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FT: Cardiff City 1-1 Watford Vakoun Bayo levels for the Hornets after 87 minutes with a header from inside the six-yard box Cian Ashford scores from close range to give Cardiff the lead after 65 minutes The draw takes Cardiff out of the relegation zone; Watford move up to eighth, two points off the play-off places FT: Plymouth Argyle 1-1 Oxford United Rami Al Hajj equalises for the hosts after 63 minutes Will Vaulks opens the scoring for the visitors in the 44th minute from long range The Pilgrims remain bottom of the Championship, three points from safety; Oxford stay 17th, six points above the drop zone Dave Mc Intyre and Matt Cresswell It ended a point and a goal apiece in both of our Championship matches tonight. We'll be back tomorrow night as strugglers Portsmouth make the long journey to Lancashire to take on promotion-chasing Blackburn Rovers at Ewood Park (19: 45 GMT). We hope you can join us again then, but for now, it is good night from us. It's a night of 'if-onlys' for three teams in the battle against the drop. Cardiff are out of the bottom three after drawing 1-1 at home to Watford, but conceding a late equaliser was a bitter blow for the Bluebirds. In another 1-1 draw, Rami Al Hajj's equaliser kept Plymouth very much still in touch at the bottom - and prevented Oxford from moving eight rather than six points clear of the relegation places. A win for the Pilgrims would have taken them level on points with Hull and Portsmouth. Watford didn't get the win they needed to go level on points with sixth-placed West Bromwich Albion, but their late equaliser at Cardiff did lift them from ninth to eighth. FT: Plymouth 1-1 Oxford Jerome Sale BBC Radio Oxford commentator There were a few chances at the end but I think you take what you can get. I know the Oxford United players are exhausted, but the Oxford fans who came here tonight deserve an applause for their support throughout the game. FT: Plymouth 1-1 Oxford Katie Middleton Ex-captain of Plymouth Ladies on BBC Radio Devon I just don't think Argyle did enough in the second half. After Oxford had gone ahead they sat in comfortably behind the ball in the second half. They probably created the better opportunities towards the end of the half. It's disappointing to not get three points from a game we probably should have won. Plymouth 1-1 Oxford United It ends all square at Home Park - both sides will have to settle for a point. Miron Muslic's first game in charge was certainly an interesting one with both sides probably scoring against the run of play tonight. The hosts dominated the first half but were undone by Will Vaulks' wonderful long-range strike - undoubtedly one of Oxford's best goals this season. The visitors started the second half strongly but Rami Al Hajj's accurate 63rd-minute header earned the hosts a point and closes Argyle to within two points of safety, although 22nd-placed Portsmouth have played two fewer games than the Pilgrims. Plymouth 1-1 Oxford United United have another great chance to win this one. A poor ball from Adam Randall allows Oxford to put the ball into the mix. Argyle keeper Daniel Grimshaw punches the ball out to Siriki Dembele whose furocious strike is beaten away by Grimshaw. Cardiff 1-1 Watford It's all over. Vakoun Bayo's late equaliser prevents Watford falling to a fourth consecutive Championship defeat. It doesn't prevent Cardiff climbing out of the relegation zone, but the Bluebirds will nevertheless be disappointed not to have held on for what would have been only their second win in 12 matches. Cardiff were the better side for much of the game and Cian Ashford's goal midway through the second half looked like giving them all three points. Next up for them is the small matter of a home match against arch-rivals Swansea on Saturday. Plymouth 1-1 Oxford United Oh its a great chance for the visitors to nick a winner! Siriki Dembele, the substitute, takes an air shot but when the ball comes back to him he manages to wriggle through a couple of challenges before striking an excellent effort from 18 yards which was well kept out by Daniel Grimshaw. Plymouth 1-1 Oxford United We are into five minutes of additional time at Home Park. Can either side grab a winner? Plymouth 1-1 Oxford Nathan Cooper BBC Radio Oxford commentator It's almost a two at the back for Plymouth, it looks like a 2-4-4. Oxford are getting stretched, the Oxford fans are doing their best to help their team over the line. Cardiff 1-1 Watford Five minutes added on. And it's Watford with their tails up after that late equaliser. Plymouth 1-1 Oxford United Nathanial Ogbeta comes on for Tymo Puchacz and Jordan Houghton replaces Darko Gyabi in Argyle's final changes. Plymouth 1-1 Oxford United Brave change from Argyle boss Muslic and a statement of intent with five minutes to go. Central defender Victor Palsson is withdrawn and replaced by forward Ibrahim Cissoko as the hosts look to claim all three points. Meanwhile, Tymo Puchacz looks to have gone down with some old-fashioned cramp. Vakoun Bayo (87 mins) Equaliser! Watford, who have failed to threaten all night and were heading for a fourth straight league defeat, manage to carve Cardiff open. It's poor defending as Kwadwo Baah gets into space on the right and crosses for Vakoun Bayo to head home unchallenged from close range. Plymouth 1-1 Oxford United After so many poor set-pieces, Tymo