Report from NigelBlues.
It was an ugly afternoon on the pitch, an ugly afternoon off the pitch and
at 90 minutes, the result and performance summed up Cardiff City's season on and off the
pitch - a complete shambles.
City showed one enforced change from the side who acquitted themselves brilliantly at
Preston - Shay Kelly, suffering with chronic flu, replaced the injured Jon Hallworth in
goals with the untried and untested Pat Jennings (son of the great one) as substitute
keeper. It could only be Cardiff City who could self-inflict this damage on
themselves, the irony being that the keeper they refused to play, who wanted to stay and
who was even house hunting in the area, Ian Feuer, was playing for West Ham in the
Premiership!
In front of a crowd not as great as expected including 200 visiting supporters given the
Grange End instead of the Grandstand and a subdued atmosphere, the game started at
3.06pm with an impeccably observed 1 minute silence in memory of the Hillsborough tragedy,
the support were whipped up by City having the "super huddle". All the
players had a huddle but, as at Preston, Billy Ayre, George Wood, the subs and probably
the tea lady all join in. Maybe the travelling support should do this when we get to
Stoke in a couple of weeks time.
City started well and took the game to Cambridge. They failed to create real danger
in the early stages however, a combination off Nugent and Nogan not winning balls in the
air, Cambridge's defence were dominant in that department all afternoon, and play that was
too hurried at times (it was 100 miles per hour and nobody was putting their foot on the
ball which inevitably lead to mistakes).
The first time Cambridge got near the Cardiff goal was after 15 minutes and it could have
been disaster. Perrett passed diagonally but hit the ball straight to Trevor
Benjamin, Mike Ford missed a clumsy challenge altogether and veteran Cambridge
player/coach was clear on goal. He hit a rising shot first time from 20 yards which
flew over the bar.
Despite Andy Legg taking every throw in and corner in the Cambridge half, the biggest
threats were from Jason Bowen runs causing panic amongst the Cambridge rearguard every
time he advanced and Faerber crosses. After realising his balls in the air were
getting no success, Faerber curled a beautiful low ball across goal made for natural goal
poachers such as Kurt Nogan to touch home except there was no sign of Nogan and
Cambridge's short French loan keeper, Lionel Perez, (we let our goalies leave us, they
sign quality) smothered comfortably. Nogan was missing in action all
afternoon. He was not really helped by Nugent having a poor game but he never got
going at all.
Cambridge seem to have the Indian sign on Cardiff at Ninian Park, we haven't beaten
them here for years. And why is officialdom always a factor too? After Barry
Knight's histrionics in the corresponding game last season plus David Elleray's expertise
at The Abbey Stadium, it was perhaps to be expected that officials would help ruin the
afternoon. On 20 minutes, they did it in style as Cambridge took the lead with a
blatantly offside goal.
Trevor Benjamin flicked a header into space near the touchline, the City defence fatally
paused waiting for the linesman's flag. They should play to the whistle but perhaps
it's natural to do this when the player concerned, Taylor, is standing a couple of yards
offside and in front of him. But he did nothing. Taylor turned, hit a low
effort across goal and Kelly, slightly out of position, saw the ball go across him and
into the far corner. It was similar to Taylor's winner at Ninian last season but
that's where similarities end.
The referee, Eddie Wolstenholme, looked at the linesman (from Bristol) and seemed to mouth
"are you sure?" as if he had been expecting the flag. Taylor turned and
looked at the linesman as if he was expecting to see his flag in the air. The
Cambridge subs seemed to have been chatting to him and were continuing some sort of
argument but nothing happened. A goal was given and there was a stunned
disbelief. Taylor knew it wasn't a goal, his face said it all, as did his
reactions. No celebrations, he was embarrassed. Relegation is decided on what
you do over 46 games but, at this stage of the season, it's moments like this that help
seal your fate too.
Bizarrely, the Cambridge subs and the Manager, McFarland, still seemed to be unhappy and
complaining. What was that all about?
After the restart, Wolstenholme stopped to have words with Billy Ayre and the 4th official
and Billy seemed to be having a running argument for the next few minutes.
