Last week I suggested that Cardiff City, in the form of their Under 18 team, would be winning a league title in 18/19. Well, they are still big favourites to do so with a lead of seven points over the two clubs, Millwall and Ipswich, who realistically are the only ones who could still overhaul them, but while their two rivals won today, City needed a last gasp equaliser to rescue a point in a 3-3 draw with last but one in the table Coventry City at Leckwith this lunchtime.
With such a commanding lead at the top of the table, City are now there as a target to be shot at in their remaining matches and they didn’t cope with that situation very well today as they turned in a display which has to be rated as below par judged by the standards they have set for themselves this season.
With central defender Joel Bagan and striker Dan Griffiths having, seemingly, been promoted to the Under 23 squad (they have featured for them in the last three matches I think it is), the Academy side has changed somewhat in the last month or so, but, having won their last two matches by scoring nine times with no goals conceded against Bristol City and Crystal Palace, they were not letting these absences effect them too much.
Today was different, after looking their usual solid self for nearly an hour, the defence fell apart somewhat in the latter stages of the game as Coventry suddenly began to find large holes in our rearguard. At the other end of the pitch, although Keiron Evans did well as attack leader, we lacked a focal point with Griffiths missing and Isaak Davies still out injured.
With Neil Warnock present to watch his son Will making what I think was his first start for the team on the left wing, City improved as a low key first half went on and at half time I thought that, with Coventry barely threatening, we would go on to win quite comfortably. The only goal of the opening forty five minutes came around the half an hour mark when City put together a move which showed the quality that was to prove to be so elusive on this occasion as the ball was moved fluently from their right to left and Harry Pinchard beat an opponent before sliding in Evans who neatly steered his shot beyond the keeper and into the net via a post.
It was Coventry who came out the stronger after the break though and although there was still little in the way of an end product from them, I began to feel a goal might be coming as they started to dominate in terms of second balls won. Coventry were now pushing us back and they duly leveled when their half time sub McParland shot past Jordan Duffey to put the appropriate finish to their best move of the match so far.
City tried to step things up after that, but their passing was slower and more laboured than normal and when they did score again just past the hour mark, it came completely out of the blue as Sion Spence, who otherwise had a quiet game, finished emphatically from fifteen yards after a cross from sub Sam Parsons found its way into his path.
With Coventry now looking more confident and dangerous and City not being able to fully snap out of their lethargy, a one goal lead was a precarious one to defend as the match entered its final ten minutes and Hunt’s sweetly struck shot had the visitors level again as Coventry began to look the fitter team.
The momentum was now with the visitors and in the eighty third minute they picked apart the City back line again to leave Lautaru with a simple task to finish off another good passing movement.
City looked to have nothing left at this stage and their responses were easily dealt with by the visiting defence until, from nowhere, Evans came up with an equaliser with the match well into added time. I must admit I cannot provide any worthwhile description of the goal because by now I had begun my walk to Ninian Park station to catch my train home – I was about two hundred yards away at the time and could only make out from their celebrations that City had scored.
Two goals for Evans was a deserved reward for the way he went about a pretty thankless task as the team’s central striker – normally a winger, he was quite a bit smaller than the centrebacks he was up against, but he was the major plus point for City on a day when they never really clicked into gear.
