I’d be surprised if anyone was thinking it, but just in case they were, it was proved today that the 3-4-3 or whatever you want to call it system that the first team have played since Mick McCarthy’s arrival as manager is not the reason why they can be so dull to watch.
This afternoon, Cardiff City’s Under 23 team made it five wins from five to take over at the top of the Professional Development League south section from Bristol City, who won 2-1 at Ipswich, but City’s 2-0 win over Millwall means they now have a slightly better goal difference. Moreover, they did so playing attractive and free flowing football that featured some lovely, one touch attacking play and it was all done with that same 3-4-3 formation!
There were a lot of similarities between today’s game at Leckwith (the windy conditions at this more exposed venue only made the control City showed all the more impressive), and last week’s win by the same score against Sheffield United across the road at Cardiff City Stadium. City had to be vigilant defensively for long periods, but to repeat myself from last week’s report, there is an air of the 12/13 Championship winning senior team with these youngsters in that they give the opposition so little to get encouraged about and you feel comfortable watching them defend a single goal advantage.
The goals came in either half and were similar in nature with strikers being played into scoring positions by slide rule passes and then finished calmly and confidently across the keeper by the scorer from about fifteen yards.
The prolific Chanka Zimba got the first as he fastened on to Keiron Evans’ defence splitting pass to beat Millwall keeper Gilmore and then he turned provider to find Isaak Davies who took a touch before putting away his first goal of the season.
Evans came close to scoring before Zimba had done so when great combination play by Davies and wing back Tamil D’Almeida sent the latter tearing down the right touchline and his low cross was met by Evans some ten yards out only for him to be denied what would have been a memorable goal by Gilmore’s fine diving save. Keenan Patten brought the best out of the keeper again with a shot from distance and Evans got away a free kick which was saved in more routine style as City enjoyed complete control in the first forty five minutes, although O’Neil did bring what seemed to be a very good save out of George Ratcliffe (a corner was given at least, but Ratcliffe seemed to be saying to the ref that he hadn’t touched it) as a reminder to the home team not to get complacent – which was something they never showed any signs of doing.
Sheffield United and Millwall both began by matching up City’s formation and paid the penalty by being completely outplayed by our two central midfielders (that must be the first time I’ve typed anything like that in about a decade!), Eli King and Patten.
In both cases, our opponents knew they had to change or they were going to concede more than the one goal they’d done so far. Sheffield made their change around the half hour mark and Millwall’s came at half time, but it was the same one – switch from a back three and wing backs to a flat back four and use the extra man in midfield, thereby giving them a three to two advantage in that area.
On both occasions, the move would probably be regarded as something of a success by the coaching staff concerned, but it didn’t enable their team to gain any points or even score a goal. What it did do though was ensure their team had more of the ball and a territorial advantage, but, as mentioned earlier, such was our organisation and defending, we never looked anything less than comfortable.
As the commentator on the club website correctly stated, the fan in you wants to see Steve Morrison respond with something that would give King and Patten some help as a way to reestablishing their earlier control, but, with this level, the operative word is development and so Patten and King get to gain some understanding of what it’s like in men’s football when you’re outnumbered in the middle of the park.
Still, just as last week, it was a bit of a shame to see the superiority our two had established over their opponents lost because the other team had to do to do something to try to counteract them.
There is no slight intended here on King, who is playing really well so far this season, when I say that Patten was so good for forty five minutes today when we had most of the ball and then impressive in a less spectacular way when we didn’t – on this form, Patten should be joining his old mucker Sam Bowen in the first team, squad.
Behind the two local boys in the middle of the park was another Academy prospect in Taylor Jones who stepped seamlessly in to replace Mark McGuiness from last week, there was also the assured Oliver Denham who looks a fine player at this level and after having a very slight dig at captain James Connolly last week for the number of fouls he gave away, I can’t remember him being pulled up once by the ref today, despite him being the sort of player who tackles and intercepts a lot – today he was outstanding in both of those facets of the game.
On the right, D’Almeida is making a better fist of the wing back role than I thought he would, while Jai Semenyo on the other flank is an absolute natural in the position – he may not have been quite as impressive as last week, but he did show that he can play on both sides of the pitch when he switched to the right when D’Almeida made way for Tom Davies on his return from injury.
Of the front players, Zimba continues his transformation from peripheral second team player last season to possible first teamer this and I was so pleased to see Davies score and give a reminder of the talent which so impressed our manager when he first came here.
There wasn’t a goal today for Keiron Evans, but he is the creative hub of the team and now, having got into the first team, I’d say he is the most likely candidate to go the way of Bowen as someone whose appearances at this level will become less and less – although not quite the same type of player, Cian Ashford looks a ready made replacement to me in the event of that happening. .
In a way, it’s a bad thing that our second string are doing so well because it only brings the struggles of the first team into sharper focus. Yes, the difference in standards has to borne in mind of course,and I’m certainly not claiming the Under 23 side could be selected en bloc in the first team and prosper, but in recent weeks, the contrast between how easy 3-4-3 is made to look by the youngsters and the problems our senior professionals especially have been having with it has been marked.