The inconsistency and different standards of referees was never better demonstrated than
today. At the Abbey Stadium, Cardiff committed 9 fouls but had 3 players sent
off. In the first half, Benjamin personally committed 5 or 6 fouls but after being
booked early for elbows, Wolstenholme seemed loathe to take further action, other than
award free-kicks and have little chats which was incensing fans and players alike.
It also defied belief that Benjamin, a brick outhouse in the Emile Heskey mould, was
"felled" to the ground every time he was touched. The only thing missing
were judges to award marks for his dives.
The rest of the first half was all Cardiff City as they attacked furiously, it was one way
traffic, Cambridge looked poor and were there for the taking. How we were trailing
at half-time, I will never know. A fairer reflection of the half should have been
City 2 or 3 goals clear but there's nothing knew about having the chances and missing them
this season, is there?
Jason Bowen produced a smart save out of Perez with a snap shot from 15 yards, Mike Ford
blazed over when a brilliant curling centre from Faerber was met by him 8 yards out,
Carpenter hit a piledriver as a cleared header fell to him from 30 yards out (huge roar
even if it was 10 yards wide!), Ford was inches wide with a 25 yard blistering effort that
had beaten Perez, Kevin Nugent hit the bar from 4 yards as Perez tried to punch a high
ball but missed, Perez was also beaten by low drives from Legg and Bonner but the miss of
the afternoon, and the season!, occurred on half-time.
A superb Bonner through ball put Jason Bowen free. Perez had a rush of blood and
charged out of goal to meet him on the far edge of the penalty area, Bowen flicked the
ball wide, swerved past Perez and left him stranded. He steadied and with 3
defenders desperately chasing back, Bowen hit the perfect ball to the far post to
find Nogan diving with the goal empty and inviting, he couldn't miss. But he
did! He headed a foot wide unbelievably. He would have scored 99 times out of
100, why did it have to be the one time he'd miss it today? This happened in front
of the Cambridge fans on the Grange End, how they loved it.
The half ended in more uproar, the City support had concentrated their focus on the
Brizzle linesman and wildly clapped and cheered him when he finally gave a couple of
correct decisions. But his partner took over as he gave handball against Andy Legg
who grabbed the ball as it went/was going out of play to take a quick throw in.
Legg was clearly unhappy and fired up. Moments later, he produced a ferocious tackle
that Cambridge players reacted to, then Cardiff players and but it was handbags at ten
paces stuff. Handbags are appropriate attire for some City players' performances and
demeanour this season. Legg was yellow carded but I'm not sure if it was the
tackle/foul or what followed.
Apart from the missed chances and the scoreline, the performance had been good. The
only thing you could really criticise was that City were too hectic and frantic, it was
all 100 mph, how we needed someone like Danny Hill just to put their foot on the ball.
Half-time City 0 Cambridge 1
Cardiff started the second half with continued pressure in the Cambridge but it was
noticeable the there were no efforts at goal and the mood was starting to turn tense and
ugly. It wasn't helped by blatant time wasting tactics by Cambridge players. Their
Captain had a throw on half way and grabbed a towel off the ball boy to spend the next 30
seconds wiping the ball. The referee spoke strongly to him but unlike Legg, who
hurls it up to 40 yards, the following throw in was little more than 40 inches. A
minute later, a Cambridge defender did exactly the same thing near his own goal.
Have we got the thickest ball boys in football?
Moments later, Shay Kelly appeared to be badly injured as Taylor winded him following
through a long ball. He recovered but a couple of minutes later, the wind was taken
out of every City player and fan in the ground.
It was so simple as a Perez boot upfield was touched on and Benjamin raced through clear
to be met by Kelly charging out. Benjamin was going away from goal but there was a
collision and the ball seemed to deflect away for a corner. The ref had little doubt
- penalty. One City fan who was well placed said that Kelly missed the ball but
Benjamin was unlikely to get it either. There were fears Kelly would be sent off but
he was yellow carded, the fact that Benjamin was not going at goal probably saved that
fate.
Taylor sent Kelly the wrong way, 2-0, that looked about it. City responded by
introducing the least deadly striker in football, Paul Brayson, for Winston Faerber and
Brayson made sure he kept his reputation intact by showing or doing very little in his
half hour cameo classic.
