Tuesday, October 02, 2007

Championship: Sheffield United 3 Cardiff City 3 (we eff it up again!)

Cardiff City are now safely on course fro charitable status and gifting outplayed opponents a point while losing two themselves for the 3rd successive match. This time, The Bluebirds conspired to throw away a hard-earned and classy 3-1 lead at Sheffield United's Brammall Lane.

Coming directly on top on conceding a 90th minute equaliser to Preston at home and allowing outclassed Barnsley a 85th minute equaliser just last weekend, it is both soul-destroying and ridiculous.

City were battered for half-hour at United, captain Steve McPhail needing stitches after one collison and he was off the pitch as James Beattie opened the scoring, the Championship's top scorer netting his 8th of the season already. Another simple header from a set-piece, another lesson we are not learning.

However back came Cardiff to storm into a 3-1 lead. Joe Ledley with a flying volley equalised on 31 minutes, Cardiff's first attack of the game and they led at half-time with a Robbie Fowler penalty after Roger Johnson was tagged in the box. The 2nd period saw Cardiff rampant and dominant, Gavin Rae made it 3-1, Fowler and JFH were ripping open the Blades but City conspired to miss several great openings that would have put the game completely out of reach.

When left back Chris Armstrong made it 3-2 with 5 to go with a speculative effort, after failiing to be closed down, it should have been no more than a consolation but, in the three minutes of added time, Blades captain and centre-half Chris Morgan headed home ... you guessed it ... a corner kick!

City's defensive play is criminal, it's just 1 clean sheet out of 9 this season and, at Sheffield United, there's a strong argument that Andy Oakes, the current custodian, has a hint of lame in all three home goals. He's shown that he's more competent than Turnbull - that wasn't difficult to do! - but I fear he's another nowhere near as good as what we had and certainly short of what we need.

Our defence were arguably our string point last season but with 13 goals conceded in 9 games and just 1 clean sheet and an inability to hold onto a lead, they are now under severe examination. We didn't keep enough clean sheets last season but even City's 13 clean sheets in 46 games last season (all with Neil Alexander as David Forde didn't keep any in his 7 games) looks a long way off being replicated.

The Bluebirds now stand in 15th place after 9 games, those dropped 6 points have cost them the opportunity to be in 4th. So gutted and infuriated by this.

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