The new year opened with a creditable result for Cardiff City as they gained a rare good result against a leading side in this season’s Championship when they drew 1-1 at the Hawthorns against West Brom who had looked likely top two finishers when they won 4-0 at our place in the first of Mick McCarthy’s five centreback matches.
The game was also an unusual one for this season because, firstly, we went 1-0 up and, secondly, it was with a first half goal. However, one thing which is, worryingly, becoming increasingly common is that, for the third time in four matches, we had a player shown a straight red card – although this time it happened after the final whistle was blown.
That offers a bit of a clue that this was a match which I suspect will be remembered for the performance of the officials, because, in the end, both teams had legitimate grounds for berating some of the decision making.
Thomas Bramall was in charge of our matches against Peterborough, Reading and Hull this season without him making much of an impression on me, but he had a poor game today and was not helped by at least one of his linesmen.
It was strange that a game that had so many controversial moments was quite a sedate affair in the first half with City generally coping pretty well with a home attack that has been blunt in recent weeks with just three scored in their last eight matches – a lack of potency which has even led to suggestions lately that West Brom may miss out on a Play Off place.
That’s probably an over reaction though because the Baggies still boast one of the best defences in the division and had only conceded three themselves in those eight matches where their forwards have been struggling.
So, although Bournemouth and West Brom away within a few days of each other over the holiday period always looked a daunting pair of fixtures, the likelihood was that, even against a defence as generous as ours, this was going to be a tense, pretty tight affair with an edgy set of home fans, many of whom have never really been convinced by manager Valerian Ismael or his tactical approach, ratcheting up the pressure on the home side.
It was for this reason that I felt confident we could get an unlikely win during the half time break. Yes, the home team had come close quite early on with Callum Robertson shooting not far wide and Alex Smithies making a fine save to deny Karlan Grant, but, although there were signs of the lack of understanding as a defensive unit which has blighted us all season, individually all three centrebacks were doing pretty well.
Also, while a midfield three of Pack, in for the suspended Bacuna, Ralls and Vaulks weren’t looking like they were going to open up the home defence with their passing any time soon, they were offering a pretty solid shield in front of the back three as West Brom were forced into lots of backwards and sideways passing which rather underlined their low confidence levels.
For ourr part, there was little of the attacking threat from open play which has been a bit more a feature of our play under Steve Morison, so we were back to a complete reliance on set pieces for a goal threat.
I’ve always rated Will Vaulks as the best of our legion of long throw experts, but, whether it was the wet ball or a high wind that was responsible I’m not sure, he struggled here with them as plenty of high loopy throws were comfortably dealt with by the home defence culminating in the second half in just about the most obvious foul throw ever which even today’s sub standard officials couldn’t miss. Most of Vaulks’ efforts came from the side of the pitch opposite the main stand and it definitely looked like he was throwing the ball into a wind.
This seemed even more likely just past the half hour mark when he finally got the chance to try one from the other side of the pitch which the home team struggled to deal with and Joe Ralls was able to get in a stabbed shot from about fifteen yards that was deflected into the side netting. Ralls then took another of those corners from the left that he can drop onto the edge of the six yard box and, not for the first time recently, it produced a goal as James Collins, replacing the injured Keiffer Moore, headed just past the outstretched hand of Sam Johnstone and into the corner of the net.
Apart from when captain Kyle Bartley nodded a corner not too far over, City were comfortable until half time and started pretty well after the restart until Grant slipped Robinson in behind what looked a static and square defence and the Irish international slid the ball past the onrushing Smithies for an equaliser.
As the ball hit the net, my immediate reaction was to blame a defence which had been split open by a single pass yet again, but there was also a doubt as to whether the scorer had been onside which had me thinking let’s see what the replay shows before blaming the defence too much.
When the replay came, it was an eye opener, because, while Robertson looked about a yard off, there was also another home player who was beyond our last man. Although I wouldn’t put it in the Eddie Smart against Chelsea class as a botched offside decision, there are pictures of the incident on social media clearly showing that the goal should never have been given.
With more than forty minutes still to play, my feeling that we could end up with three points had been transformed into an acceptance that I’d gladly take one. For the first time, West Brom began to show why they were predicted by many to go up automatically as City faced about a quarter of an hour of sustained pressure, but, even then, it felt like the officials were as much, if not more, responsible for this as they were giving us absolutely nothing during this time.
It was during this spell especially that City showed that they were really defending better than they usually have done this season, but this was now a game where, realistically, the best we could hope for was a draw.
However, in keeping with the bizarre nature of the afternoon, that looked to have turned on its head when Mr Bramall suddenly produced a red card for Alex Mowatt after a foul on Vaulks. My first reaction was that it was a yellow card offence, but the replay confirmed that this time the ref was probably right, it was just such a surprise to see him award us a free kick!
Now, all of a sudden, the game was there to be won by City and I had visions of our great away support being rewarded with another late goal to celebrate right in front of them. However, we didn’t seem to believe we could get the win and it must be admitted that West Brom came much closer to scoring a decisive goal when it was ten v eleven from their point of view.
