Sat 15th Dec 2001.

Subs not used
Pullen
Thompson
Milligan

Cardiff City
Alexander
Prior
Gabbidon
Young
Gordon D
Bowen (Brayson 77)
Bonner
Kavanagh
Boland
Gordon G (Leo FW 71)
Earnshaw

Subs not used
Weston
Legg
Maxwell

Report from Matt Gabb.
Cardiff City have not won at Blackpool for over 30 years and today we really
should have changed that record.  A great team performance and an incident
packed match, but we just couldn't find the finishing touch to put the game
beyond the seasiders.

An early start for me and my brother Steven who had come down from Ipswich
for the weekend as we made our way to meet Ant and Steve Lyell at Newbury
for the ungodly hour of 8.00am.  The trip up was quiet, not much traffic on
the roads although quite a lot of road works around Birmingham and Stafford
which might cause problems on Wednesday.

In Blackpool for around 11.30 / 12.00 and parked right outside the ground in
one of the many car parks in the area.  Fish and chips and a few beers in
Britain's tackiest town before making our way to the ground.  Blackpool had
been taken over by City fans for the day as they seemed to be everywhere. 
Steve Day was spotted outside Gypsy Lee's fortune telling booth on the sea
front, and it looks like a curse was placed on our strikers today as fate
fell against us.

The ground is under redevelopment with two new sides nearly finished -
looking very much like a smaller version of Reading's Madjeski stadium with
orange seats.  This was all empty and so home and away fans shared the long
terrace down one side of the pitch, with a fairly full stand behind the
goal.  The 1000 Cardiff fans who had made the trip were in good voice,
packed in like sardines on the terrace.

We came out like a house on fire, Gordon missing two reasonable chances in
the opening minutes, the first saved by the keeper and the other coming off
his knee.  Our play was slick and measured and we were putting some great
balls into the box.  Gabbidon and Bowen attacking down the right in equal
measure, Dean Gordon on the left.

Kavanagh was pulling the strings in midfield and we were more dynamic in
midfield than in recent weeks with Bonner and Boland both breaking forward
at times rather than just sitting back.  Bowen as usual looked dangerous
with the ball at his feet.

Blackpool were restricted to a couple of efforts on the break, but even when
they had the ball Bonner and Boland didn't give them a moment's peace. 
Their no 24 Bullock seemed their main threat breaking from midfield, but
Murphy and Payton up front didn't offer much.  Funny to see old man Ian
Marshall at the back playing centre back today.

Earnshaw should have made it 1-0 about 20 minutes in, after a cracking cross
in from Bowen on the right hand side, which beat the front defender and he
headed against the bar.

A shot from Bonner was parried by the Blackpool keeper and Earnie couldn't
quite get in on the rebound.  Earnie was at the centre of things again soon
after as he chipped the ball over the defenders head cutting in from the
right, before shooting tamely wide with his right foot when his left would
have been more appropriate.

We had a penalty claim turned down after a fierce shot hit a Blackpool
player apparently on the arm, and Gordon tangled with the Blackpool left
back and went down in the box.

City went in at halftime wondering how they had managed to so completely
dominate and yet not score.  Some great football was played, and there
always seemed to be an option when a Cardiff player was in possession.  The
transformation in the side is tangible, and there for all to see.  With the
ball we look dangerous, and without it we work our socks off to get it back.

HALF TIME BLACKPOOL 0 CARDIFF 0

We came out up for it once again in the second half and could have scored
straight away as a flick on from Gordon found Kavanagh breaking from
midfield and his goal bound shot was blocked by a defender.

Typically Blackpool scored with their one clear chance of the game.  After a
double substitution changing things around, a long ball from the back was
headed by the centre forward and taken by the busy Bullock breaking forward
with pace.  He shot from the edge of the box, this was saved by Alexander
down to his left, before Hills hammered the ball into the top corner from 12
yards.  1-0 to the tangerines.

This is when you start to worry that it really isn't going to be your day.

To City's credit we were back in it within 5 minutes, a free kick about 25
yards out to the left of the D was being lined up by Dean Gordon and
Kavanagh.  The Blackpool keeper was lining up his wall and to everyones
surprise, Gordon unleashed a left foot bender into the far corner of the
net.  I have to admit to missing the strike of the ball thinking it was
Kavanagh, only seeing the ball swerve into the corner of the net a split
second later.  Some reporter I am eh?  Cue mad celebrations on the away end,
and I managed to lose my mobile phone briefly, thankfully someone picked it
up and I had it back fairly quickly :-)

Back in it again we regained our composure and continued going forward,
mainly down the left through the excellent Dean Gordon.

