The opening weekend of the season produced 11 positive results averaging over 3 goals per games so it was sod’s law that Cardiff City and Sheffield United shared the 2010/11 Championship’s first draw in a Sunday lunchtime game televised live on Sky tv, the 1-1 score matching the result when the sides met in Cardiff last season. Of course, City made the play-offs, The Blades ended up nowhere and I’d be well happy to see them miss out again!
Cardiff were only able to name 15 players but, there again, they spent most of the match playing 10 men as The Blades’ defender Matt Lowton saw a red card after a horrid high challenge on Kev McNaughton on 35 minutes but his side were leading, Welshmen Ched Evans taking advantage of more comedic Cardiff defending.
City took a long time, too long, to make the extra man count but Jay Bothroyd levelled on the hour in a one way traffic second half yet City could not fashion a winner with Blades keeper Steve Simonsen in inspired form.
The Blades have brought in 7 new men over the summer and expect at least 3 more next week so are strong and will surely be a contender for the play-offs at least but they’re still captained by the thuggish Chris Morgan, still have the horrible Steven Quinn and still have the midget Jamie Ward, a player who seems to spend much of the game staring and gesturing at City fans. They always measure up to their ugly stereotype. Simonsen; Ertl-Morgan-Taylor-Lowton; Quinn-Montgomery-Britton-Cresswell; Evans-Ward.
For Cardiff City however, the cost of the Wembley play-off failure and the financial carnage originated by Hammam and made worse by Ridsdale was being played out. With income streams dry (including season ticket money already spent and loans coming on of their ears), it’s pretty clear the club would be in administration or far worse had it not been for the intervention of the Malaysians.
A summer of turmoil and unrest, a shocking pre-season and, after a week of some cheer with the embargo lifted (temporarily?) and new players registered, a disturbing pre-match build up with paper claims that Gyepes and McCormack want away (a result of not being played), a Nottingham Forest director claiming Peter Whittingham wants to join them (which got an angry response) and Leeds Chairman Dave Jones claiming Dave Jones wants out too, hardly the bedrock for a new promotion challenge.
However a rallying pre-game call by Malysian T.G. and others confirming commitment to the cause seemed to have gone some way to allay dressing room worries, more signings are expected in the coming week. With an embargo lifted only on Friday enabling three players to be registered including returning talisman Jason Koumas, City are a couple of weeks behind where they should be but at least a feeling of relative stability is in sight.
Jay Bothroyd, who missed most of pre-season, was available, the midfield of Gavin Rae and the on loan Manchester United debutant Danny Drinkwater, Gyepes got the nod over Gerrard but it was a side still led by Mark Hudson while Kev McNaughton played left back with Darcy – called up by Wales for a senior bow – was on the right.
Marshall; Blake-Hudson-Gyepes-McNaughton; Burke-Rae-Drinkwater-Whittingham; Bothroyd-Chopra. The 4 subs were Heaton-Gerrard-McCormack-Matthews. The out of favour Paul Quinn was apparently taken ill during warm up and others are injured but it did seem Dave Jones named 15 only to make a strong point.
It did feel that the spirit-sapping Wembley defeat and pre-season had taken its toll on fans but stating the season so early in August with at Sunday lunchtime didn’t help either. Canton was noticeably quieter than usual pre-game, the Napier was “dead” and the mood was sombre for much of the game. 20,753 were in the stadium, including 500 or so visiting Blunts, making the noise of 2,000 for the most part until City got fired up. Even though that was the expected attendance, City, for reasons best known to themselves, didn’t print enough programmes and sold out long before kick-off. Anyway would think they didn’t need the money!
Less than 10 seconds elapsed before Jay Bothroyd was lying on the pitch for the first time and had a free-kick awarded against him. Jay had a frustrating afternoon in which he did not get enough protection and was penalised far too easily, sometimes he doesn’t help his cause though as we all know.
