I can’t claim the credit for this, it was a presenter of a City podcast I watch who began saying very early in the season that this Cardiff City side must be absolute murder to play against when they’re in the lead because they’re so hard to get the ball off if they don’t have to risk losing it by chasing a winning goal or an equaliser.
I couldn’t help but think of those comments as I watched the second half of City’s 2-0 win at Wigan today. Wigan had won three and drawn one of their four home league matches and were fancied to be top six challengers by some after taking steps in the summer to put right a lack of goals in their squad.
Wigan had only won one in six and had been beaten by Wycombe in the League Cup in midweek, but I reckon they’re a top half team.
However, at times today there looked to be a yawning chasm between the teams. The opening thirty five minutes saw Wigan chasing shadows and they all seemed to have in retaliation was midfielder Matt Smith leaving a “calling card” with cynical and at times nasty late challenges on all of our starting midfielders (the two Colwill’s and Ryan Wintle). Smith was eventually booked for his foul on Joel Colwill, but then should have been given a second yellow for another clear foul on midfield substitute David Turnbull.
Wigan, to their credit, forced their way into the game in the last ten minutes of the first half and should really have equalised during their strongest period of the game, but City got to half time with their 1-0 lead intact and, having shown how they could pass in a constructive manner as they chased more goals, the second half became a different matter completely as they chose to “close the game down” by denying Wigan possession.
City won the possession battle 73/27 with a passing accuracy figure of 88 per cent and it felt like more than that through the second half as they squeezed the hope out of Wigan and their fans.
As I watched us playing in a manner that Cardiff City teams have not done for years, if ever, I found myself wondering if Wigan fans watching would have rated us the best team they’ve played so far, but no sooner had I allowed the question to form in my mind than I was reminded of the knot I had in my stomach telling me that while it was all looking so comfortable out on the pitch, any side that is behind always has hope when it’s only be a single goal.
City can play some very sharp football at times in their defensive and midfield thirds, but they’ve had a problem carrying that slickness into the attacking third. In our dominant first half spell today there were so many times when just a little bit more precision and composure could have seen us left with great chances to put the game to bed very ealry in proceedings.
The good thing is that the players seem fully aware that improvements are required if Perry Ng’s post game interview on the club website is anything to go by. Besides talking absolutely glowingly about BBM, he warned of the dangers of complacency and repeated that we will need to become more ruthless – on the other hand, he was adamant that this was the best City team he’d played for.
This was definitely Ng’s best game so far this season as City, with Gabe Osho in for Will Fish in the only change from Tuesday, gave what was their most complete away league performance of the season.
Wintle had already forced home goalkeeper Sam Tickle into a diving save when Callim Robinson switched play out to the right on seventeen minutes and, eventually, Ng worked a one two with Rubin Colwill before getting away a shot which took a nick off Smith I think it was to beat Tickle on his near post for his first goal in almost exactly a year.
The Wigan defence creaked and groaned like a rusty gate at times as we came close to getting a second, but, from somewhere, they put together a move which carved City open, Christian Sayde really should have scored as he found himself free in front of goal some ten yards out, but Nathan Trott was out quickly to close him down and make the save.
Wigan’s plan was clearly to get crosses into the box and veteran Paul Mullin’s header flew just over from one of them while Ng and Trott just about managed to keep out an in swinging near post corner.
City managed to left the siege though in time added on at the end of the first half when Rubin Colwill’s twenty yarder flew about a yard over.
City substituted Chris Willock for Isaak Davies and Yousef Salech for Callum Robinson quite early in the second half, but, although Willock’s ability on the ball helped them keep possession, neither of them got much opportunity to show what they could do in attack as it became more about retaining possession in midfield and at the back with the front players’function being to contribute to what was a largely successful forward press.
Wigan forced three corners in quick succession and got first contact on two of them. There was also another corner which, rather luckily for us, bounced off Calum Chambers’ chest into Trott’s hands.
The game continued in this strange limbo where City were looking so comfortable most of the time while you were asking yourself how could they be when they were only 1-0 up. However, with the six minutes of additional time at the end of the match almost up, City showed some of their first half incisiveness as a slick move down their left freed Rubin Colwill and his low cross forced Morgan Fox into a professional foul on Salech which brought the inevitable consequence of our first penalty of the season and a red card for the Welshman.
Salech has shown himself to be a good penalty during his time at Cardiff (a miss against Stoke in shoot out apart) and he put his spot kick into the side netting as Tickle dived the other way.
This was one of those days where there were no weak performers in the City team and to prove that, I’d say that both centrebacks, Joel Bagan, Wintle and Cian Ashford all had very good games behind man of the match Ng.
With all three teams above them winning, City stay fourth in the table, but may regain top spot on Tuesday if they can beat bottom of the table Burton in a game postponed following the last international break.
At age group level, there was a fifth straight win for our under 18s after they’d been reduced to ten men in the first half at QPR this lunchtime, but a couple of goals by Jack Sykes ensured a 2-0 win.
At local level, I’m getting increasingly concerned about Treherbert Boys and Girls Club as they stay rooted to the bottom of the Ardal South West League following a 3-1 home loss to Seven Sisters.
Paul compadre,
Thanks as ever. Whilst BBM is serving up the style of football that on the ‘micro’ front, you, Huw and BB are firm advocates for, I am greatly heartened by events on the ‘macro’ front.
