For the second time in four days, Cardiff City put in a creditable performance against one of the division’s top teams before being edged out by a single goal margin. Actually, forget one of the top teams, today we were up against the top team – a moneybags Fulham outfit that, even in the days when Vincent Tan was splashing serious cash here, were at least a level above us when it came to spending power.
Fulham and Norwich are members of the too good for the Championship, not good enough for the Premier League club and, surely, it’s a question of when the Londoners go up this season, not if? When they do, will they be good enough to avoid a fourth relegation in four Premier League seasons? I’m not convinced they will on the evidence of their 2-0 home win against us in October in the midst of our club record run of defeats and this 1-0 victory today.
Certainly, Fulham will need a lot more from striker Aleksandar Mitrovic than they got from him in 18/19 and 20/21, but he will go into the top tier this time on the back of a fantastic scoring season in which it is not beyond the bounds of possibility that he ends up with fifty league goals.
It almost goes without saying that it was Mitrovic who got the decisive goal today to take his league tally to thirty four with thirteen matches left, so he seems a certainty to reach forty, which is a figure unheard of at this level in recent times.
When you consider that Fulham have scored two sevens, a five and two fours already on their travels, City can be pleased up to a point with how they coped with the Londoners attack today, but, just as on Wednesday, they let themselves down by conceding a poor goal from the sort of high cross we are well equipped to deal with.
The truth for me is that it was Fulham’s defence that was more responsible for their win today. Since they were under their current ownership, Fulham have always struck me as the sort of side that has a defensive mistake, or two or three,in them and, in truth, they had one today which we could not take advantage of, but this season, they have conceded twenty nine goals in their thirty three games.
Granted, that’s not earth shattering for a top of the table side, but it’s four conceded in their last ten away league games now and you could see why as City were held in check despite a flurry of late corners which a white shirted player tended to get a first contact on and us showing an ability to get in down the side of their back four at times.
It should be said that City wasted some of these promising situations because of a lack of quality on the ball in, but when they did get it right, there was always a defender to get a block or tackle in.
Would Fulham have been as comfortable at the back against a City squad which was not without Uche Ikpeazu and Mark Harris with an illness which meant that others like Jordan Hugill and Ryan Wintle were only named as subs? I think they probably would have, so it’s strange that the one mistake, which led to what was easily our best chance, came early on from a routine punt down the middle by Alex Smithies after he had comfortably held a Harry Wilson effort.
With half of their forward options either missing or only considered able to make a brief contribution (as it was, Hugill did not come on), Steve Morison relied on James Collins supported by the recalled Rubin Colwill up front, so you would have thought that Collins would have been the target for any long kicks by Smithies, but this one was allowed to bounce by the Fulham defence and suddenly Collins was clean through in the inside right channel with his marker Tim Ream labouring behind him.
I’m afraid it rather sums up how Collins’ time at Cardiff has gone that at no time as our striker bore down on goal was I confident he’d score and when the shot came, it was relatively easy for keeper Marek Rodak to deal with. City also came pretty close through a Tommy Doyle free kick, a far post header by Joel Bagan (on as a sub for the impressive Alfie Doughty) and another one of those tough half volley chances that seem to be falling to Aden Flint lately – this one he caught well, but it flew about a yard over.
Up the other end, Fulham weren’t as threatening as might have been expected, Mitrovic headed a decent opportunity from a Bobby Decodova-Reid (he was in a stroppy mood on his return to Cardiff City Stadium and didn’t have the best of games) cross over and they probably should have had a penalty when Flint handled a cross, but there wasn’t a great deal to worry City with the obvious exception of the goal.
That arrived four minutes before half time and was entirely avoidable. City should have been alerted that something different was going to happen when Harrison Reed, rather than Wilson, took a corner which was played short to create a three on two situation. However, the visitors took a long time to get their cross in and yet no City player went over to restore parity so to speak – the up side of this should have been that we had more men in the middle to deal with the cross when it came.
Now, we all know Harry Wilson is a quality crosser of the ball, but, as I mentioned, we had enough people in the area the cross was aimed at to ensure everyone was marked up with Mitrovic being very closely looked after of course. How was it then that when Wilson’s ball was aimed beyond the far post there was no one within a couple of yards of the Serbian as he headed across Smithies and just inside the upright? Unfortunately after his mistake for the winner at Huddersfield, Flint had lost his man, but that doesn’t fully explain why this record breaking scorer was in acres of space – the one man who above everyone else should be marked was left Scot free.