Puchacz puts in a wicked corner from the left-hand side, right underneath goalkeeper Cumming, but the referee blows for a foul, seemingly for a push. We've seen a lot of reasons why Argyle were so keen on bringing in Puchacz in the January window. Cardiff 1-0 Watford Time is running out for Watford. Boss Tom Cleverley makes an 83rd-minute substitution, bringing Festy Ebosele on for Yasser Larouci. Plymouth 1-1 Oxford Alan Richardson BBC Radio Devon That's very poor from the referee, he's so close to the incident and he's clearly won the ball. Not only has he given a foul but he's also booked him. Plymouth 1-1 Oxford United Double change for the visitors once more. Ruben Rodrigues, who has been unusually quiet, is replaced by Alex Matos and Matt Phillips is withdrawn for Hidde Ter Avest. Moments later, Darko Gyabi is booked for Plymouth which sends Home Park into uproar. Cardiff 1-0 Watford A change up front for Cardiff as Yakou Méïté comes on for Rubin Colwill. Ivory Coast forward Vakoun Bayo now has 10 goals for Watford this season Watford arrested their four-match losing run in dramatic fashion as Vakoun Bayo's 87th-minute header snatched a fortuitous draw at relegation-threatened Cardiff City. Cardiff were the better side in a slow-burner of an encounter between two teams lacking in confidence and, after several missed chances, they got their reward when Cian Ashford's composed finish put them in front in the second half. But after a meek performance which seemed destined to end in another defeat, Watford scored with their first effort on target as Bayo headed in from Kwadwo Baah's cross. The draw lifts Watford up one place to eighth in the Championship, two points adrift of the play-off places. Cardiff climb out of the relegation zone as they move up to 21st in the table – one point clear of the bottom three – but they will feel cruelly denied not to have won. After a gruelling festive period, this was the start of an important week for Cardiff, who host arch rivals Swansea City on Saturday. The Bluebirds' only league win since early November had come at Watford just over a fortnight ago, while that victory at Vicarage Road had set the Hornets on their losing run. The two sides' shortcomings were evident in a turgid first half, where Cardiff were the better side by dint of having the only shots on target, with Chris Willock and Calum Chambers testing Watford goalkeeper Jonathan Bond. The home side were properly on top in the second half, pinning Watford back in their own penalty area with a succession of chances. Rubin Colwill fired narrowly wide and Perry Ng had a volley saved by Bond, while Cardiff's centre-backs were a handful from set-pieces. Omer Riza's side eventually got their reward when a succession of ricochets involving Alex Robertson and Chambers ended with the ball at Ashford's feet and the 20-year-old academy product finished coolly with his left. Cardiff looked to be heading for a precious home win until Watford punctured the hosts' feelgood factor as they equalised with their first shot on target, Bayo heading in from close range from Baah's cross to pinch a point for the visitors and end their losing rut. Cardiff manager Omer Riza: "Frustrated for the players, they have worked really hard again and deserved to take three points, but if you don't do enough you give teams the opportunity to get back in the game. "The last four games we should have got eight points more in the league and it would have taken us to 13th, 14th, but it's shoulda, woulda, coulda. "We need to control the game a little bit more when we are in front. We need to kill the energy and kill the momentum and we are not quite doing that at the moment. " Watford manager Tom Cleverley: "We are mentally strong at the end of games, but the question is are we saving ourselves at the start of games? "I know how good we are in the last 10 minutes of game. We have a good fighting spirit and I never thought the game was lost. "The first half was poor and that's not how I want my players to play. That was my fault because I set them up to be solid. " Last Updated 14th January 2025 at 21: 41 Please Note: All times UK. Tables are subject to change. The BBC is not responsible for any changes that may be made. Manager: Omer Riza Formation: 4 - 2 - 3 - 1 Manager: Tom Cleverley Formation: 5 - 3 - 2 Manager: Omer Riza Formation: 4 - 2 - 3 - 1 Manager: Tom Cleverley Formation: 5 - 3 - 2 Championship All competitions All competitions All competitions Cardiff City are unbeaten across their last four league games against Watford (W3 D1), winning each of the last two in succession. The Welsh side haven’t won three in a row against the Hornets since March 2010. Watford are unbeaten across their last five away league games against Cardiff City (W4 D1), since a 2-1 defeat in October 2012. Across that time, the Hornets have netted 14 goals in total. After a run of four successive home league wins between October/November, Cardiff are winless in their last five such games (D1 L4). Watford have lost four of their last five league games (W1) and could lose four such games in succession outside the top-flight for the first time since November 2014. Only Sunderland (28), Stoke City (23) and Norwich City (18) have had more goal involvements from players aged 21 and under in the Championship this season than Watford (16). © 2025 BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.