Any thoughts City could come back were over on 66 minutes as, unbelievably, Cambridge
scored their 3rd goal of the game with their 3rd shot on target, 4th shot of the match and
only the 4th time they got near the Cardiff goal too. It just wasn't our day.
This was a third division goal and we'll probably see more like this next season. I
can't even explain what happened at the rear as the ball seemed to evade two or three
flimsy challenges by inept defenders, the ball fell to Taylor and he rolled it past Kelly
for the simplest of goals and his
hat-trick.
Cambridge fans were in full party mode, the response by hundreds of Cardiff fans was
numbed silence, no protests, no boos, they just got up and walked away. You get the
feeling it will be a while before they're back.
Those who stayed were as deflated as the players who had gone, their heads were down and
the atmosphere was more like a pre-season game. Or it would have been if it wasn't
for the arse that goes by the name of Scott Eustace in Cambridge's defence and some of the
lowlife that associates itself with Cardiff City.
That Eustace was deserving of scorn by inciting the crowd is undeniable. It started
with a break in play and in front of the Canton Stand, he got a bottle of water from the
goal, held it about 4 foot from his mouth and spayed the water in his mouth clearly
looking at the Canton Standers and trying to create a reaction. It was extreme
arrogance. As he walked away, he did it in a style that was clearly "larging
it" and intended solely to incite.
Then a minute later, the ball went behind for a goal kick and Eustace started playing
basketball in front of the Canton Standers by crouching down and literally bouncing the
ball up and down off his hand for about 10 seconds or more. Cardiff supporters were
incensed and sadly, it was more than enough for some meatheads who picked on his most
obvious feature - his skin colour. A few monkey noises started, absolute disgrace,
but Eustace's reaction? To turn to the Canton Stand and Grandstand, laugh and walk
upfield in an ape style. Within seconds, it wasn't a minority in Block F of the
Grandstand but loads of pillocks producing monkey noises and even actions. A chant
of "you black bastard" was very audible too. Kurt Nogan exchanged words
with Eustace but he saw that as another challenge and started to goad Nogan too. It
was sickening.
Cardiff City are a club who boast/advertise their stance on racism but as per an incident
I was involved in last season, they do absolutely nothing when confronted with it.
As with so many things at the club which is why it is rotten, it is a case of all talk and
no action.
The stewards stood and looked, even though some were doing it in front of their
faces. It was within a fraction of becoming very ugly as true fans, incensed as the
behaviour of the scum who attach themselves to the club, become involved in slanging
matches that were on the edge of descending into violence. Some got up and left
rather than continue being involved in that atmosphere any longer.
I hope the club act swiftly, monitors its CCTV, identifies and bans those responsible for
the saddest/sickest episode I have seen all season with Cardiff City. Those
"supporters" are a disgrace to the club. It was a reaction to Eustace's
actions. After all, Cardiff have black players, Cambridge had other black players,
only one was getting abuse but that behaviour deserves condemantion of the highest order
by every real supporter and the ultimate sanctions - a ban - by Steve Borley and all
inlvoed at Cardiff City F.C.. It has no place either at a football match or anywhere
else on this planet.
That's doesn't excuse Scott Eustace though. He was a disgrace not only to black
footballers, but all footballers who can call themselves professional. At least a
couple of supporters reacted in the right manner and reported Eustace for the most blatant
crowd incitement in a long while.
For what it's worth, Cambridge scored a 4th goal on 87 minutes. A free-kick on the
edge of the area was brilliantly blasted high into the opposite corner and in off the bar
by substitute, Hunt.
Eustace's reaction? He turned to the Canton Stand, Grandstand and even the Family
Enclosure (you sicko) and started laughing, whilst holding his belly. He got the
reaction he wanted from the neanderthals but that nobody else in that part of the ground
wanted and responded to it. Thanks for nothing Eustace - you're a pillock.
It was all over, City looked down and out. Except Oxford lost at home in the final
minute, City are still only 2 points from survival with a game in hand and our fate
remains in our own hands. How can we go to Reading and Preston, look so
professional, hardly give the opposition a chance and produce at home like we have against
Burnley and Cambridge in the last fortnight? The home record is appalling.
