Match report
Derby fight back to draw 2-2 with Cardiff in Championship clash
Derby and Cardiff shared a 2-2 draw at Pride Park in a Championship fixture from round two of the season. The game swung back and forth across the opening 49 minutes before settling into a share of the points that left both sides still searching for consistency early in the campaign.
AI-assisted match report written from official match data.
Cardiff struck first through Cian Ashford in the 19th minute, finishing off an assist from Ronan Kpakio. Derby responded seven minutes later when Carlton Morris converted a Bobby Clark assist to make it 1-1. Cardiff regained the lead before half-time as Yousef Salech scored in the 39th minute, assisted by Rubin Colwill, sending the sides in with Cardiff ahead 2-1 at the break.
Derby levelled early in the second half when Bobby Clark got on the scoresheet himself in the 49th minute, restoring parity at 2-2, a scoreline that held for the remainder of the match. Cardiff had shown more control in the first period, but Derby's response ensured a share of the spoils by full time.
Joel Bagan produced the standout display of the match for Cardiff, finishing with a rating of 8.3 without registering a goal or assist.
Cardiff enjoyed the greater share of possession at 56% to Derby's 44%, reflecting their control for large spells of the contest.
Derby and Cardiff drew 2–2 (half-time 1–2).
Derby met Cardiff in the Championship (Regular Season - 2). Kick-off was Saturday, 22 August 2026, 14:00 UTC at Pride Park. Referee: Rueben Ricardo.
Team pages: Derby · Cardiff · Championship
Key moments
- 19' Goal: Cian Ashford (assist: Ronan Kpakio) — 0–1
- 26' Goal: Carlton Morris (assist: Bobby Clark) — 1–1
- 39' Goal: Yousef Salech (assist: Rubin Colwill) — 1–2
- 49' Goal: Bobby Clark — 2–2
Starting line-ups
Derby (4-2-3-1)
Cardiff (4-2-3-1)
Sirius · Why these numbers
Before kick-off Sirius gave Derby 38%, the draw 31%, Cardiff 31%. It finished Derby 2–2 Cardiff.
Level sides, home ground holds off Cardiff's cold finishing due to recover — Nothing separates them on our strength rating, and Derby's 38% is home ground and little else. The draw at 31% is lifted by the early-season fade in home wins.
Why Derby in front?
Home ground, and little else. Almost nothing between them on our strength rating — 1465 to 1424. Sides this close won 45.6% of 14,483 home games (draw 26.5%, visitors 27.9%).
Why only 38%?
Because on our strength rating there is nothing in it. Cardiff sit -0.31 goals per game below chance-quality — cold streaks like this have bounced back. Visitors this cold went on to win 32.6% of 1,312 games, vs 28.9% for visitors finishing normally. Both sides are inside their first six league games — home wins land softer this early in the season, so this trims Derby's column. Across 10,641 opening-stretch games since 2010, home sides won 42.8% where the rating map expected 44.9%, with draws up 2.1 — negative in every season since 2018.
Why is the draw second, level with the Cardiff win?
Between sides this level the draw starts at 26.5%. These teams' recent games average 2.9 goals — a typical goals environment. Games in that environment drew 24.6% of 24,834. Early-season fixtures add 2.1 points to the draw. Championship runs draw-heavy, adding 2.0 points.
What did we measure but not count?
Cardiff have gained 94 strength-rating points over their last 10 games. Momentum is measured but not yet proven: climbing sides won 41.5% of 12,189 such games vs 40.7% class-expected — inside the noise band, so it stays at 0 points until the receipt clears its evidence bar. Cardiff are newly promoted — game 2 of their first ten at this level, where our rating knows them least. Promoted sides ran below their rating in nine of the last ten seasons — 26.5% wins in their first ten games where the rating expected 30.0% (2,793 games since 2012), fading but still visible through game nineteen. The other measured facts on this page scored nothing either.
Sirius probabilities, frozen at kick-off. Analysis, not betting advice. How Sirius is doing this season · Full breakdown, evidence cards and squad news in the Match Insights tab
About this match
On this page: the Derby vs Cardiff final score and result, goal highlights and video clips of every goal, who scored, starting lineups, match stats and the full match report from this Championship fixture.
- Who scored and when — a goal-by-goal timeline of the match.
- Match stats — possession, shots, expected goals (xG), corners and cards.
- Starting lineups and player ratings for both teams.
- Head-to-head record and recent form for both sides.
Watch the goals: goal highlights and video clips of every goal from Derby 2–2 Cardiff. Explore more on the Derby and Cardiff team pages or the Championship page.
Quick answers
›What was the final score of Derby vs Cardiff?
Derby and Cardiff drew 2–2 (half-time 1–2).
›Who scored in Derby vs Cardiff?
Cian Ashford (19') for Cardiff; Carlton Morris (26') for Derby; Yousef Salech (39') for Cardiff; Bobby Clark (49') for Derby.
›Where can I watch Derby vs Cardiff highlights?
Goal highlights and video clips from Derby 2–2 Cardiff are on this page — open the videos tab to watch every goal.
›What is the head-to-head record between Derby and Cardiff?
Derby and Cardiff have met 10 times — 2 wins for Derby, 5 wins for Cardiff and 3 draws.