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| Mon 13th May 2002. Cardiff City 1 - 0 Swansea City. Match report. | ||||
| May Headlines
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Graham Kavanagh lifted the FAW Premier Cup tonight as City captain and it was his 55th minute free kick that won the trophy for Cardiff. Kav placed an inch perfect kick over the Swansea wall and the ball rebounded into the net off the inside of the post, it was just reward for City who were the better team on the night. First half was difficult to see who was playing where as Leon Jeanne and Jason Bowen criss crossed each other in attack but I think the basis of the formation was 4 - 3 - 3. Mark Walton was in goal with Weston, Prior, Collins and Legg across the back. Boland, Kavanagh and Maxwell were in the middle with Leon Jeanne, Jason Bowen and Leo FW upfront. Lennie must have taken it for granted that we would win as his selections for the bench showed very little in the attack department, Lee Kendall, Gethin Jones, Michael Simpkins, David Hughes and Mark Bonner were the defensive quintet who were waiting in the wings. The match was hardly a spectacle but as it was a cup final it was entertaining enough. Leon Jeanne played the whole 90 mins and he is class. Full of tricks and not scared to try anything. He played on both wings and more often than not left the full backs for dead. He can play a big part for Cardiff City next season. James Collins was voted man of the match and it was deserved for the way he marked Mama Sidibie out of the game. Collins won every challenge against the big Swansea striker. The atmosphere was superb. In all credit to Swansea they were the loudest fans I've heard at Ninian Park this season. The content of some their lyrics could be called into question but they were making a good noise. City were counteracting with lively banter between the lower grandstand and the Swans on the Grange. The win tonight relieved a lot of tension for City fans. The defeat against Stoke had such a downing effect. It's easy to forget that Lennie has taken the team on such a run. Only one defeat in 17 games but that one defeat cost us our day out at the Millennium Stadium. That's history though. We finished 4th in the table. We have won the FAW Premier Cup and we have scored 100 goals this season . Kav's strike tonight was his 16th goal of the season and it means he gets the top scorer award for this season beating Earnie by 1 goal. 16 is Kav's highest ever tally as well. His free kick tonight was City's 100th goal this season (League, Worthington Cup, FA Cup, LDV Vans Trophy and FAW Premier Cup all included). Bottom line is that we have won the cup. Mickey Mouse, Worthless, a waste of time, call it what you like, it's a cup and we won it. I was at Ninian Park tonight and I loved every minute of it. When Kav lifted the trophy it could have been the FA Cup. The fans who came to support the team tonight were treated to a committed City display from a mix of players from the first team squad. No one let the side down and the joy on all the players was wonderful. OK we missed out on promotion by a whisker but this has been a very good season for Cardiff City. This is Michael Morris signing off for the last match reaction this season. The website and the news stories will continue on a daily basis as the build up to next season starts now. |
Copyright Michael Morris 2002.