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Sat 10th Nov 2001. |
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| Cardiff
City Alexander Gabbidon Prior Young Legg Boland Hamilton (Bonner 53) Kavanagh (Maxwell 81) Brayson  (Low 62)Earnshaw Fortune West Subs not used |
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Chesterfield Abbey Breckin Booty Hitzlsperger (Jones 90) {ayne Ingledow Ebdon D'Auria (Parrish 88) Edwards Beckett (Willis 88) Reeves Subs not used |
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Report
from NigelBlues. Nobody, I hope nobody anyway, will dispute
that The Bluebirds have consistently failed to produce a 90 minute performance and that
certain players continually fade but consider the number of times that they have struggled
in the second half of games this season; That's 9 league games out of 17 where Cardiff City have either been inexcusably poor and/or lost leads in the second period. In contrast, the only occasions they have made second-half comebacks are against Brighton and Wigan. The most damning indictment is that if games lasted 45 minutes only, Cardiff City would have 9 more points this and be in 3rd position tonight, just 1 point behind an automatic promotion place. Some may say that was City's 3rd game in 6 days but we are talking about full-time pros, changes were made, and they didn't play for 8 days before this period. We can't keep making excuses when it keeps happening. It can't be coincidence - sort it out City and Corkie!! As you will have gathered, this was the archetypal "game of two 'arfs". Cardiff City were magnificent first half and, genuinely, had they come off 4 goals ahead, I'm sure no opposition player of fan could have complained. Instead, a combination of saves, bad luck, near misses and an injury time Chesterfield goal meant it was only 2-1. Then after a bright start to the second half, City were dreadful, clinging on for dear life to the lead, they just about (with a combination of good defending and good luck) held out for victory. The win was needed, deserved over the 90 minutes play, and means 1 defeat in 8 games but they flatter to deceive and convincing nobody that they can close the gap between themselves and the teams now breaking away at the top. And you can't help wondering what agonies could lie in store if this side make the play-offs which is looking like the realistic aim for this season. This was the first time in living memory that City played at home simultaneously with the Wales egg chasers playing in Cardiff and it didn't seem to produce much harm at all. While the egg chasers suffered their latest false dawn against Argentina (oh what a surprise) in a half empty stadium with no atmosphere whatsoever, City pulled in a healthy 9,516 (complete with an Argie flag in the lower Grandstand). OK, it's the first time in 11 home games that City had an attendance below 11,000 but many "casual fans" were likely to stay away after Wednesday's terrible result at Bury. The only real drawback seemed to be many fans had problems getting to Ninian with the added traffic caused by rugby and then parking. Following the Bury debacle, there was a shock change by Alan Cork with Rhys Weston dropped to the subs bench, Danny Gabbidon moved to right back and Scott Young brought into the centre alongside Spencer Prior. Many fans, even acknowledging Weston's will have thought it was about time but it seemed strange to make the change when Rhys hadn't played any worse than usual lately and was starting to get forward more. City made the best possible start with a second minute penalty - far too early in the game for me to see it thanks to Brains Beers and "sympathising" with Wales rugby fans in the pub after their first half show, I'll have to turn up for kick-off one day! Of those who saw it, there were differing views over whether it was a valid or dubious award. EARNIE, just inside the area, knocked the ball past Edwards and was caught as he went past. Some thought Earnie went down too easily and may even have dived - which he has been prone to trying recently. Whatever, Earnie picked himself up and easily despatched the ball home, sending keeper Abbey the wrong way. He also celebrated with another somersault presumably meaning another fine. He could have gone onto get a hat-trick in the first 10 minutes alone and he was buzzing and clearly up for it, unlike some recent displays. Moments after the goal, there was a goalmouth scramble, the keeper Abbey saved an Earnie shot but he won the ball back and somehow beat a defenders in the 6 yard box. A last desperate challenge had the ball hit his shins then bounce narrowly wide but an infringement was spotted though so just as well it never went in. Then he had an edge of area turn and snapshot which Abbey saved well. The second goal, on 23 minutes was glorious. Earnie at his best danced, twisted and tortured his hapless marker Edwards 3 or 4 times sending him the wrong way before the matador left the ball, made space and whipped in the perfect cross for LEO to bury a downward header inside the far post. During the celebrations, Paul Brayson was strangely booked but nobody knows exactly why. He got the ball from the net and Abbey the Chesterfield keeper run into him but others thought it may have been for an earlier tackle. City were now playing some of their best football of the season, Chesterfield were barely hanging on and resorting to a series of niggly tackles. Kavanagah was just wide, Brayson brought a good save from Abbey, Earnie looked certain to score when Kav played him clear on goal but his cross shot went one foot wide and Brayson was cruelly denied by an inept official who didn't seem to know the offside rule all afternoon. Earnie received the ball just inside the Chesterfield half and instinctively knocked the ball wide. At that moment, Paul Brayson was behind him and stood inside City's half. But, timing his run magnificently, he charged forward as Chesterfield's defenders ran the opposite way. The linesman clearly reacted to seeing Brayson clear and stuck his flag up very late at a point when Brayson was now 10 yards clear and racing to goal, a terrible decision. Neil Alexander, other than headers back, had nothing whatsoever to do until the 40th minute when he had a routine save to stop an innocuous 25 yard effort. But with 4 minutes of injury time, humourosly caused by Scott Young colliding with a linesman when clearing upfield and giving him a hand or finger injury, Chesterfield fought back into the game with a good, but simple goal asking questions about our defence. Moving forward, Chesterfield broke through Beckett on the left wing and his low ball across goal evaded three defenders and found DAVID D'AURIA unmarked. He finished well, shooting across Neil Alexander. And so a game that should have been all over was now open. H/T CITY 2 