Bowen and Gavin Gordon (who had his best proper game for City IMHO) were
taken off for Brayson and Leo, and we pressed for the winner.

Blackpool did hit the angle of bar and post with a misdirected free kick,
which wouldn't have counted anyway as the referee had his arm raised for an
indirect free kick.

A shot from Dean Gordon from the edge of the box was blocked and came back
to the ex-Middlesbrough man who lashed a low shot into the far corner past
the dive of Barnes.  Brilliant stuff and I was convinced that was 2-1.  I
was celebrating for fully 30 seconds before realising it had been
disallowed, apparently for offside (?)

We had a couple more chances, including a superb turn and shot from Earnshaw
that rattled the crossbar with only minutes left.  It wasn't going to be our
day for a win and we had to be satisfied with the point.

FINAL SCORE BLACKPOOL 1 CARDIFF CITY 1

Today was one of our best performances on the road this season, the football
was excellent and we were horribly unlucky not to win the game.  In the club
shop after the game the Blackpool fans were bloody pleased to have come away
with a draw in a game we could have won many times over.

Never mind, it's on to the big four over Christmas - top of the table Stoke
away on Weds, Reading and Bristol at home and Brentford away.  Two or three
wins from these would really keep us up there going into the new year and
hopefully cement at least a play off place.

An enjoyable (if long) day out, an excellent game, tarnished only by some
poor finishing and superb goalkeeping.  Now if only Thorne was fit he would
have finished those chances.....  IF we play like that over the next few
games then we will not go far wrong.

By the way, this reporting lark isn't all its cracked up to be.  I'll hand
the reigns back to the masterful Nigelblues for next week, so I don't have
to concentrate on who put the cross in or who scored the goal!

