Wanderers and Cardiff came up together last season and it looked as though they wouldn’t be separated in their Championship reunion until Thierry Gale popped up with a dramatic late winner, writes Pete Oliver.
Gale’s last-minute header ended a run of four successive losses for the Whites and means Cardiff are still waiting for a first league win since promotion.
Whether justice was served is a moot point as Wanderers’ keeper Gavin Bazunu was the key man on an afternoon Steven Schumacher’s men didn’t hit the heights of some of the recent displays which have left them empty-handed.
But winning is the name of the game and a second clean sheet of the season on Bazunu’s second start for the Whites - who were due a change of fortune - gave Gale the chance to grab a share of the headlines and secure a first win since the opening day of the season.
Recent arrival Bazunu won’t have enjoyed his part in the late West Ham goal in mid-week that extended Wanderers' losing run. But the Republic of Ireland international reacted superbly to keep City out – one second-half save in particular enabling Wanderers to swap performance for points just when they needed it with one game to go at Norwich City before an international break.
Despite the fourth straight defeat on Tuesday night there was just one change to the side that had pushed the table-topping Hammers all the way as Chris Forino dropped out through injury and Ben Davies slotted into the centre of defence.
It was Wanderers’ back line that was asked all the early questions and Davies had to make one vital tackle on Alex Robertson after the City midfielder was gifted the ball and allowed a run at goal.
That mis-placed pass from Bazunu was the goalkeeper’s only early error as he made a couple of vital blocks to keep the visitors out, touching over a header from Yousef Salech and then saving at point-blank range from Krystian Bielik from one of the corners that followed.
Wanderers looked stretched almost every time City attacked but gradually turned the tide as Ruben Rodrigues and Sam Iling-Junior both stung the hands of Cardiff keeper Nathan Trott.
Rodrigues – again the focal point of many of Wanderers’ best attacking moments – then threaded a ball through for Kyliane Dong, who rounded Trott and went to ground but ended up receiving only a yellow card for what referee Tom Parsons saw as a dive.
Schumacher hadn’t seen enough of an upturn, however, to prevent him making a double change at the break as Gale and Thelonius Bair were sent on to try and raise Wanderers’ threat level.
It was more of an even contest, although Cardiff were still a danger as they looked to snap their run of four draws from their first six games and the perceptive Parsons had to even up the bookings for more play-acting when Perry Ng was also cautioned for simulation in the penalty area.
The best chances continued to come City’s way and it took a brilliant save from Bazunu to keep Wanderers level with 25 minutes to go. The keeper looked to have been beaten all ends up by Salech’s powerful header from a Joe Willock cross but somehow managed to react quickly enough to stick out a hand and claw the ball away when it had all but gone past him.
Bazunu was by far the busier goalkeeper and had to keep out a piledriver from City substitute Cian Ashford but Wanderers had stayed in the hunt and in the final minute nicked a winner.
Max Conway – again giving a coming-of-age performance – had shown it could still done with one driving run and shot that skidded just wide.
And when Wanderers went forward again the substitutes combined for a dramatic winner. Bair delivered the perfect deep cross and Gale, having switched flanks, arrived perfectly at the far post to stoop and head home to make his 50th Wanderers’ appearance a memorable one, leaving just enough time for Bazunu to make one more top save to deny Callum Robinson and cap his near-perfect afternoon.
Wanderers: Bazunu, Larrazabal, Davies, Toal, Conway, Dong (Nelson 75), Sheehan, Erhahon (Hardie 83), Iling-Junior (Gale HT), Rodrigues (Ito 63), Dalby (Bair HT). Substitutes: Bonham (GK), Simons, Famewo, Hardie, McAtee.
Booked: Dong, Davies, Nelson
Cardiff: Trott; Ng, Bielik, Osho, Bagan; Robertson; Tanner, Colwill (Turnbull 59), Moylan, Willock (Ashford 75); Salech (Robinson 75). Substitutes: Tyrer (GK), Turner (GK), Scanlon, Tankiewicz, Moreno, Kpakio.
Booked: Colwill
Referee: Tom Parsons
Attendance: 21,543 (1,199 away)