Sat 17th Nov 2001.
being played at
Ninian Park

Tiverton Town
Edwards
Winter
Saunders (Chenoweth 60)
Tatterton
Marker
Rogers
Nancekivell
Pears (Mudge 78)
Everett (Owens 60)
Steele
Leonard

Subs not used
Lynch
Vinnecombe

Subs not used
Low
Hughes

Report from NigelBlues.
Cardiff City progressed into Round 2 of the F.A. Cup with victory over Tiverton Town. The performance was far from the best and unconvincing at times with all the regular bad habits and tendencies displayed - unable to play for 90 minutes, not enough width, Kav playing well for one half but falling too deep in the 2nd, an inability to keep a clean sheet - but after starting very poorly and not finishing too cleverly either, the Bluebirds were very comfortable winners.

The game was switched from Tiverton's Ladysmead stadium to Ninian Park which created some strange scenes. Tiverton support ("and they were yellow" as their Coldplay homaging banner said) enjoyed the day in the Family House stand. It was a big day for them and they made the most of it, creating some good atmosphere. They looked like 400 animated bananas decked out in Tivvy's yellow shirts and they only seemed to have one chant "yellow, yellow, yellow, yellow, yellow" but they made the most of it.

Tivvy also seemed to have a small section of the lower Grandstand, the Canton end of the Lower Grandstand was closed as was the Bob Bank terrace. The programme was Cardiff City style but produced as a Tiverton home match in the front half so City were featured as "today's visitors" but it had City features in the back half. There were also two p.a. announcers, one for each side, and two man of the matches, one for each team.

City had one enforced late change from the side that beat Chesterfield last weekend as Scott Young pulled out with a stomach upset. The reshuffle saw Rhys Weston return to right back and Daniel Gabbidon move back to central defence. Tiverton meanwhile turned up with the standard collection of warehouse staff, I.T. engineers, p.e. teachers, students, the obligatory postman (is it compulsory for every non-league side have one?) and, (this must be compulsory too), a fat, old balding centre half.

Cardiff made an appalling start to the game and could, probably should, have gone behind as Tivvy came out firing but were helped by some inept defending. There was a major let off in the 4th minute as an undeserved free kick level with the penalty was swung in the box for Tatterton, the old fat balding centre half, to be completely unmarked in the centre of goal 6 yards out. The ball skidded off his forehead, it should have been buried.

They had three other good chances and a couple of corners in the opening minutes before anything was seen from City. One smart move saw the ball fired narrowly wide, another saw Rogers turn Gabbidon inside the area force Alexander to get down smartly to stop a low close range drive and, with another chance, Rogers broke clear with players inside but seemed to get lost and the chance was snuffed.

City were nervy at the back, and as I watched the defence close up from the Grange End for a change, it was Spencer Prior who seemed to be the biggest problem. He lost his position a couple of times and was being turned and beaten a little too easily, not what you should expect from a player who has just finished 7 years of Premiership experience. Rhys Weston was criticised a couple of times but, on occasions, he was having to cover and tidy up for Prior which pulled him out of position.

When a Cardiff chance eventually arrived, it gave Tivvy and Cardiff fans alike a good laugh as Leo got his body co-ordination totally wrong so a good chance 10 yards out saw the ball glance off him and almost hit the corner flag.

Once City rode the storm, they took over the game, it had a certain inevitability about it. Tivvy were well organised and disciplined but their back four seemed to play a little too deep allowing City plenty of ball and room to play in front of them.

Chances were arriving regularly with Kavanagh peppering shots at goal whenever he had the chance, Legg firing in crosses from the left and Earnie profiting from playing wide on the right. Tivvy's 'keeper, Edwards, was forced into several smart saves, some long range efforts were narrowly off target. The biggest surprise was that City didn't open the scoring until the 34th minute but it was a good goal.

Receiving the ball deep in defence, Leggy looked up and launched a 60 yard ball behind the Tivvy defence. As the ball dropped, Earnie reacted smartly to nod on, lose his marker, race into the area and as Edwards raced out to close the angle, he squared the ball for Paul Brayson to turn home from close range. It brought relief to the "home" crowd and '70's nostalgia to the Grange End as a toilet roll went sailing over the crossbar in celebration at the opposite end.

It was exactly what City needed but they had to survive another major scare as Tivvy's white booted striker Phil Everitt glanced a header wide after a quick break on City's right with the goal gaping. Until the last 10 minutes when it didn't really matter, Tiverton weren't seen again as an attacking force.

City were now comfortable and had further chances from Kavanagh (twice), Hamilton and Leo before the half-time whistle blew.

Half-time: City 1 Tiverton 0

The second half started with a City rarity as they knocked the ball around for fully two minutes after kick-off with not a single Tiverton player touching the ball and something like 30+ passes were put together. OK, it went forwards, sideways, backwards, sideways, backwards, sideways and backwards again but that's City for you!

Whoever threw the toilet roll in the Grange End in the 1st half must have turned up with a 6 pack as Tivvy's keeper, Edwards, found his 6 yard area had turned pink as toilet rolls came flying over. He had some good banter with the Grange who enjoyed his wipe action with the rolls as he tried, in vain, the clear his goalmouth.

Ten minutes into the second half, City doubled their lead to virtually end the game as a contest with Disco Des' first ever City goal and a nice one too. City pushed forward in numbers and won a throw. Andy Legg decided to hurl a long throw, not so often seen these days, Tivvy half cleared and Des swooped 20 yards out to sweep home a left footed drive into the corner of the net.