Report from www.blackpool-mad.co.uk
In several games this season - Port Vale and Notts County, for example -
Blackpool have emerged with a draw, feeling that they had really
deserved all three points. This game, however, was just the opposite -
Blackpool were on the rack almost the whole match, and Cardiff must
still be wondering how they failed to score a hatful. In the event their
only goal was as the result of a simple error by Phil Barnes, but that
player was also responsible for keeping Blackpool on level terms at all.
Blackpool made three changes in their lineup for the game against
highly-fancied (and highly-paid) Cardiff. Andy Payton and Ian Marshall,
Cup-tied last week, came in for Hills and Reid respectively, but the
surprise was the inclusion of Parkinson at right back. Coid was not even
on the bench - I am not aware that he is injured or suspended. The
absence of Coid and Hills meant that the wings were weak - Simpson
essentially alone on the left, and Bullock on the right, with the other
midfielders helping out occasionally.
Very quickly it was clear that Cardiff were here for a win, and their
superiority was really evident in midfield. Throughout the game,
whenever a Blackpool player had the ball he was surrounded by two or
three opponents, never allowing the home team a moment to set up a
creative move. By contrast Blackpool consistently stood off their men,
allowing them time to move the ball about, which they did quickly and
accurately. Within the first five minutes they had created two great
chances, and should by rights have been ahead. One was a free header
from a cross, the other a ball which fell to a forward unmarked in the
centre of the box. In each case the shot was weak and allowed Barnes to
save.
Blackpool rallied, and a nice move up the right allowed MacKenzie to
drive over a good cross, but it was cleared at the near post. The main
route for Blackpool was the high ball to Murphy, who was winning most
things in the air, looking for a knock down to Payton. The Burnley
striker looked to have some good moves and vision, but also looked sadly
lacking in pace - he has not been playing first team football for some
time, and it showed. He had a couple of shouts for penalties, both
turned down by the referee. I have to agree with the official in these
judgements, although generally he was inconsistent and poor. Another
move up the right, and another MacKenzie cross, this time a low one,
should have brought a goal. Murphy and a defender arrived together, and
the ball bobbled free, only five yards out with the keeper helpless.
Murphy got to it first, but he was stretching too far to get proper
contact as he fell backwards, and it flew wide off the toe of his boot.
During this period Cardiff were having much the majority of the play,
although in general their finishing was much poorer than their midfield
efforts. Several times they created chances with men free in the box,
but they either fired wide or Barnes made good saves. On one occasion,
after a shot from the Cardiff left, Barnes pushed the ball across the
face of goal, but Jaszczun got there just before an attacker and made a
good clearance.
At the other end most of the work was being done by Murphy, Payton and
Simpson, and they were not getting much support from the rest when
pushing forward. In one typical attack Simpson took the ball up the
left, tried to beat a man in the area and the ball ran loose. It fell
into a wide space which should have had a Blackpool player in it,
probably MacKenzie who was lurking most of the way back to the half way
line. In another attack Payton worked hard, on the edge of the box on
the left, eventually beating his man and running towards goal, but the
defender got back and made a very good tackle from behind for a corner.
Both Payton and Murphy had chances running through the middle, but the
defence or the keeper were always too sharp. Towards the end of the half
Simpson created a double chance. He was released up the left, and beat
his man at the corner of the box, before chipping a lovely cross towards
the far post, where a defender managed to deflect it for a corner before
Payton could touch it in. The corner was taken short to Simpson, now on
the right hand edge of the box, and this time he hit a curving shot
which beat the keeper but just failed to turn inside the other post.
As the half drew to a close Blackpool almost stopped attacking, and we
looked for an improvement after the break, with McMahon giving them a
few chosen words. In fact in the second half the disparity between the
teams was even worse, with Cardiff almost constantly in the home area.
Again and again the ball fell to a Cardiff forward, but each time their
shot was blocked, or Barnes saved, or it went wide. It has to be said
that there was no lack of effort in the Blackpool defence, with people
throwing themselves in front of the ball, although there were still
worrying examples of players dwelling on the ball, instead of getting
rid. The Bloomfield Road pitch is very poor at the moment, and the risk
of a bobble at a crucial moment is very real.
Approaching the hour, and Blackpool had not had a meaningful attack in
the half, so McMahon made a double switch. He brought on Hills for
MacKenzie, and O'Kane for Payton. The effect was to leave Murphy alone
and forlorn up front, although Hills did start to show a desire to put
pressure on up the left. O'Kane again did not impress - the midfield was
even less prepared to put pressure on the opposition after he came on.
Say what you like about Collins, his first instinct is to go for the
ball, while O'Kane's first move always seems to be backwards.
Six or seven minutes later, and very much against the run of play,
Blackpool went ahead. Bullock had been making solo runs at the defence,
mostly on the right, but this time he went diagonally into the box from
right to left, eventually turning for a shot with his right foot. It was
blocked and bounced out to Hills, running into the area. He blasted the
ball into the goal, keeping it down well, and nearly burst the back of
the net.
Blackpool's lead lasted less than two minutes, and the equaliser came
from an elementary mistake by Barnes. Collins conceded a free kick about
ten yards outside the box, left of centre. The referee had blown to show
the kick could be taken, but the wall was still in some disarray, and
Barnes was on his right post trying to get their attention. A Cardiff
player then hit a simple curving shot over the wall and into the
undefended side of the goal, with Barnes scrambling desperately across,
but much too late.
After this it was all Cardiff for the rest of the game. Their midfield
were still working much harder than Blackpool's and the few attacks
which the home team managed were mostly hopeful balls upfield to a
lonely Murphy, who could only knock them down for the defenders to
collect. A few minutes from time Cardiff had a corner, and it was played
to a midfielder, unmarked outside the box. He fired in a shot, it was
blocked back to him, and he drove it in again into the net.
Unfortunately for Cardiff the linesman had spotted someone offside, and
it did not count. As the game went into injury time Blackpool had an
attack up the left, and Simpson tried a snap shot, but it flew well over
the bar, and the game ended as a draw.
Cardiff were the best Second Division opposition I have seen this
season. Their style outplayed Blackpool at their own game, dominating in
midfield and playing a fast, accurate passing game. You could also see
that Blackpool missed Ormerod badly when they were under pressure - a
ball up either wing used to be a good way of getting a breather, as
Ormerod would run on to it and hold it up. Now the same tactic simply
gives the ball to the opposition. Still, Blackpool dug in, kept going,
and with a little bit of luck they managed to finish it all square.
Team (4-4-2): Barnes, Parkinson, Hughes (capt), Marshall, Jaszczun,
Bullock, Collins, MacKenzie (Hills 58), Simpson, Payton (O'Kane 58),
Murphy
Subs not used: Pullen, Thompson, Milligan J

Report from www.sports.com
Blackpool and Cardiff City shared the points despite the visitors dominating their Bloomfield Road clash from start to finish.

External match reports
Wales On Sunday