|
|
|
 |
Fri 14th April 2000 - Cambridge preview. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| April Headlines |
Cardiff have 6 games remaining. The first three, Cambridge - home, Oldham - away and Bury - home are seen as the winnable matches. After that we travel to Stoke and Gillingham with a home match on the last day of the season against Bristol Rovers. I think any points from those games will be a bonus. cambridge will be no pushovers, they themselves are desperate for points to keep their division 2 status. It will be a great occasion tomorrow with a healthy crowd expected at Ninian Park. Cardiff will be without Jason Fowler who injured his foot at Caernarfon. Russell Perrett and Mike Ford are hoping to be fit after missing the FAW game. City will start with Nogan and Nugent up front. There's no indication yet as to a formation or the rest of the team selection but after seeing our two central defenders struggle to cope with Caernarfon last Tuesday I think I would feel better if we played 3 centre backs and had Winston and Legg as wingbacks. On loan paul Brayson played well at Caernarfon but I think if Billy decides to go 4 - 3 - 3 in an attacking attempt to win the game then Jason Bowen will start. With Fowler definately out we may see Danny Hill get a rare first team league start. I will post team news as it becomes available. Cambridge come with in form striker Trevor Benjamin looking to score for the 9th game in a row. They also come looking to avange the 0 - 0 draw at the Abbey, you remember, where City gained a point with only 8 men on the field. Early preview from TotalWales and Eddie
May. May knows the pressures that exist at the bottom of the table as he was at the helm the last time City were relegated from the Second Division five years ago. And May believes City must take advantage of their home games, starting with the visit of fellow strugglers Cambridge United tomorrow, if they are to avoid dropping back into the league’s basement section. “Cardiff have got some tough away matches against one or two of the better sides in the league,” said May, who is conducting his own survival campaign as manager of League of Ireland side Drogheda United. “But it is the home games that hold the key - and they don’t come any bigger than the six-pointer with Cambridge. “You can’t afford to drop any points at home, especially against opponents who are down in the dogfight with you. It is a game City simply have to win. “If you win your home matches it takes the pressure off the away games. Suddenly you pick up a point or two away from home and that can make a real difference.” Five years ago May was handed the task of saving City after a season of strife that saw a proposed takeover doomed to failure. May, who had left the club in the previous November, marked his return at the end of March with a couple of wins but inevitable relegation could not be fought off. “By the time I went back we were in a position where we fighting for our lives and it was difficult to get the players relaxed,” said May. “We did have the Welsh Cup final to look forward to and that was good because it helped take their minds off the league. “But the confidence of the players was low and we couldn’t save ourselves. I only hope that this time Cardiff can do it. “But for that to happen the manager, the players and the fans must stick together. If the fans get impatient at home that can work against the team. “They’ve got to try and get behind the players and lift them. Fortunately, Cardiff have players like Andy Legg and Jeff Eckhardt, who have got a bit of character and will keep going no matters what happen.” Before leaving for Ireland earlier this season, May saw City several times in his capacity as a radio pundit. “I think they were guilty of over-playing in that division,” he said. “If you over-complicate things teams will get behind the ball and prove difficult to break down. “It is easier for Second Division teams to defend than create chances and the build-up has to be a little bit quicker. “They’ve got a lot to do but, if I’m honest, I’d have to say I’m surprised they’re in the position they are. They have got some good players but that goes out of the window now because it becomes a real battle. “It’s all about performing on the day and picking up the points. You can’t even think about other teams at the bottom, it has to be about what you do.” May’s own relegation battle will be determined in the next week or so with only two matches of Irish programme remaining. With two clubs to be relegated, Drogheda are one place off the bottom and a point adrift of nearest side Waterford. They have a tough away test at Cork City this weekend but the fact the game is on Sunday will allow May to follow Cardiff’s fortunes on radio. “I’ll be tuning in to see if City can win the game and get out of the relegation zone,” he said. “Hopefully, it’ll be a successful weekend - wins for both City and Drogheda.” My colleagues at Carling Opta have produced the following stats for tomorrows game.
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Copyright Michael Morris 2000.