Steve Morison had not made any changes while Mowatt was on the pitch and I could understand that with us having got through the examination the home team put us under after their equaliser, but Rubin Colwill on for Vaulks was a positive move and there was also a few minutes for Isaak Davies as a replacement for the hard working Mark Harris following the manager’s harsh words on Thursday.
There were half chances for City, most noticeably when Perry Ng’s cross from the bye line flew across the home goal with no one switched on enough to apply a finishing touch, but too often a run was made too early or the final pass wasn’t accurate enough and the home team could point to closer shaves for us like when Bartley jabbed a corner about a yard wide and then sub Grady Diangana was denied by another good Smithies save and a McGuinness block within seconds of each other.
The greatest drama was yet to come though as, with the four minutes of added time almost up, Conor Townsend went down in the penalty area under the challenge of Marlon Pack. Although the Albion player made a bit of a meal of it, it looked like a clear penalty to me because the City player had his hands up around Townsend’s shoulders as he made what was surely a pushing movement (even Morison called it a “stonewall” penalty) – quite what Pack was doing, I don’t know, but Mr Bramall waved play on.
So, the ref who I was railing against through the second half for giving us nothing had, in fact, sent off arguably West Brom’s best player and saved us from almost certain defeat by failing to give a clear penalty!
The final whistle went within seconds of the incident and then all hell broke loose as Ismail stormed on to the pitch and made a bee line for the officials while James Collins tried to persuade him to stop and then there was a melee involving players from both sides with home keeper Johnstone and Aden Flint to the fore and both players were shown red cards.
I’ve not seen a replay of the incident, but it all seemed a bit handbagsish on first viewing and Morison said after the game that City would appeal against Flint’s dismissal, but was not hopeful of being overturned. Furthermore,my guess is that both sides will face charges of failing to control their players (like we did at Peterborough in another match where they came up against Mr Bramall), while Baggies boss Ismael will surely face a charge of bringing the game into disrepute.
City’s holiday programme, such as it was, ends with a return of one point from two very tough looking away games with a squad which was hit by Covid in the week before Christmas and we now have a backlog of home games to make up, but we face the prospect of trying to turn around our wretched home form with no fans in the ground again – I don’t think City can put in their traditional half hearted Third Round FA Cup performance when they face Preston on Saturday, we really need a win to try and get some confidence in the team when they play at Cardiff City Stadium.
Very good and honest assessment of the game that’s coming from a West Brom fan . Your support was Brilliant today. Good luck for the rest of the season ?
Nice and fair assessment, I like it!
Our primary concern in first half of the season has to be the number of goals we’ve conceded so conceding only once against one of the better sides is something to hold onto and build from, though we’re still one of only two sides to concede more than 40 goals so far so still lots of work needed.
I didn’t see the game so can’t say anything more.
Never a penalty in my book.
Football is a contact sport (unlike netball) so you can put your hands against a player and it doesn’t make it a foul. I’ve seen it back several times and Pack didn’t pull or push the attacker, but he chose to throw himself to the floor. I thought the ref got that right, and if anything it should be a yellow card for simulation against the attacker, who decided to throw himself down to try and gain a penalty.
Steve Morison is a fully paid up member of the strikers union, some of whom talk about being ‘entitled to go down’ in the penalty area from any contact, so his initial view was no surprise!
The West Brom manager should be charged for storming on the pitch to confront the ref and having to be held back, which caused it all to kick-off at the end.
The officials had a patchy performance, and showing red cards to Johnstone and Flint at the end didn’t help their cause imo. Unless I missed something, it seemed mainly handbags and glares. There weren’t any head-butts or hands in faces, and it was just the two of them, so I would have just let them cool down.
Although I would have taken a point before the game, the manner in which two points were taken away from us does make me worry how much they will count at the end of the season.
A positive and spirited performance by us though, to give optimism going forward!
It was October 1961 if memory serves, five months after Spurs did the historic double. In Canton HS I had just started Form 3, practically grown up and knowing everything. We were in the Enclosure and my stepfather who was a Geordie was pissing me off even more than usual. “Cardiff won’t last long in the top flight!” I hated him even more when he was right. I guess I had a monk on and my mood wasn’t improved when that plonker Stuart Williams, who was always a weak link for Wales I thought, scored for West Brom. I can’t describe his goal because I didn’t see it. There wasn’t much a kid did see standing in the middle of the Enclosure. Alan Durban and Dai Ward got us a 2-2 draw. But in the end we were relegated by a point, having lost 3-8 at Everton end of April. We even lost to Bangor in the Welsh Cup.
Saturday morning before the match I often went into town with a mate. We’d call at Spillers, on the Hayes with its powerful aroma of fermenting hops. Working men in baggy trousers would be having their cuppas at Coopers Snack Bar across the road. I wondered if that’s how West Brom got their nickname. I still don’t know.
It’s a very different game now of course. 3 points not 2 up for grabs. We should have chucked everything at it when they went down to 10, but, as Bob says, we didn’t seem to have the self-belief. A chance lost if you ask me. Play that Baggies team every week and we’d be mid table.
Two things stood out for me.
