Huddersfield have not lost on home soil in the league since an October defeat by Bolton – albeit they have endured too many draws – while Cardiff had lost just once on their travels in 2026.
The Terriers were denied an opener in the second minute when Bali Mumba steered the ball past Nathan Trott from Cameron Humphreys’ smart pass, only to be flagged offside in what was a very tight call.
The hosts’ impressive start continued when Marcus Harness thumped a drive against the underside of the bar and Trott acrobatically kept out Bojan Radulovic’s powerful header.
Cardiff grew into the game and were inches away from the opener after 20 minutes when Omari Kellyman nodded Alex Robertson’s cross just wide.
However, the opener came in the 27th minute when captain Ledson showed composure from Lasse Sorensen’s pass to score for the third game on the bounce after goals against Leyton Orient and Wycombe.
Brian Barry-Murphy’s men had plenty of the ball either side of half-time and plenty of shots from distance without testing former Bluebird Alnwick.
That prompted changes with fit-again Salech and Callum Robinson called into action up front for the last half-hour.
Cardiff ramped up the pressure against increasingly desperate Huddersfield defending, yet it took a pair of superb late stops by Trott to keep the visitors in it at the start of added time.
Those saves paid off when Salech nodded in front Robinson’s flick-on – another tight offside decision – to score for the first time since January in his third outing off the bench since a neck injury.
For Huddersfield it was another painful late show just days after dropping two points in added time against Wycombe.
