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Mon 1st May 2000 - We can still stay up |
| April Headlines |
I personally won't give up hoping we can stay up until its mathmatically impossible. Obviously a defeat tomorrow and its all academic but untl then I am still exuding some sort of optimism. The minimun we need at Gillingham tomorrow is a draw. That followed by a win against Rovers on Saturday. Should we even win tomorrow the a draw next Saturday could keep us up. But only if Oxford lose on Saturday. The best situation for City would be two wins, that would mean Oxford would have to win at Millwall next week. If we get a result at Gillingham tomorrow then next Saturday will a rollercoaster ride of emotion. City will need to improve their home performance after the submissions to Bury and Cambridge over the last couple of weeks. While we have had a bad season and our fate is not because we have been poor in a couple of games but I believe that our chance to save ourselves was thrown away against Cambridge and Bury. All the hard work that has been put in since Billy took over and the 5 match unbeaten away run that ended yesterday will all have been in vain if we go down and I look back at those two matches and think they were our chance to stay up. So its not over yet, Gillingham here we come. Billy Ayre's comment in TotalWales
today. Cardiff’s 2-1 defeat at a hostile Britannia Stadium leaves City needing four points from their final two matches to have a chance of survival. City must get a win and a draw from their final two games against play-off contenders Gillingham and Bristol Rovers to draw level on 45 points with Oxford, who were weekend winners over Scunthorpe. Ayre’s side could then survive courtesy of superior goal difference should Oxford lose their final game at Mill-wall. “I felt before the game that four points might be enough,” said Ayre after an incident-packed affair both on and off the pitch. “We had to get something out of this game or the one at Gillingham. “We failed to do that here but if we play as well at Gillingham we’re more than capable of getting something out of that game. Gillingham have got a tremendous home record but may be they’ll take us a little bit for granted. “I felt at times that one or two of the Stoke players took our league position into account and felt the game was theirs after the early goal. But the game was far from won and we gave them a really difficult match.” Ayre was once again left contemplating some wasteful finishing, City’s profligacy being in sharp contrast to super efforts in each half from Arnar Gunnlaugsson and James O’Connor. Jeff Eckhardt, up from the back, missed two golden openings before half-time and Paul Brayson was inches from connecting with Andy Legg’s second-half cross. “I’m very disappointed because I didn’t think the players’ performance was reflected in the result,” said Ayre. “There were periods when we were the better side and looked a good team. But Stoke produced two quality moments and that proved decisive. “We had some good chances but there’s no coincidence between our league position and goals for column. “O’Connor has got nine goals from midfield this season but we haven’t got a player in that position with more than two. “Those seven goals can make the difference between a draw and a win. But I couldn’t fault our performance. I thought every player in a Cardiff shirt did well and that’s all I can reflect on. “It was a shame that Jeff Eckhardt couldn’t bury the chances that came his way because all through his career he’s shown he can do that. “But it’s one of those things - and now we’ve got to think about getting something out of the Gillingham game.” |
Copyright Michael Morris 2000.
