Positivity!

More positive news since my last post. 3 more games, and no further defeats. The Bluebirds have clearly become a very hard team to beat - a very useful attribute! The fitness and work rate of the team is particularly impressive, and the form of the second string players in the Carling Cup matches is also encouraging. I haven't seen anything to deflect me from the idea that we are a good team capable of a top 6 finish, and we are only 1 or 2 players away from being a very good team. Lets hope the club is able to bring in the final pieces of the jigsaw via the loan market.

Cardiff 2 Doncaster 0

Make no mistake - Doncaster were poor. But you can only beat the team put in front of you, and this no nonsense performance was a lot more comfortable than the scoreline suggests. We seemed to make hard work of it, but the patience eventually paid off in the 52nd minute when Anthony Gerrard headed in from a free kick. A defensive error from Doncaster let Peter Whittingham set up Earnie with 15 minutes left, and the game was over. Substitute appearances for Gunnarson, and Phillip Kiss, both coming back from injuries, was also encouraging.

Cardiff attack with a Hudson header against Doncaster(picture John Candy)

I was talking to a Doncaster fan on Sloper Road after the game. "We can't score goals and we can't defend - there's only one way we're going out of this division with that sort of form!". Sums it up nicely.

 

Blackpool 1 Cardiff 1.

Billed as the revenge match following our playoff defeat in 2010, reports were that we played a 4-5-1 formation with Kenny Miller as the lone striker. Although I don't get to away games, my friend Andy Williams reliably informs me that this was probably our best performance of the season, and we should have won. The press reports seem to back this up. Don Cowie's 52nd minute goal was equalised with an outstanding unstoppable strike from veteran Blackpool striker Kevin Phillips. Still, an away point is always welcome, and we have done well on our travels so far this season.

Cardiff 2 Leicester 2 (Cardiff win 7-6 on penalties after extra time)

The Carling Cup again provided a good work out for some of our squad players, although it was another late night at the Cardiff City Stadium. It was nice to see Stephen McPhail return for his first game of the season, although unfortunately he had to go off after 30 minutes with a groin injury. There were 7 changes from the team which started at Blackpool on Saturday (there would have been 8 but for a calf injury picked up by goalkeeper Tom Heaton).

 

The first half was pretty poor, and the half time score of 1-1 actually flattered both teams as 0-0 would have been a more accurate reflection of play! However, the game opened up a bit in the second half, and a first club goal for Rudy Gestede in the 82nd minute meant that for the third Carling Cup match running extra time was played.

Rudy Gestede celebrates his first goal for the club (picture Jon Candy)

Both sides were exhausted by extra time, and so the penalty shoot-out inevitably followed. Not as dramatic  as the last penalty shoot-out against Leicester! However, we did have the same result and we go through to the 4th round draw. Lets hope we get a good draw against a Premier League side in the next round.

 

And on Sunday (live on Sky 1.15) we get to play Leicester all over again in the Championship!  

Quietly confident

We are in the middle of one of the international "breaks" so that meaningful football is suspended for a fortnight. I'm not a big fan of international football - the money involved and the power of television means that the club game is now a much more dominant form of the game, and a much higher standard than most international football. International football between countries is dying - the club game moves from strength to strength.


Cardiff 3 Bristol City1.

A very satisfying performance against a weak Bristol City team. In fact, in the first half Bristol City were very poor, and only showed a little improvement in the second half when it was too late and they were already 3 goals down. On this performance they could be relegation candidates.
The Bluebirds showed great team spirit and a work ethic which wasn't always obvious last season. First half goals from Hudson, Conway and Earnshaw. Late consolation from Nicky Maynard, who seemed to be the only opposition player who was rally trying. Wish we could afford to buy him.

Bluebirds attack Bristol City (photo Jon Candy)

Cardiff 1 Brighton 3.

After the enthusiasm of the game against Bristol, this was a bit of a reality check. In my pre-season post I predicted that Brighton were a potential top 6 team, and I didn't see anything here to make me change my mind. Gus Poyet has put together a good footballing team who play with assurance and confidence. They are buoyed by the enthusiasm that a new stadium brings, and also seem to have investors to back their manager. Their acquisition of Craig Mackail-Smith certainly raised a few eyebrows. The only worry for Brighton fans must be the attention their manager is getting for himself - it must only be a matter of time before a Premier League team tries to acquire his services.

The match itself started brightly for the Bluebirds, with lots of hard work producing  sustained periods of pressure on the Brighton goal. However, 5 minutes before half time an uncharacteristic and unusual individual mistake by Kevin McNaughton gifted them the opener, and with the agile and speedy Mackail-Smith causing problems, they deservedly took a 3-0 lead before Peter Whittingham scored with a late penalty.

 Whitts scores a consolation penalty (photo Jon Candy)

As the season progresses, I think Brighton will prove to be a good team, and could well be going places.

Burnley 1 Cardiff 1

Turf Moor is always a difficult place to play, and gaining an away point after going 1 down in the first 5 minutes an away point is always acceptable. Robert Earnshaw's 200th career league goal.

Cardiff 5 Huddersfield 3 (after extra time)

I don't usually bother with the Carling Cup games, but with a shortage of impending league games  I decided to make an exception, and I'm glad I did! Although the side was made up mainly of second choice players, it proved to be a useful runout. The Bluebirds went 2-0 up after 18 minutes with goals from Gabor Gypes and Jon "the Beast" Parkin. We appeared well in control at half time.

Jon "THE BEAST" Parkin against Huddersfield (photo Jon Candy)

Things changed in the second half. Another individual mistake let Huddersfield back into the game, and it was a bit of a struggle. Lack of match fitness from so many back up players caused the team to look more and more tired, and so inevitably a Huddersfield equaliser was followed by an apparent winner in the 88th minute. But then, out of the blue, up popped Don Cowie with an equaliser deep into injury time.

 

Extra time followed, but the heart had been knocked out of Huddersfield by the late equaliser and an early deflected goal from Craig Conway and a second Don Cowie strike saw the Bluebirds through. A thoroughly entertaining evening.

 

Portsmouth 1 Cardiff 1

Another good away point, although a little disappointing to concede a late equaliser. Of course, the Portsmouth equaliser had to come from Nwanku Kanu adter his winning Cup Final goal in 2008!

After 5 league games, we have 2 wins, 2 draws and 1 loss, leaving us in 7th place. Onwards and (I think) upwards!

 

Many thanks to Jon Candy for letting me use his pictures. You can find more on his Flickr site on :-

Jon Candy's Photostream