well but faded), and Joe Garner.

Nobody in a Red shirt had a poor match today, but an honourable mention to Chrissy Cohen – have you noticed how Billy no longer seems to talk about wanting to get him back into midfield? He was up against one of Cardiff’s best players in Chris Burke, and his positional sense was tested, but he kept going, did well with a number of clearances and did his best going forward, especially in the second half when we tried to rescue the point.

This match was a real test, but on the whole I think the Reds continue to show remarkable resilience and, despite creating fewer chances today, were still good value for the result. Nice one Billy and the lads!