Live Commentary

Bluebirds and Foxes in stalemate Cardiff and Leicester both extended their unbeaten runs in the npower Championship to five games with a goalless draw at Cardiff City Stadium. Both sides had opportunities to win the match, but a glaring profligacy in front of goal - coupled with impressive defending throughout - meant the sides' second meeting in five days ended as a stalemate. Leicester enjoyed the majority of possession and territory in the first 45 minutes, with Matt Mills and Andy King both missing gilt-edged chances for the visitors, but Cardiff bossed the second. Peter Whittingham hit the side-netting with a free-kick, Kenny Miller was foiled by Kasper Schmeichel and Mills produced a superb block to stop Rudy Gestede. And Darius Vassell should have punished the Bluebirds late on, but smashed high and wide when played clean through before nodding against the crossbar deep into injury time. After a tetchy opening 10 minutes, Leicester went close through Jermaine Beckford, Mills and Lee Peltier as the visitors enjoyed the better of the early play. The Foxes should have gone ahead on 20 minutes. Vassell sprung the offside trap and Anthony Gerrard's tackle to dink a flighted centre across the six-yard box. Mark Hudson half-cleared the danger, but when the ball fell to Andy King on the volley 15 yards from goal the midfielder should have done better than send his effort wide of the upright. For almost half an hour Cardiff looked impotent in attack but within seconds of Robert Earnshaw arriving on the pitch, in place of the injured Craig Conway, the Bluebirds made their first serious foray into Leicester territory. Earnshaw ghosted past Sol Bamba, shimmied from left to right inside the box before collapsing in a heap under the recovering Foxes centre-back. The striker was screaming for a penalty which never arrived. And the Welshman soon was in action at the other end of the field, clearing Peltier's header from Richie Wellens' corner off the line as a drab 30 minutes suddenly sprung to life. Whittingham tested Schmeichel from distance for Cardiff, and Mills blazed wide from eight yards out for Leicester, but neither side could find the breakthrough before half-time. The Bluebirds started the second period with a swagger, with Whittingham hitting the side netting from a free-kick, but the visitors stood firm and soon enjoyed a period of pressure of their own. Paul Konchesky drew Marshall into a good low save from a left-footed set-piece from 25 yards, and the home keeper had to be alert to tap Wellens' corner over the crossbar as the second half opened up with far more verve and momentum than the first. Only a brilliant late sliding block from Mills denied Gestede, on in place of the injured Earnshaw, after neat work from Kevin McNaughton. And Cardiff rapidly raced into the ascendancy. Whittingham sliced wide on 70 minutes after another mazy McNaughton run and Lee Naylor's speculative long-range effort was never likely to trouble Schmeichel. But for all their improvement after the break, the hosts could have been made to pay at the death, but for Vassell's lack of composure from eight yards out and his misfortune from even closer. end