We probably don't deserve the chance to survive but the mood afterwards was that we are
down. They say where there's life, there's hope. Sorry but it looked terminal to
me.
The only life seems to be the prospect of trips to Hartlepool, Rochdale, Mansfield and
bloody Kidderminster and Cheltenham in a few months time. What a disgrace.
Report from Cambridge fan.
One of the strangest games of a strange season.
The first half was totally one-sided in favour of Cardiff and we really couldn't believe
our luck in being 1-0 up at half-time. We were having great difficulty in coping with
Cardiff's one tactic of using Andy Legg's prodigious long throws to get high balls into
the box, and our midfield simply wasn't at the races. Our heroes were Scott Eustace, once
again a colossus at the back, and Lionel Perez, despite punching one "clearance"
onto his own post. I firmly believe that if Marshall or Ise had been playing, we would
have been behind at half-time, but the man's confidence and presence are truly
inspirational. Even when he was caught out of his goal once, Bowen's cross was headed wide
by Nogan of an open goal under pressure from our frantic defenders. Shaggy's goal looked
soft from our vantage point at the far end, a shot from a narrow angle beating the keeper
to nestle in the opposite corner.
After presumably a good talking-to during the interval, United came out determined to
impress themselves on the game and to stop Cardiff's tactics at the source rather than try
to cope with a further barrage of up-and-unders. Then two quick goals from the mighty
legend himself, including a courageous penalty, turned the game completely, and the final
half-hour was frankly a stroll. Jon Hunt's Beckham impersonation was the icing on the
cake.
Most amusing incident(s): Legg had ballboys using towels to dry the ball for his
long-throws during the first-half, all tolerated by the ref despite such a tactic having
already been banned for Tranmere's Dave Challinor earlier in the season [consistency?
wassat?]. Imagine then the Cardiffians' reaction in the second half when first Marc
Joseph, then Jason Kavanagh, made a point [under orders?] of stopping to insist that the
ball be towelled dry before their own throw-ins! This "tactic" died a death
after that.
Least amusing incident: Certain Cardiff supporters' blatantly racist barracking of Eustace
in the second half ("n" word prominent). Thankfully Scott reacted well, smiling
superiorly and gently taking the piss. No action taken, of course :-(
Most bizarre sight: The mass exodus of dozens of Cardiff fans after Shaggy's third, a good
half-hour before the end! I can't understand the mentality of people who leave even a few
minutes early, but 30 minutes...? We feared that they would be forming a "reception
committee" for after the game, but the only trouble I witnessed was one or more
cretins throwing stones over the fence at the away end. The police had worked out an
alternative route out of town for the coaches, so no repeat of the Reading incident,
thankfully.
All in all a fantastic result, and the Shaggy legend just keeps growing. I seem to
remember some fairly important goals at Rochdale about this time last season! Cardiff's
problem, as we thought, was that they can't hit the proverbial cow's arse with the equally
proverbial banjo. Nogan hasn't improved this state of affairs. Presumably they thought
that by lumping the ball into the area enough times, the law of averages would take over.
Are they employing John Beck as a consultant??
By no means a vintage performance by many players [Ashbee in particular was well below his
normal standard], and I'd be greedy if I said I was disappointed that Trevor didn't
continue his record. But safety is now SO close...we could even overtake Colchester if we
beat them next week. By my calculations, if we win just 1 of our last 4 games, and
Scunthorpe lose just 1 of their last 4, and Cardiff lose just 2 of their last 5 [more than
likely], we are safe!!
Yep...the U's ARE staying up!!
Review by NigelBlues of Sundays press.
Have to say Taylor's open and honest views are refreshing to hear.
Did anyone else hear the whistle he mentions?
John Taylor quotes from Wales on Sunday (interview given by Taylor puffing a cigarette,
I'm not a smoker but I like his style):
"We didn't play well and Cardiff City totally bossed the first half but everything I
touched turned to gold. Cardiff City ran us ragged but it was our day. A four
goal win here was beyond our wildest dreams."
