Following 4 consecutive defeats, you might think that this is going to be a depressing and negative post. But it isn't. Thankfully, the points that we had already achieved mean that we are still in 3rd place in the table, only 2 points below the automatic promotion place. And whereas this has definitely been disappointing, if we had been offered this position at the start of the season then we would have definitely accepted it!
8 league matches since my last post - 3 wins, one draw and 4 losses. But unfortunately, the pattern of those results means that we lost our last 4 games. In the midst of those defeats, a number of 'firsts' have taken place. The first time we have lost 2 consecutive games (also 3 games and 4 games!), our first home defeat (followed swiftly by our second home defeat) and the first time we have lost points from a winning position. Lets hope we have got all of those 'achievements' out of our system!
We then had a slight break with an FA Cup 3rd round match at home this weekend to Mansfield Town.
RESULTS SINCE LAST BLOG
NOTTINGHAM FOREST 0 CARDIFF 2
CARDIFF 3 NORWICH 1
READING 2 CARDIFF 2
CARDIFF 1 HULL 0
BOLTON 2 CARDIFF 0
CARDIFF 2 FULHAM 4
CARDIFF 0 PRESTON 1
QPR 2 CARDIFF 1.
CARDIFF 0 MANSFIELD 0 (FA Cup 3rd Round)
The Good
Our previous good form continued with a 2-0 win away at Nottingham Forest. We must have played well in this game as the Forest manager and fans were moaning afterwards about how we had bullied them out of the game! A comfortable win, made even more special from one of the goals of the season from Danny Ward! Unfortunately, since that game Danny has picked up a serious injury which means that he is likely to be out for most of the rest of the season. Although not a natural target man, Danny's speed has proved a handful to defences and he quality of the goal in this game shows what he is capable of.
CARDIFF 0 MANSFIELD 0 (FA Cup 3rd Round)
The Good
Our previous good form continued with a 2-0 win away at Nottingham Forest. We must have played well in this game as the Forest manager and fans were moaning afterwards about how we had bullied them out of the game! A comfortable win, made even more special from one of the goals of the season from Danny Ward! Unfortunately, since that game Danny has picked up a serious injury which means that he is likely to be out for most of the rest of the season. Although not a natural target man, Danny's speed has proved a handful to defences and he quality of the goal in this game shows what he is capable of.
Danny Ward (9) scores a stunning goal at Forest.
The next home game against Norwich was the stereotypical "game of two halves". We were 1-0 down at half timed looked totally disorganised. Indeed, it could have been worse than the scoreline showed. But Neil Warnock must have worked his magic at half time, as after the break the team were unrecognisable, storming back to win 3-1 and even had time to miss a penalty (as well as score 1)!
There followed an away game at Reading, which featured a significant moment with an injury to Sean Morrison after half an hour. Lee Peltier came on to replace him, by which time we were already 1-0 down following an unfortunate own goal by Callum Patterson. Just before half time Cardiff went 2-0 down following a series of deflections to a Modou Barrow shot which really put the team under pressure.
But in the second half, the team played better without much luck. Finally, 8 minutes from time Joe Bennet scored his first goal of the season with a fine volley. And to cap the evening off, Lee Tomlin scored his first goal for the club with another fine shot off the underside of the bar after Sol Bamba headed against the crossbar. The team showed tremendous spirit to fight back from 2 goals down for the first time this season.
Lee Tomlin scores his first goal for the club with a late equaliser at Reading.
The home game on the following Friday evening at home to a struggling Hull City was our first without Sean Morrison this season. With hindsight, this was the first time that our ever increasing injury list was starting to catch up with the team. At this point, we were missing Aron Gunnarsson, Sean Morrison, Kenneth Zohore, Danny Ward as well as long term injuries to Kadeem Harris and others. Although Joe Ralls and Loic Damour have done a good job in midfield, fatigue was starting to show. But a hard fought game eventually gave us a deserved win if not an entertaining one, with a Sol Bamba goal following an Anthony Pilkington flick on being the decisive point of the game.
The Bad. And the Ugly.
Then came the bad run of games. Ironically, reports suggest that it was us who were bullied by the opposing team at struggling Bolton resulting in a 2-0 defeat. On Boxing Day, a 2-4 defeat to a Fulham team who have seriously under achieved this season brought more dismay. The only bright spot of the game was a stunning goal to bring the score back to 2-1 by Kenneth Zohore, returning to the team after minor ankle surgery. More on him later. And 4 days later a truly awful game against Preston resulted in a late 1-0 defeat. At least the defeat to Fulham was against what is obviously quite a good team with some talented players, but the game against Preston was awful by both teams.Ugly.
And to start the New Year, there was a trip to Loftus Road to play QPR where we took the lead but then gave it away to lose 2-1. (Junior Hoillet appeared to have a perfectly good goal disallowed at 1-1).
Don't Panic!
Finally, an FA Cup tie against League 2 Mansfield Town - a team we should beat comfortably, even though we didn't have our strongest team out. However, the match resulted in a disappointing 0-0 where we were unable to break down a well organised Mansfield defence.
Sean Morrison - badly missed but an encouraging return in the FA Cup.
There were a couple of positives out of the game, particularly the return of club captain Sean Morrison after injury. Although there is nothing wrong with the defensive abilities of Bruno Ecuele Manga and Sol Bamba at centre half, Morrison is clearly the leader and organiser of this team. It is not just coincidence that the slump in form has coincided with him being out of the team.
A further positive was Lee Tomlin. He is now looking leaner and fitter, as he has had to play more recently. He didn't always get things right yesterday, but his workmate was much better and he continued to work away and look for an opening throughout the game.
A slight worry from the game is the form of Kenneth Zohore. He appeared disinterested yesterday, and it is clear than Neil Warnock needs to work his magic on the young man again to turn him back into the player he was for the first part of 2017.
Kenneth Zohore - needs to get his ass in gear!
Now, lets look at the positive side of our situation. Despite our recent slump in form, we find ourselves in third place in the Championship, just 2 points off the second automatic promotion place. The pressure is starting to get to all of the teams now. Lets keep things in perspective!
We have to continue to trust Neil Warnock. The transfer window is now open, and we are assured that he has one or two players in mind to strengthen the squad - another striker and a dominant midfielder are essential. Every team has a bad run at some point in the season and lets hope that ours is at an end.
We are a little down, but by no means out!
