Junior Hoilett went down under a challenge from Florent Hadergjonaj
Saturday 12 January 2019 19:19, UK
Neil Warnock believes his Cardiff side were unfortunate not to have been awarded a penalty after seeing Huddersfield have a spot-kick overturned in the 0-0 draw on Saturday.
The hosts produced a lacklustre display and were fortunate to escape with a point after referee Lee Mason's decision to reverse a 76th-minute decision to award Huddersfield a penalty when Joe Bennett collided with Florent Hadergjonaj.
The Bluebirds had two penalty appeals themselves in a game low on quality and clear-cut chances and the point will do little to help the two clubs' respective relegation battles.
Cardiff remain in a healthier position to survive, with an eight-point advantage over Huddersfield, but their failure to fashion an opening worthy of the name against opponents who had lost their previous nine games in all competitions will alarm manager Warnock.
"We knew we'd be struggling a little bit today," he said. "We had one or two players who shouldn't have been playing. Callum Paterson and Victor Camarasa weren't really fit but I wanted to play them.
"I thought we had the opportunities but we didn't get the rub of the green although thankfully the linesman was alert to overturn the penalty. We thought ours was a certain penalty for a foul on [Junior] Hoilett."
Cardiff remain outside the relegation zone after a third clean sheet in four Premier League games, but they will have to improve if they are to pull away from danger and Warnock admits he will relish returning to the position as underdogs.
The hosts felt they should have had a penalty when Philip Billing's header struck the arm of Erik Durm and Cardiff had a stronger case when Nathaniel Mendez-Laing tricked Durm and his cross ended with Hoilett falling under Hadergjonaj.
"The lad doesn't see him coming, he gets to the ball first, and he takes the man," Warnock said on the incident. "I don't understand why they can't be given but I suppose next season with VAR, we've got a chance."
Cardiff had the first shot of the match after just 29 seconds - they had to wait until the 70th minute for their next effort at goal, and Warnock will try to bolster his squad before the January transfer window closes.
"I thought it was average," he said. "We weren't good enough today. We took a gamble on some of the lads' fitness, so overall I think it's a good point. If you can't win a game like that you have to make sure you don't lose it.
"Today showed that we need help a little bit. I know the chairman and the chief executive are working hard and I hope we can bring someone in for next week because you can see we need that."
