Cardiff held to goalless draw at home by Blackburn

Cardiff City's struggles continued as they had to settle for an underwhelming goalless draw at home to Blackburn Rovers.

Blackburn substitute Tyrhys Dolan was then denied by an excellent save from Evan Horvath, but this was a game that anyone watching will be quick to forget.

Cardiff, who have won only one of their past eight matches, remain 14th in the Championship table, while Blackburn move up one place to 16th.

While the point does little for either side, the hosts will feel most frustrated after wasting several opportunities to earn a rare home win.

Erol Bulut's men have gone more than six hours without scoring a goal at home, while their wait for a victory at the Cardiff City Stadium stretches back to early December.

It was understandable, therefore, that the Bluebirds' supporters were a little twitchy as they watched their team struggle to find a way through against opponents, who were also in the midst of a testing period.

Blackburn manager John Eustace, who had only been in the job for 11 days, was still waiting for his first official win.

The former Birmingham City boss had watched from the stands as Rovers beat Stoke in the first game since his appointment but, with Eustace stood in the dugout, his new side had only managed a draw and a defeat so far.

They did not look like improving that record during a non-event of a first half but, in fairness, their hosts did not offer much either.

Cardiff at least upped the ante after the break. In fact, they created more chances in the first six minutes of the second half than either side had managed in the first 45.

Josh Bowler and Karlan Grant forced Blackburn goalkeeper Aynsley Pears into saves, while Dimitrios Goutas headed wide from a corner and Grant curled a fine free-kick narrowly over the bar.

Blackburn responded well and came close to equalising when Dolan's close-range effort was superbly saved by Horvath, after an earlier shot appeared to hit the hand of Goutas as he slid in an effort to block it.

Although those opportunities at both ends gave the game some much-needed action, it soon lost its intensity and ended as it had begun: a forgettable encounter between two struggling teams.

Blackburn manager John Eustace:

"I thought it was a really poor game, especially the first half, but I'm absolutely delighted with the point.

"That's our first clean sheet in 17 games so that's a massive positive for us. In the second half I thought we controlled the game with our possession.

"We want to be better in defending. It's important we stop conceding because we had the worst defence in the league when we came in.

"Tonight we defended really well and had the best chance of the game, which on another day Ty [Tyrhys Dolan] would put away. It wasn't a spectacle but what a massive plus that is, a first clean sheet in 17 games."