CHESTERFIELD 1 After a ponderous start, City came back flying at Chesterfield and went for the kill but the break never came. They were however again denied by an official as Paul Brayson broke in the area as a defender went down in front of him. In desperation, a hand pushed the ball away, it was a more obvious penalty than the one we had, but City didn't get it. Earnie broke again but his effort was inches wide into the side netting. And he beat Edwards again with his skill and pace but was pulled down with his marker grabbing his shorts to stop him as Earnie was breaking clear for goal. It was however near the touchline on halfway or the yellow card would most likely have bee red. City were pushing well and then inexplicably stopped. Des Hamilton, yet again disappeared from a match before the hour was up, he had gone very quiet and replaced by Mark Bonner to give us more resolve. But Chesterfield were already starting to run the show, the possession and territory was mainly theirs as Cardiff were now playing like the away side. They had been first to just about every ball in the first half but were now slow and struggling to make anything happen. The defence were looking poor and hanging on, Andy Legg in particular getting caught out frequently. Midfield had stopped playing and balls hit forward came back quickly as Leo, who had played well, showed no appetite whatsoever to harry opponents. Earnie was chasing back and never forward when City got the ball back which didn't help. Just after the hour, City had an incredible let off as the whole defence fell asleep at a corner. The ball, hit to the far post, was headed across goal, hit a Chesterfield player and bounced off the inside of the post. There seemed to be twice as many Chesterfield in the 6 yard box, partly a legacy of Cork's decision never to stick a player on posts at corner kicks, unlike most teams and City were very lucky that the ball fell for Gabbidon to clear. I'm still not sure how it stayed out. The final half hour was dismal fayre. City struggled, they brought on Josh Low for Brayson (Low regularly producing his only trick of going round the outside of the left back but hitting poor crosses or the ball into him) to give the effect of pushing forward a bit more. And inside the final 10 minutes, Layton Maxwell came on for Kav (which killed off season long 'jokes' that Kavanagh must have a no substitution clause in his contract - he noticeably had no complaints with the decision, he had gone poor). A couple of times, Maxwell drove City forward, as he did at Bury in the closing minutes in midweek, making you wonder why he doesn't come on earlier. Chesterfield pulled and pushed Cardiff all over the field but somehow we survived and, on reflection, Neil Alexander in goals really didn't have that much to do. I'm not sure if that's because City's defence was so good or Chesterfield aren't strong enough in attack (after all, they have only 1 win in 9 games and two sides have scored less away goals than them). Spencer Prior was awarded man of the match, the second successive home game it went to a defender which says a lot. In all honesty, I'm not sure we really had a man of the match so I guess Prior won the sweep. There was a final scare deep into injury time as Leggy conceded a corner which caused 9,500 groans, fans obviously remembering Tranmere equalising at this stage last home game. The ball came in and Prior headed out, a shot came in and whistled inches wide with Alexander helpless with the final whistle blowing before the goal kick had been taken. Prior ended in a heap on the floor with a head injury and helped off by the physio. It should have been an easy win with fans praising the style and quality of the side, it ended with everyone unconvinced asking loads of questions and making loads of comments about what went wrong. But it was a win and, in 8th place. it's City's best ever league position for 20 years. The thing is, it really should be so much better again - if only we can play second halves and put in 90 minute performances. Report from
www.sports.com The Bluebirds had cruised into a two goal lead inside the first 23 minutes and had chances galore to have more than doubled that before Chesterfield pulled one back in first-half injury time. And it was Chesterfield who took the game to Cardiff after the break and they came desperately close to snatching the point they deserved when David Reeves hit a post in the 62nd minute. It did not please Cork, "We had a great first half and should have been four up at the break but in the second half the players were doing what they wanted to do instead of what they had been told to do." "They sat back thinking they had done enough again, but this division is harder than that. The result is all that really matters but I'm still disappointed because Chesterfield should have been dead and buried after 45 minutes." Cardiff could not have had a better start than to go ahead from the penalty spot after only three minutes. Robert Earnshaw burst into the box and was sent tumbling by Rob Edwards only to pick himself up and slot home the penalty for his sixth goal of the season. Cardiff kept swarming forward and almost increased their lead in the 17th minute when Paul Brayson was only inches wide with a left-foot shot from 18 yards. But Chesterfield had to crack again soon and they did that just six minutes later. Hot-shot Earnshaw was the supplier on this occasion, bursting down the right before crossing to the far post where Leo Fortune-West got up well to beat Chesterfield goalkeeper Nathan Abbey with a downward header. Cardiff continued to enjoy most of the possession and almost grabbed a third shortly afterwards. Gary Gabbidon intercepted a long ball out of defence from Steve Payne and set up a flowing four man move that ended when Abbey raced off his line to dive at Brayson's feet and smother the shot. But Chesterfield gave themselves a lifeline in first-half injury time when former Swansea player David D'Auria shot into the corner of the net from about eight yards after the Cardiff defence had failed to cut out a left wing cross from Jamie Ingledow. The goal revitalised Chesterfield and put Cardiff in a state of shell-shock as was proven by their disappointing second-half performance. But although Reeves hit the woodwork and Neil Alexander became the busier of the two goalkeepers, Cardiff held firm although all three points was at least a couple more than they deserved. Chesterfield manager Nicky Law said: "We came here with the only 16 fit players we have and should have got something out of the game. We deserved a point. We didn't pass the ball at all well during the first half but spent 80% of the time in the Cardiff half after the break but could not make it count. It's disappointing." External match reports |
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