Moylan scores third goal in five days for Cardiff; Arubi nets incredible halfway line lob
IRELAND STAR JACK Moylan continued his fine run of goalscoring form, but his Cardiff City side were pegged back in a 2-2 draw with Middlesbrough in the Championship.
Moylan scored his third goal in five days – and sixth of the season – and also provided an assist as 10-man Cardiff shared the spoils at the Riverside.
Will Lankshear stepped off the bench to inspire Middlesbrough’s stirring second-half fightback: Brian Barry-Murphy’s Bluebirds stunned high-flying Boro in the first half and led 2-0 at the interval after goals from Moylan and Ollie Tanner.
Moylan’s effort which broke the deadlock was superb; the Dubliner dancing into the box and producing a wonderful step-over before beating Radek Vitek at his near post with a low drive.
The former Shelbourne attacker then sent Tanner on his way as Cardiff doubled their lead just before half-time.
Lankshear, the Championship’s top scorer, was surprisingly rested but the striker was brought on by Kim Hellberg at the break, and within 16 minutes of his introduction Boro were level.
Tommy Conway halved the deficit before Lankshear struck his 11th goal of the season in all competitions.
Cardiff went down to 10 men with seven minutes to play when Gabriel Osho was given a straight red card for a reckless tackle on Lankshear, but Boro – who are now unbeaten in nine league games - could not force a winner.
Like Moylan, recent Ireland debutant Joel Bagan played the full game for Barry-Murphy’s Cardiff.
Elsewhere in the Championship, Rocco Vata chipped in with an assist as Watford lifted the pressure on head coach Alessio Dionisi and quelled their supporters’ rebellion against owner Gino Pozzo with a deserved 2-0 win against sluggish Charlton.
After shipping nine goals in calamitous defeats by Burnley and Cardiff, Dionisi’s side had slumped into the bottom three and the fans had turned their anger on Pozzo.
But goals from Luca Kjerrumgaard and substitute Jordan Zemura – the Zimbabwe defender’s first for the club – extended Charlton’s worrying run to eight games without a win as the Addicks were booed off at Vicarage Road.
Watford, on the other hand, kept their first clean sheet in 210 days with only their second win in three months.
Vata was introduced late on and made his impact felt immediately in a game in which recent Irish teammate Conor Coventry was on the losing side alongside Dan McNamara and Millenic Alli.
And in the Championship’s other early kick-off, Jake Cooper’s scrambled equaliser rescued a point for Millwall as they came from two goals down to draw 2-2 with Lincoln.
Mark Sykes played the first half for Millwall, while Chiedozie Ogbene and Josh Honohan were unused substitutes for Lincoln.
In the later games, Jayson Molumby won a penalty and helped to create the winner as West Brom completed a stunning comeback after conceding two early goals to beat Blackburn Rovers 3-2.
Six minutes in and Brayann Pereira was caught in possession by Kristi Montgomery, with the ball finding its way to Rovers forward Andri Gudjohnsen – who beat goalkeeper Max O’Leary from 20 yards out.
Molumby almost produced an immediate response but he could only rattle the upright from close range.
The afternoon got worse for Albion in the 12th minute as Gudjohnsen slammed home his second from a corner.
Albion cut the deficit in half in the 19th minute. Blackburn lost the ball in their third with Rabby Nzingoula’s blocked shot falling to Barney Stewart, whose effort deflected past keeper Balazs Toth for his first Albion goal.
The Baggies persistence paid off on 72 minutes as a sweeping counter attack ended with Sean McLoughlin taking Jayson Molumby down in the box. Isaac Price showed serious composure to produce a Panenka penalty and level the scores.
Albion remained on top and were looking like the side who could go on and complete their comeback, with Jimmy-Jay Morgan heading Ousmane Diakite’s cross just over.
They did complete their dramatic turnaround a minute from the end of normal time – as Molumby’s cross was headed down by Aune Heggebo into the path of Horn Myhre, who turned the ball home from six yards out for his first Championship goal.
Blackburn, who had hardly threatened in the second half, put a bit of late pressure on but the Baggies’ comeback sealed back-to-back wins.
In League One, Gbemi Arubi scored an incredible halfway line chip for Burton Albion in their 2-2 draw with Peterborough United.
The former Shelbourne, Waterford, and Dundalk forward’s 89th-minute strike appeared the winner until Matthew Garbett bagged a 96th-minute equaliser for the Posh.
- Additional reporting from Emma Duffy
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