Cheltenham 1-1 Cardiff

Neil Howard was Cheltenham's hero after his strike earned the Robins a draw against promotion hopefuls Cardiff.

The defender bagged an equaliser for the Division Two strugglers and then made a crucial goal-line clearance as the Bluebirds looked for a winner.

Cardiff opened the scoring in the 11th minute when Peter Thorne sent Andy Campbell clear of the Town defence to squeeze his shot past goalkeeper Steve Book.

But it was all square on the half-hour mark when Howarth forced the ball home after the Cardiff defence had failed to deal with Russell Milton's free-kick.

The visitors continued to hold the upper hand after the break and Howarth saved his side when he headed a Danny Gabbidon effort off the line on the hour.

Cheltenham: Book, Howarth, Mike Duff, Walker, Victory, McAuley, Yates, Milton, Naylor, Brayson, Alsop. Subs: Higgs, Brough, Devaney, Williams, Finnigan.

Cardiff: Alexander, Weston, Prior, Gabbidon, Croft, Boland, Whalley, Kavanagh, Legg, Thorne, Campbell. Subs: Earnshaw, Fortune-West, Maxwell, Barker, Margetson.

Referee: G Barber (Hertfordshire).