MATCH REPORT: CARDIFF CITY 3 BARNSLEY 0

SUNDAY MAY 4th

CHAMPIONSHIP - Game 46/46 - at NINIAN PARK


CARDIFF CITY (1) 3
Parry 44, McNaughton (or Steele own goal) 49, Ledley 63

BARNSLEY (0) 0

Photos of the day, game and lap of honour can be viewed at link below.
http://nigelblues.blogspot.com/2008/05/cardiff-city-3-barnsley-0-in-pictures.html

F.A. Cup Finalists Cardiff City signed off their league season by giving their semi-final opponents Barnsley another beating but this time, it was emphatic and stylish. The visitors could not have complained had they been hit for a couple more goals in a large one way 90 minute domination which saw every City player do their job to produce an excellent team performance and equal our biggest win margin of the season (matching a December 4-1 beating of Colchester).

City went into the game with nothing to play for Championship-wise. They knew defeat wouldn’t drop them any lower than the 13th place occupied pre-game while victory could not get them into the Top 10 which would have been my hallmark to declare it a successful league season.. As it was, we finished 12th sharing 64 points with Plymouth (10th) and Charlton (11th) but with the lowest goal difference of the trio.

Barnsley, meanwhile, came in 17th and slipped a place in the final reckoning but were comfortable knowing that 1 of the 5 clubs immediately below them could be relegated while they were safe and were able to laugh at Leicester fans crying on the telly as Milan Mandaric's and Ian Holloway's Foxes crashed and burned with loads of money frittered away, and managers sacked, to get them there. Good work Milan!

Back to Ninian as it was therefore little more than an end of season friendly albeit with City wanting to get a better result ahead of the F.A. Cup Final than recently but, despite denials, the key objective was no injuries while The Tykes may have wanted some revenge for that Wembley semi-final defeat against The Bluebirds but their cause was hampered with key absences while City were at full strength.

Five were missing for the Tykes including their talisman Brian Howard, midfielder Martin Devaney and hapless striker Odejayi who Cardiff fans were keen to thank for THAT miss at Wembley - shame. Thousands of Northerners came down but nearly all of them were across the City at Rugby League's Millennium Magic Weekender, Barnsley brought less than 250 but a load of flags. Some didn't appear to be there for the football but I felt a tad sorry for the genuine fans with City fans goading them with “We’re going to Wembley, you’re not” and the tannoy blaring the Cup Final songs by James Fox, Helen Love and Super Furry Animals.

Their line-up was Steele, Van Homoe-Nyatanga-Souza-Kozluk, Butterfield-Hassell-Campbell-Ryce-Leon, Macken, Ferenczi Campbell-Ryce was expected to be absent injured but was used in central midfield. Some City fans are impressed by him with his tricky, lightning pace but I don't see an end product to his work and that's how he was once more. Butter field, at 17, was getting his first full start and before the end, a 16 yr old sub, Jamil Adam, was handed his first ever Barnsley appearance.

Cardiff fielded what you have to believe is Dave Jones' first choice side and, on this evidence, our starting 11 for the F.A. Cup Final too with Enckleman, McNaughton-Johnson-Loovens-Capaldi, Whittingham-Rae-McPhail-Ledley, Parry-Hasselbaink. Subs were Oakes-Purse-Ramsey-Sinclair-Thompson. The most welcome sight, of course, was the return of Paul Parry after a 5 week absence with a pulled hamstring and he came through fine giving City the extra pace and movement they so badly need up front and we looked an infinitely better side for it.

Cardiff were soon in the ascendency, knocking the ball about beautifully and looking the classy outfit we know they can be, Parry was quickly into the groove and it was almost as if he had never been away. Early stages were a bit of a familiar story of poor options in the final third, crosses or shots blocked but City were cranking it up but I don't think it was pressure that brought the game's first yellow card as De Souza jumped unchallenged in the middle of the park and punched the ball as if he was taking it at an egg chasing line out.

The game came to life just after 10 minutes as Jimmy Floyd-Hasselbaink rolled back the years for a run on goal, beat one man, made room wide of another and unleashed the most venomous of drives that would have smashed the goal apart but was a couple of feet too high sadly. He smacked it so hard, I swear the ball came back into play still crying.

Chances came regularly but finishing didn't. Gavin Rae brilliantly charged deep into the box but took a touch too much when others were lining up for his pass to score and history repeated as Steele hit a kick into the back of his defender putting Parry free but without an end shot. Loovens headed over, Steele and his defence were overworked but Barnsley moved the ball well themselves at times and had their moments when Butterfield forced Enckleman into a low save and a poor Enks kick almost created another opening.

Back came City with their closest moments yet as lovely play between McNaughton, Ledley and McPhail saw the ball evade everyone in the box but run to Whittingham far side who unleashed a wicked drive that smashed off the bar and away. Parry then made Steele produce an excellent save with a powerful hit.

Half-time approached with Roger Johnson going on a 60 yard run through the middle with ball but he put too much on his ball over the top for Ledley, the latter would probably have stretched harder for it if Wembley wasn't around the corner. However when Loovens repeated the trick just before the interval, the result was different as his lofted diagonal ball to Ledley on the edge of the box was brought down and played into space for PAUL PARRY to announce he is back with a superb placed finish into Steele's bottom corner.