Taylor admit that the crucial first goal shouldn't have been awarded, admitting,"I
was offside - and I heard a whistle behind the goal. Everybody, including the
defender and Cardiff's goalkeeper stopped and so did I. I kicked the ball in
frustration really because I knew play had stopped and it was offside. It was only
then that I realised it was someone in the crowd who blew the whistle and it was a
goal."
About Cardiff, Taylor added:
"Cardiff huff and puff but it's all a little too predictable. They play long
balls, launch long throws but they didn't get behind us. It was Second Division
bread and butter stuff and we held out. Our keeper Lionel Perez made a fantastic
save to deny Jason Bowen and that, really, has just about made us safe.
"But it was my day. I scuffed the first shot, scored from a penalty and then
took advantage of a ricochet. I'm perfectly happy with life."
In the Welsh News of the World (Incidentally, do the supporters they get quotes from in
the Carling Shout question of the week section really exist? I've got my doubts.),
Taylor is also quoted as saying:
"We have shown we have the ability to grind out results. It's a matter of
effort as much as skill in this situation - and that's what Cardiff have to show
now."
Billy Ayre, predictable as ever, (I want to be his script writer) says:
"We have 5 games left and we have to try (try Billy?!?!?) and wipe away the painful
memories of this match and show we still have the determination to stay up. If we
don't, we can have no excuses. (Wonder if he'll say that on May 6?).
"This was a crazy game, we could have been two or three goals ahead at half-time,
instead we were one behind.
"But this is not the time for bleating. We have to roll up our sleeves up and
work even harder if we are to survive.
"I will have three and a half hours or so running the London Marathon to mull it all
over in my mind. I only wish I was going there in a more positive frame of
mind."
Inspirational Billy!
What a surprise, no media mentions the racism - head in the sand time yet again.
Report from TotalWales.
HAT-TRICK hero John Taylor questioned whether City have enough grit to
keep them in the Second Division.
“It’s all about who’s got the most bottle for
it now. That’s what Cardiff need above everything else in the last five games,”
said Cambridge’s 35-year-old reserve team coach.
“We have shown it over the past month to pull clear of
the relegation zone.
“I reckon it’s now a three-way fight between
Oxford, Scunthorpe and Cardiff to finish fifth from bottom. Chesterfield and Blackpool
seem doomed.
“Oxford have a couple of extra points so they look
favourites to stay up.
“But Cardiff have a game in hand and it’s all about
having the ability to keep your nerve, roll up your sleeves and grind out results.
“There’s nothing pretty about fighting for
survival. You have to scrap your way out of trouble.”
An abundance of City commitment was not sufficient on
Saturday, though.
Woeful defending and feeble finishing led to a calamitous
seventh home defeat of the season.
Ninian Park, where they have won only four times in 21 league
games, has become the graveyard of City’s Second Division hopes.
City should have scored at least three goals in a dominant
first half. Even with a predictable route-one strategy, they created chance after chance
launching the ball into the Cambridge penalty area. They fluffed all of them.
Russell Perrett headed wide from Winston Faerber’s
accurate free-kick and Kurt Nogan failed to react to another telling cross from the
full-back.
Huge Andy Legg throws bounced invitingly in the six-yard box
to no avail.
Mike Ford stretched to volley wide from close in. The misses
went on and on, the worst a sitter by Nogan when Jason Bowen beat the offside trap to
supply a superb cross from the by-line.
Nogan, lacking the sharpness and predatory instincts that
have netted him more than 100 league goals, was a major disappointment in his first home
game alongside Nugent.
He could not make the most of another clear-cut opening his
industrious strike partner created in the second half.
City’s best effort, a rasping Jason Bowen drive in the
23rd minute, produced a stunning reflex save from French goalkeeper Lionel Perez, the
former Sunderland man on loan from Newcastle.
Controversially the under-siege visitors had taken the lead
two minutes earlier.
A whistle was clearly heard as Trevor Benjamin headed on.
Taylor was clearly in an offside position and City defenders hesitated as he lashed a
cross-shot past ’keeper Seamus Kelly.
“I heard a whistle and thought I was offside,”
admitted the veteran striker.