City had the better of quiet opening exchanges and slowly cranking things up and denied by a disallowed goal on 13 minutes with a beautiful one touch move which saw Peter Whittingham played an outstanding reverse pass putting Chopra clear and placing home but he had pushed a defender in the build up. (Incidentally, was it just me and people around me or did Chops’ “booty” seem to fill his shorts a bit more than usual). Chopra looked very sharp from the off but it wasn’t always matched by those around him with the exception of Kevin McNaughton who was flying.
However, against the run of play, United forged ahead with a goal that owed much to City’s defending. A couple of passes saw Ched Evans get away too easily, Gyepes brought him down with a tackle that could have been a penalty, the ball ran to ex-Jack (and constantly reminded about it) Leon Britton who played it back for EVANS to find himself free again and fire home. Maybe good news for Wales if Ched Evans is finally rediscovering form but it wasn’t welcome today.
However their prolonged celebrations in a Cardiff corner of the ground was out of order, City players were lined up to restart while they were still there. I wish the ref had just allowed City to start.
Cardiff were struggling to make headway. They are notably starting moves from the back this season with Marshall rolling the ball or kicking it to defenders in front time and again but it wasn’t getting to front often enough. It needed a flying David Marshall save to stop them falling further behind but a game changing moment took place 10 minutes before the interval as SuperKev charged forward again and was caught by a rash high challenge by Lowton. It was bad but few in the ground expected to see the red card but they loved it all the same. Sheffield had few complaints about it later but they were sure agitated at the time.
In the minutes leading to the interval, Cardiff never created anything looking a touch disjointed and failing to find or create the space that the extra man allowed. It was a pattern that continued into the 2nd half.
H/T: CITY 0 SHEFF U 1
Photos from the game can be seen here:
http://nigelblues.blogspot.com/2010/08/cardiff-city-1-sheffield-united-1-in.html
It was looking like a long second half with Cardiff short on ideas and movement and Sheffield resilient but taking time wasting to a new low, change was needed. It came in the form of Ross McCormack replacing the ineffective Gavin Rae allowing the previously quiet Peter Whittingham to drop deep into central midfield and become a playmaker. (A tactical change by Dave Jones? That’s rarer than a piece of quality play by Kelvin Etuhu!)
All of a sudden, City were moving the ball, sending it across the pitch and wide and doing what they should have been doing against 10 men and Whitts was the playmaker dropping perfect long passes left, right and centre but the first opening created saw Chopra run on and loose the ball instead of putting in McCormack in clear space. The resulting on pitch argument was understandable but unhelpful.
However Chops atoned on 62 as he got beyond the defence to meet a superb Whittingham ball, Simonsen’s blood rush saw him charge out, Chops went wide and sent the ball across the box for BOTHROYD to steer home centre of goal, threading the ball through three men on the line.
There was now only one winner and City were decisive with Chris Burke, so poor since his injury against Leicester late last season, finally showing flashes of the player he was before that. Blake and McNaughton bombing up and down were a joy, one mesmeric McNaughton run beating defenders aplenty and cutting to the byline deep inside the area was just scrambled away.
Shots were now flying in but Simonsen, making up for his rash earlier decision, was equal to them making great stops from Burke, Chops (the best save) and McCormack, the latter really should have done far better and scored was a Burke cross that gave him a free header on goal at the far post.
However City were unable to get any shots close in and despite going for it, on such a humid day and so early in the season, they gradually lost their pace and momentum. Conditions that saw the game peter out in the final stages instead of an expected big finish.
You hoped for more but a point was relief after being behind and hardly a bad outcome against a fancied team. On another day, it could easily have been all three but it wasn’t to be today.
The positives were Blake and McNaughton while Whittingham shone when moved inside. Danny Drinkwater, without ever producing anything decisive, worked hard and showed some quality and an appetite to run into the box past the last man which will bring dividends. Chris Burke showed signs of getting back to his old self after the interval and must build on that. The others will get better and sharper I’m sure and, thankfully, they look set to be aided by further recruitment.
It could be a long season or it could be a good season but I don’t think we learned either way which it will be on today’s performance.
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