One, we had two wingbacks on the field, but the one wasn’t even a pale shadow of the other.
T’other, I could have kicked Harris all the way home for going offside that time in the first half. How could he run too soon? The great pass (from Giles) was practically instant – if it hadn’t been, he’d have been a full yard offside. It’s not as if Harris lacks pace. I’ve seen glimpses of a player. But St Pauli, top of German 2nd tier???
Morning all and thanks for the replies. DJ, I’m with you, we’ve got no chance of climbing the table while we can’t keep clean sheets and our pathetic home record needs to improve drastically over the second half of the season, although that is going to be hard with us having lost our chief creator yesterday. I’m hopeful Wintle will improve our midfield though and Watters seems to have the knack of finding the net, so he’d be a good option coming off the bench I would have thought.
Blue Bayou, I tend to agree with you about the double red card, but not about the penalty – I still think that, in the modern game especially, it was a clear spot kick. That said, someone raised a very good point on the messageboard yesterday when they said that, compared to what goes on at every free kick, corner and long throw in up down the country every weekend, what Pack did was pretty mild – for me though, the problem lies more with the lax way set pieces are officiated than the the penalty shout just before the end on Sunday.
Good to hear from you again Royale and, as always, thanks for an interesting message. Regarding the West Brom Williams’, although I can remember them vaguely, I wouldn’t say my memories are that accurate. So, am I right in thinking that Graham was the class act of the two (even of he was an awful manager of City!)? He certainly had a long career at West Brom and struck me as a reliable, First Division level defender.
Judging by your words, you’ll be disappointed by the news on Giles yesterday – we’re bound to miss those quality crosses, although I must say that I thought they were below his normal standard on Sunday.
Regarding Mark Harris and St Pauli, Steve Morison denied there was anything to it after the game on Sunday, but, if there is, then maybe it’s got something to do with the neat goal he scored for Wales Under 21s in Germany a couple of years ago – it’s at around thirty five minutes on this video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXtIFlS6RBU&ab_channel=GermanFootball
Finally, as always. it’s great to hear from fans of the opposing team – my thanks to the two West Brom fans and I wish you best of luck for the rest of the season.
Good morning Paul – Excellent report as usual, just one issue to take, our match against Preston is on Sunday, kick off 2.00 p.m. and is being shown on TV on S4C.
Watched Wolves last night against Man U – they were terrific. We have gone in opposite directions since we were both promoted. Anything to do with Managerial appointments?
I’d forgotten Graham Williams, to be honest, but, yes, I recall now that he was the better of the two. I was out of the country at the time of GW’s brief and, judging by the stats, pretty useless tenure as Cardiff City manager. You’ll have been watching and know far better than I about that.
Fair play, Baggies have had some much better players than the Williams duo over the years. Bryan Robson was quite probably my favourite player of all time. Quite a combo with Tony ‘Bomber’ Brown!
One Ryan in, one Ryan out. One step forward, two back, if you ask me. We’re used to it!
Thanks as always for your great write-ups.
Richie Morgan was just about the unluckiest City manager to get the sack Royale, he did a decent job when he was in charge, but then was “moved upstairs” early in 81/82 and Williams was brought to take over the playing side for some reason – after a bit of a new manager bounce, we fell to pieces and Len Ashurst was left with too much to do to keep us up when he was brought in after a disastrous four months or so under Williams. I hope and believe having Wintle in the squad will be a step forward, but Giles going is, in my view, a bigger step back – do we bring back Murphy and Whyte to try and supply some crosses from open play? Not sure I would.
BJA, thanks for pointing out the Sunday kick off against Preston – I knew it was two o clock and was on S4C, but thought we were playing on Saturday!
Regarding us and Wolves, I think we have to accept they are a bigger club that good players would be more tempted to join than us. However, at the end of 17/18, we were, more or less, on an equal footing – we were both in the Premier League and we’d not finished very far behind them in getting promoted, we had similar size grounds and levels of support and, although Wolves had more spending power I’d say, we had a billionaire in charge. However, for me. Wolves acted like a Premier League club even during their promotion season and have continued to do so since – they truly believe they are where they should be and my guess is that those in charge probably think they had under performed in the last two seasons. What a contrast in our attitude – Neil Warnock was telling anyone who’d listen that he’d performed a “miracle” in getting us promoted and constantly played the “plucky little Cardiff” card, which played a part in club and supporters only really starting to think we could just stay up around about November time.
The sort of things I’m talking about were understandable in a way, because the signals coming from the top of the club were hardly sending out a signal that we were where we belonged – there was talk of us becoming another Burnley – that is a club which managed to stay in the Premier League on the cheap when you consider their footballing budget. I happen to think that Sean Dyche is a very big reason why Burnley are where they are and, to be fair, we did try to bring him here under Vincent Tan’s ownership, but our choices of manager since Ole are hardly indicative of a club that is really ambitious to make the top flight – Warnock did a good job in some respects, but his short termism and barren football philosophy is costing us now. Him apart, none of the appointments since Slade onwards have been greeted with any enthusiasm and you have to say that, putting it bluntly, the supporters’ misgivings have been justified every time.