“So did everybody else, including the Cardiff
centre-half and goal-keeper. I kicked the ball in frustration, thinking play had been
stopped. It went in and when I turned I was surprised to see the linesman didn’t have
his flag raised.
“Only then I realised someone in the crowd had blown the
whistle and it was a goal.”
It was the beginning of a personal nightmare for Kelly,
deputising for the injured Jon Hallworth.
Desperately trying to correct a mistake by Jeff Eckhardt, the
Irishman was penalised for bringing down Benjamin and Taylor coolly beat him from the spot
to notch his 100th goal for the club in the 56th minute.
Dreadful defending by Perrett, Eckhardt and Ford over what
should have been a routine clearance, allowed Taylor to complete his hat-trick seven
minutes later. Dead-ball specialist Jonathan Hunt added an 86th-minute fourth goal with an
unstoppable free-kick within two minutes of replacing Taylor.
Manager Billy Ayre headed up the M4 soon after the match to
run in yesterday’s London Marathon and raise funds for the Bobby Moore Fund for
Imperial Cancer Research.
Asked if he would be wearing any special outfit , he said
wryly, “I’ll be impersonating a Football League manager.
“Seriously, though. You need motivation to run a
marathon and I’ve got absolutely none after that result. but I’ll go through
with it,” added Ayre, who won his own four-year fight against cancer in February.
“We play Caernarfon in the FAW Trophy semi-final second
leg on Monday but all I’ve really got on my mind is the next league game at Oldham on
Saturday.
“I’ve got to get the results to keep Cardiff in
Division Two. I’m giving this club 24 hours of my time, firmly believe in what I am
doing, and the players are trying to carry out my instructions to the letter.
“Obviously they are very despondent at the moment. It’s
my job to lift them before the Oldham game.”
Report from Sports.com
Veteran striker John Taylor hammered
home a hat-trick to ease Cambridge's relegation woes, and send Cardiff almost certainly
towards third division football.
The 4-0 win was better than expected from the
team who couldn't score one goal against eight men in the first fixture between the teams
earlier this season.
The kick-off at Ninian Park was delayed for six minutes, in order for a minute's
silence for those who lost their lives at Hillsborough 11 years ago.
The game looked as if it was going to be very physical, with Trevor Benjamin getting
warned early on.
The first real chance of the game came after 10 minutes. Cardiff centre-back Russell
Perrett could only aim his header wide.
After a period of Cardiff domination, Cambridge broke away and eventually the ball fell
to the feet of Taylor, who blasted just wide.
Taylor proved he matures like wine as the U's player-coach turned a long Lionel Perez
clearance past the near-post of Seamus Kelly.
Cambridge keeper Perez, on loan from Newcastle, pulled off a string of reflex saves to
stop the Bluebirds from drawing level.
While Cambridge were on the back-foot, Cardiff didn't seem to have any luck, and Kurt
Nogan fluffed an open-goal header.
As the first half came to a close, Cardiff launched a barrage of attacks at Cambridge,
but the U's defence was too strong for the Welshmen.
After the interval, the physical aspect of the game reared its ugly head. Tackles were
flying in, reminiscent of those in the Norman Hunter era.
The second time Taylor got the ball in the net, it didnd't count as the referee had
blown for offside a few seconds earlier. Taylor did eventually get his second from the
penalty spot when Trevor Benjamin was brought down by keeper Kelly in the 56th minute.
Cardiff boss Billy Ayre wanted to inject some pace into the attack, and he brought on
Paul Brayson for Winston Faerber to do just that.
The substitution didn't matter, as Taylor got his third and the match ball after 67
minutes. Taylor easily slipped the ball under Kelly to make it three points.
As the game gew more brutal, there were some terrible challenges, with three bookings
in as many minutes - Ian Ashbee, Kevin Nugent and Neil Mustoe being the recipients. U's
boss McFarland brought on Jonathan Hunt with eight minutes to go, and it was a good
tactical ploy. Three minutes later, Hunt curled in a beautiful free-kick to make it 4-0.
Reflecting on the defeat, Cardiff boss Ayre said: "We have to be philosophical
about it, but at this point in time it is very hard.". |