That one moment of defensive sloppiness cost City – I thought the result was right, Fulham deserved to win, but it would certainly not have been a travesty of justice if we had defended that one situation properly and ended up with a goalless draw.
Instead, our mini revival at home has come to an end and it’s another 1-0 home defeat in a season which seems to be full of them.
Finally on this match, I thought Perry Ng was excellent today and has to be seen as one of a back three from now on, because if we do that, then we have one of the passers out from the back we will need if we really are to be successful in our effort to become more of a passing side. However, Ng really should have been sent off in added time for his elbowing of sub Cavaleiro in another example of the poor discipline that has crept into the team in the last year or so.
In other games, the Academy side were beaten again, this time by 3-2 against Millwall with Isaac Jefferies scoring twice before half time to send us in at the break level after we’d gone a couple of goals down, only for the visitors to snatch the game in the second half. In the Ardal League South West, it was more defeats as Ton Pentre went down 2-1 at home to Ponterdawe Town this afternoon to follow up on AFC Porth’s 3-1 loss at West End last night. Defeat as well for Blaenrhondda, by 3-2 in the Highadmit South Wales Alliance Premier League at home to third placed Canton Liberals, but Treherbert Boys and Girls Club strengthened their grip on Division Two as they stretched their lead to twelve points at second placed Tata Steel United by winning 3-2.
Good Morning, Paul,
It was galling that Cardiff had enough chances to win, albeit without the skill of Fulham, but I think that Aden Flint, for all the times he wins the ball in the air, lacks spring from a standing start (as did the grossly overrated Keifeer Moore who — like James Collins yesterday — tended to scuff the ball when running towards goal). To come back to Aden Flint, I think he made a fool of himself standing isolated in front of the Fulham goalkeeper prior to a free click and, so it appeared to me, hurling abuse like a spoilt child. If I’m wrong, I apologise, but that’s how it seemed. He should have been concentrating on preparing himself for the ball into the area rather than playground antics. Let’s hope for better on Tuesday!
Ultimately, the difference between the sides was that Fulham constructed a real chance (taken by Mitrovic) from a corner when we had 11 players on the pitch and we only created a half chance for Flint from a corner when they had 10 players on the pitch.
Their defence was excellent from the Collins miss onwards and as a squad they’ve mastered the dark arts of playing the ref which will be needed next year – what a pity that our best chance fell to a striker who hadn’t kicked the ball in anger for several weeks rather than another or Collins later on in the game.
Our defence was pretty good too but we also got a little bit of luck with Mitrovic and Boddy Reid (he could have been booked several times for antics when we had a free-kick and petulance when we finally kicked it into him) missing free headers in our box. A tad frustrating to hear some in crowd still refusing to give credit to Vaulks who has been good for several games in a row now, NG showed too much frustration in raising his elbow and waiting for Fulham player to run into it (no way is that a red), but if Morison was correct in saying how often the line-up had needed to be changed shortly before kick-off then maybe general frustration against best side in the league is a sign of improvement.
10 points from next 8 games should see up stay up with time to spare for bit more experimenting and forward planning at back end of the season. We’re not safe yet and are in midst of hardest 4 weeks stretch left in our season (ending with QPR away) but you’d hope our upturn in performances can deliver on that target.
Thanks both for your replies. Thake your point about Collins’ lack of match time DJ, but, I’m afraid I would have had no confidence in him scoring if he had been in a run of games where he was starting every week. The only goals he’s scored for us have been headers from dead ball situations I believe and it’s not as if he hasn’t had chances from open play – I’m not sure what I was expecting from him last May when we signed him in terms of his overall play, but I was expecting a better finisher.
Regarding Vaulks, I’ve been critical of him for much of his time with us and I still think that he gives the ball away much too easily at times, but I admit he’s been playing better lately – I’ve remarked before about how he starts seasons slowly, but it’s also true to say that he has reserved his best form in a Cardiff shirt for around this time of year in both of his previous seasons with us.
Anthony, I think Flint has played better this season than in his others with us, but, despite those improved standards, it seems to me that he still has an important error in him most games – he does seem to get drawn into the sort of thing you describe as well, but I’d say he isn’t the only in our side to do that.