Cardiff fans enjoyed that and were soon regaling the South Yorkshireites with "1-0 to the Finalists" and "1-0 - just like Wem-ber-lee". Parry's 11th goal of his best season with City for form and fitness and no more than deserved. The question was, "how was it only 1-0" after all of that?

HALF-TIME: CITY 1 BARNSLEY 0

After one of the most chaotic half-times I've ever seen when it looked like a carnival was taking place on the pitch with two mens teams taking penalties at one goal, blokes kicking balls over a cardboard wall at the other, a kids game one side of the pitch, new Academy signings in front of the Grandstand and I'm sure there was a livestock and flower show out there too(!), both sides were back.

Thoughts that City may drop down a gear and coast home were quickly dispelled as they showed even higher tempo and were hotting up like the 14,469 crowd in humid, sticky overcast weather and doubled their lead within 4 minutes with a freak goal. The build up was exemplary this time with Rae, Whittingham working the ball in the corner and then finding McNAUGHTON who cut to the by-line passing one challenge and chipped the ball to the centre of goal where Steele had a bigger balls up than Ronaldo and his "lady" friends in a Brazilian party, somehow flapping the ball down, diving on his defender and helping the ball into his goal with Joe Ledley on hand. It's been given to McNaughton but it could easily be ruled an own goal.

Even then City were still going for it, clearly enjoying themselves and even playing to the crowd as "Ole"'s echoed around the ground with City knocking it about, moving the ball left right and centre and Barnsley reduced to helpless spectators. There was little respite for them as a change came with Capaldi coming off, Joe Ledley dropping to left back and Aaron Ramsey entering play in attacking midfield. As he did, Glenn Loovens became the only City player to be yellow card for a harmless but deliberate bodycheck which saw Jones wisely bring on Darren Purse as a precaution for the Dutchman. Now I was glad that red card was overturned!

And City still attacked making it 3-0 with more than 25 minutes remaining. Another excellent build up move, Hasselbaink released the trigger, his shot was blocked but deflected nicely for super JOE LEDLEY to ghost behind the Barnsley defence and place a pass past the helpless Steele. Now the "easy, easy, easy" chants and handclaps could start.

Barnsley could easily have been hit for several more as Steele made a couple of excellent saves, Ramsey was firing away and unlucky a couple of times, Hasselbaink possibly having his best ever game for City was close a couple of times even if he showed signs of age by taking a tad too lung getting off his shots and then the woodwork was smashed for the second time as Rambo crashed an effort off the post.

There was an element of cynicism about Barnsley's play and some frustration too. Four were booked but I don't believe they were dirty.

The closing stages was City and the fans being triumphant. Warming up for Wembley with the usual chants but it was funny to see the ground become swarmed with stewards and announcements for us to stay off the pitch when I don't think anyone had a pitch invasion in mind at all. It'll be different in the last ever Ninian Park game next season - I'm taking my spade, hacksaw, screwdriver!!

The game ended sportingly with all the Cardiff and Barnsley players congratulating each other. City went down the tunnel but returned for a 'lap of honour' which was excellent with the whole squad on view including Robbie Fowler in a suit so he did get back on the pitch this season. Some of the players had their children and a few "WAGS" were on the perimeter. I've see more meat of a spare rib than the combined figures of three of them. Jimmy Goodfellow got a special ovation as he was saluted by Dave Jones as he is retiring having been at the club for 25 years including a short inglorious stint as manager.

And that was it, the end of another season in which we finished 1 place higher than last season on exactly the same number of points confirming the impression that we're simply treading water at present in the league.

Yet we were just 6 points from the play-offs and you can wonder about those missing points. Many wills reflect on the early season missed penalties, four times we gave away leads at the very end and own goals which have cost us. But even since all that, Cardiff just failed to take their chance against the weaker sides while delivering against the leaders. It's not without irony that City collected only 1 point out of 9 against the three relegated sides in the past few weeks (or 2 out of 12 if you extend it to Coventry, the team immediately above the drop zone. Overall though, there's little doubt that our best eleven are as good as anyone, if not better than, we just didn't have the squad to sustain it over 46 games once again.

Cardiff have now spent five seasons in the Championship. I’m one of those strange creatures who still get times when I pine for those halcyon days with a couple of hundred of us in camaraderie taking to away days at Barnet, Rochdale, Bury, Shrewsbury, Peterborough, Brentford and co but even I can't deny we’re in a better place playing infinitely better football and I’d hate to step back really. It may be an Austrian pastime but 20 years trapped in the basement cellar is more than enough for anyone!

However all my life following City, I’ve been used to ups and downs with promotion or play-off campaigns and relegation battles (unfortunately, too many of the latter) so this continual mid-table obscurity with nothing to play for in the league at the end of every season does suck some of the passion away. Is there any club in the country who have been any more average than Cardiff City over this time. Just look at our record.

2007/08 - 12th place with 64 points
2006/07 - 13th place with 64 points
2005/06 - 11th place with 60 points
2004/05 - 16th place with 54 points
2003/04 – 13th place with 65 points

Thankfully we have Wembley to look forward to which makes it perhaps the greatest season supporting this club in our lifetimes but let's hope they use it, the opportunities it provides and the new stadium arising as the springboard to finally kick on. When you look at Stoke being promoted and the likes of Bristol, and Hull in the play-offs, we should be up there too. It has to be the aim.

But we'll worry about that later in the summer. For now, let's just love the next fortnight as I doubt we'll ever the experience the like again in our lives.