Whittaker brace earns Plymouth draw at Cardiff

Morgan Whittaker scored two goals to give managerless Plymouth Argyle just their fifth away point of the season, as they played out an entertaining draw at Championship play-off contenders Cardiff City.

Karlan Grant fired the Bluebirds ahead early in the second half with a thunderous first-time shot from the edge of the penalty area.

Whittaker then rifled in his second on the rebound after his initial shot was well saved by Jak Alnwick, as Plymouth sought a first win on the road since their return to the second tier.

Both sides had chances to win the game - most notably Pilgrims substitute Bali Mumba, whose sliding effort crashed into the bar - but the draw seemed a fair result.

Cardiff close the gap between themselves and the top six to two points but drop to 11th in the Championship.

Plymouth, who were playing their second match since manager Steven Schumacher left to take over at Stoke City, move up to 16th in the table.

Plymouth have enjoyed some memorable moments this season following their promotion from League One, but they have been almost exclusively at Home Park.

Yet having collected only four points from their previous 11 away games - the third worst tally in the Championship - the Pilgrims made a promising start on their travels in south Wales.

Under the guidance of director of football Neil Dewsnip, they kept possession neatly and caused Cardiff problems with their width before taking the lead when Ben Waine's low cross from the left was turned in by Whittaker.

Cardiff, meanwhile, had owner Vincent Tan watching from the stands for the first time since November 2022. The Malaysian billionaire was wearing a Cardiff shirt with Ramsey 10 on the back, though Wales captain Aaron Ramsey remained unavailable because of an injury sustained in September.

In his absence, it was left to his 21-year-old club and international team-mate Rubin Colwill to fill the creative void between midfield and attack.

Colwill provided some moments of inspiration such as a surging run from his own half, while Kion Etete tried to make a nuisance of himself up front, but Cardiff had to rely on a charitable act from their opponents to equalise.

There seemed to be no danger when Butcher passed back to Conor Hazard but the ball was just a yard to the goalkeeper's left and, despite Hazard's desperate efforts to race back and hook the ball away, it had rolled over the line to wipe out Plymouth's lead.

If their equaliser came by good fortune, Cardiff's second goal was all their own doing as Grant lined up a loose ball from a corner which not been cleared and lashed his fierce left-footed drive beyond Hazard.

That sparked a period of pressure from the home side, with Mark McGuinness heading wide and Yakou Meite failing to divert Ryan Wintle's low shot towards goal.

Those misses were to prove costly as Plymouth recovered to finish the game strongly.

Cardiff keeper Alnwick made a superb one-handed save to his right to deny Whittaker, who was quick to follow up and score his 12th goal of the season.

Mumba then hit the bar after a scramble inside the hosts' penalty area, before Ryan Wintle had a shot smothered by Hazard as Cardiff counter-attacked but fell short in their late attempts to snatch all three points.

Cardiff manager Erol Bulut:

"In the first half we managed the game better. In the second half after the substitutes, we were too defensive. We made small mistakes in the build-up, the confidence was not like it was in the first half.

"We cannot let the opponent shoot two times in a row without getting the ball [Morgan Whittaker's second goal]. This cannot happen. We have to be more focused and aggressive.

"It was a game that was 50-50 from both sides, with chances nearly the same. They pushed a lot in the second half and created a few chances.

"In the end it is one point and we have to live with that, recover well and get ready for the next game [Leicester at home on Friday]."

Plymouth director of football Neil Dewsnip:

"It was a typical Argyle game. We're disappointed. The players were devastated in the dressing room that they've not won the game.

"I thought we had more than enough chances to do so and it's an opportunity missed quite frankly.

"Bali [Mumba] knows that he's let himself and his team-mates down. He should score really, shouldn't he? It looked quite close from where I was stood.

"This group of players are incredibly tight as a group. They're incredibly resilient, their never-say-die attitude is amazing, so you know they're going to keep going. What we've got to learn to do is when we're in front is to stay in front."