Des looked chuffed with his effort, the fans enjoyed it too but the popular player once more left proceedings before the game finished, this time on 71 minutes. Seemed to have more to do with a knock a little earlier rather than tiredness.

Leo gave the Grange Enders some more laughs in the second half as he met a high, hanging Rhys Weston cross on 10 yards unmarked. He could have headed home with comfort but, schoolboy fashion, he closed his eyes and got underneath the ball which bounced off the top of his head and into the Grange. The reason Leo was unmarked was because Tivvy's fat balding centre-half, Tatterton, could now hardly run. He looked just like many of City's 30-something fans when we (I include me) turn up for the weekly 5-a-side or occasional 11 a sides. The Grange taunted him for the final 20 minutes but after giving everyone a wave, he then tried to ignore us.

The substitutions were strange and left a little too late especially given that this match was won and there is an important home game on Tuesday. It was curious that Cork, who played no first teamers in the LDV recently, due to the more important game at Wrexham 5 days later, was now prepared to keep the first team out on the pitch against a non-league team with another league game 3 days later.

City didn't play well second half. As usual, Kav who was a constant threat and force in the first half, dropped way too deeply passing sideways and going nowhere, why is he allowed to do that? Leggy apart, we had no width either although Rhys Weston is also improving at going forward. It was a game and situation that seemed perfect for Josh Low to have a go. Tivvy's tiring players would have been torn apart by him and it would surely have given him confidence too but on came Collins and Maxwell for Earnie and Leo. The one City player who stood out heads and shoulders above the rest was Willie Boland, magnificent again, every blade of grass was touched by his studs several times over the 90 minutes.

Just before Earnie was replaced, he made it 3-0 in the 73rd minute. A clinical goal and finish as Paul Brayson broke forward, laid the ball wide to Leggy whose low whipped cross was steered home from a few feet by Earnie who, for the first time ever, didn't celebrate it with a somersault or roly-poly. Instead, he ran along the front of the Bob Bank holding a finger aloft and doing his machine gun fire impression. It wasn't the same.

In the closing stages, City were sloppy and Tiverton suddenly came to life again. They scored in the 81st with the most well applauded "away" goal I've heard at Ninian in years. City seemed to open up on the lift as the strangely surnamed Nancekivell (who played against us for Plymouth last season) turned on the edge of the area and angled a shot across Alexander and inside the far corner. It was at the Canton end so The Tivvy fans there had a special moment and so did the rest of the ground as the Bob Bank and Grandstand stood to applaud, the Grange End were still clapping it after the match had restarted. We're so well mannered and polite.

It gave Tiverton some heart and they attacked again in the closing stages. Leggy came under pressure, a couple of times looking uncomfortable, a couple of times getting a foot out to stop dangerous attacks. It's a fine balance as he doesn't have Simpkins defensive qualities but he brings an extra dimension to City when he plays. If it wasn't for Legg, what little width we had wouldn't be there at all and his balls helped create two of the three goals, his throw was at the heart of the other.

City had the final say of the game winning a couple of corners and Prior heading against the base of the post with the last action of the game but the day suited everyone overall. City got through in relative comfort and Tivvy had their day too.

Tatterton, the fat balding centre half, announced that he retired at the final whistle. Obviously 90 minutes marking Leo Fortune-West is his career highlight and there's nothing left for him to achieve after that.

Report from www.sports.com
Cardiff City despite a few anxious moments against Tiverton Town made their way safely into the second round of the FA Cup with a convincing 3-1 victory at Ninian Park.

Tiverton gave Cardiff a real scare as early as the fourth minute when defender Keith Tatterton headed wide an in-swinging Scott Rogers free kick from six yards with the goal at his mercy.

Five minutes later Tiverton split open the Bluebirds defence and Richard Pears created an opening for the industrious Rogers who fired just wide from the edge of the area.

Tiverton produced their third scoring opportunity in the 11th minute with a fine individual effort from striker Phil Everett who cut inside Daniel Gabbidon but saw his left-footed shot from close range brilliantly saved by the diving Neil Alexander at the near post.

Cardiff stunned by the early threat of Tiverton fluffed a golden opportunity a minute later of taking the lead as lanky striker fortune-west failed to make contact in front of goal from ten yards.

Cardiff captain Graham Kavanagh responded immediately and tested keeper Paul Edwards with a superbly struck long-range effort but the keeper saved well.

Edwards was kept busy and made two fine saves in as many minutes, tipping a fierce left-foot shot from Fortune-West around a post, and then nonchalantly saved a powerful 20-yard Kavanagh free kick.

Cardiff broke the deadlock in the 34th minute with pacy striker Earnshaw racing into the area and squaring a perfect pass for the advancing Paul Brayson to coolly place the ball past keeper Edwards.

The Tiverton keeper then made two fine saves from Kavanagh who struck a pile-driver from 25 yards in the 38th minute and five minutes later the Cardiff skipper was again denied as his shot from the edge of the box was tipped around the upright.

Cardiff increased the lead in the 55th minute when a long throw from Andy Legg was only partially cleared and Des Hamilton drove in his first goal for Cardiff with a beautifully struck left-footed shot from the edge of the area beat the helpless Edwards.

The Bluebirds went further ahead in the 73rd minute with the lively Earnshaw showing electrifying pace with an intelligent run into the six-yard box and neatly clipping a low cross from Legg past Edwards into the corner of the net.

Tiverton battled bravely and were rewarded with a well taken goal eight minutes from time by Keith Nancekivell who twisted and turned in the area before firing in a low drive past the on looking Alexander.

External match reports
www.tiverton-town.co.uk
www.bbc.co.uk