Wonderful to see British football now waking from a `bad dream: one in which tiki-taka had us in its iron grip. We are now seeing the ‘long throw’ regaining its rightful place in the British game and the return of the proper goal kick. So good to see three assists down to goal kicks in the highlights of the various games on BBC and ITV last night, and ostensibly ‘modern thinking’ managers like Lampard revelling in the success of the long throw at CBS Arena… and best of all, the long forward pass becoming ‘du jour’ again… did you see that 50 yard beauty from Jordan Henderson resulting in a killer goal against Man U?
Of course, whilst the green shoots of the traditional thrilling British game indicate its return, it will be a long haul. Just look at Chelsea yesterday…
The insanity of the Chelsea coach who, with the clock at 90+10, and his ten-man team losing 2-1, was still insisting on playing out from the back… and thus saw his keeper make a complete hash of it, and Danny Welbeck gratefully gobble up the farcical gift.
And finally re the Wrexham Carabao Cup game: I watched the whole of their game versus Derby, and drooled over Lewis O’Brien’s performance. Let’s hope he has an off day against us.
TTFN,
Dai.
Many thanks, Paul. Your comments were worthy of re-reading in light of City’s recent season’s ponderous antics on the grass. Certainly, the opening half dozen paragraphs were a joy to read. As I stated, in an earlier reply, there is a purpose behind City’s possession. It is a means to an end and not an end in itself. The net must always be in the players’ thinking.
Dai, there has been a pompous, elitist mindset in football since Pep has come to these shores. It has been as if his way is the only way to play. To attempt any other was below the salt. How often have we seen teams racking up 75+% possession and 600 odd passes and still lost. To lose sight of the aim of the game and rejoice in this, ‘higher way,’ is plain bonkers. This approach has almost found its way into the Sunday Leagues. Surely the aim is to win; and if that can be done with a style that is easy on the eye, so be it.
One other gripe I have with the modern game, well there are many, is the inverted winger, as if scoring with a header from a pulled back cross, after the winger has gone outside his full back, is akin to being only half a goal. One incident springs to mind. Last season Grealish picked up the ball level with the 18 yd line about 3 yards from the left-hand touchline. He then proceeded to run ¾’s of the way across that 18 yard line to the right. Nothing came of it! Haha! I wonder what Brian Clough and John Robertson would have made of that?
Well, on to yesterday’s game. I listened to the commentary on the City website and somehow managed to watch the last 10 mins from a stream. At the close of that tv stream the commentator responded that City had total domination during the first half and took the sting out of Wigan in the second. For me, apart from a few minutes at the end of the first period and in the middle of the second, it was wall-to-wall City. When did City rack up 640 passes in a game last? Have they ever? Much has been made of the lack of end product in City’s play, yet we won the Shots on Target stats 1-5 and had double the penalty area touches as Wigan.
For me I don’t think any Bluebird, despite looking more like a group of orange fruit doves (yes, there is such a flighted wonder) had a bad game. The pick for me was Robinson’s wonderful, pin-point cross-field ball for Ng’s goal whilst Colwill (R) really should have scored in the final moments after Salech’s penalty to make it 0-3.
Well done, City.
Steve, compadre,
I particularly appreciated your 2nd para. And especially endorse that para’s final sentence.
DW
As usual, thanks for the replies. I’m going to defend City’s version of what I’d call modern day passing football and will begin by saying that I could happilly watch us play like this all season because it is, in the main, enjoyable football that’s good to watch. I do think it would be better still if we were a bit more ruthless/potent in the final third, but both of the goals on Saturday came from incisive moves where the ball was played forward, rather than sideways, for most of the time. It was also good to see a couple of excellent long diagonal passes by Gabe Osho as he showed that, like Fish and Lawlor, he’s capable of “mixing up” City’s approach if our opponents are coping with out shorter passing.
Returning to what I was saying about us being very hard to play against when we have a lead, Not the twenty proved once again that they’re the best analytical podcast out there with this fascinating chat with AFC Wimbledon manager Johnny Jackson who, once he’s spoken about his team’s unlikely top six position, spends time talking about the other teams near the top of League One and he’s very interesting on the almost unique challenge playing City presented. The analysis of Wigan 0 Cardiff 2 from the excellent presenter, whose name escapes me at the moment, is also a fascinating listen.
I found the whole thing a great listen, but if you only want to listen to the City stuff, I’m told it begins about 28 minutes in.
https://youtu.be/7vHzaQe1dJM?si=aC2aKXHtcrwd5Kad
Thanks for the link Paul.
Yes, I agree… Ali Maxwell does ‘game analysis’ as well as anyone out there.
Btw… after he and Johnnie Jackson talk Cardiff, the conversation soon moves to Plymouth. Tom Cleverley’s very shrewd £1.2m signing of Lorent Tolaj from Port Vale will prove a godsend by the end of the season, and see them maybe make the playoffs.
Talking of Plymouth, I have become strangely hooked on The Life of Pie… their fans’ vodcast (or more accurately, ‘vlog’) of their away trips. You will recall that I flagged up their recent doomed odyssey to Cardiff… what a great hour’s viewing that was.
I love everything about these guys. Good hearted people. Such different characters… I have particular affection for their STATTO boy named Sam… there is something of the autistic savant about him… and he is always having gravy stains on his jumpers. A really nice boy.
And I am fascinated by the amount of money they all spend on confectionery and pasties at the crack of dawn every trip at the BP garage at Taunton Deane Services. Not for them a healthy alternative of their ‘five a day’.
Topically, here is their latest vlog… on Burton away, last Saturday. Gosh, a 4-0 Argyle victory… the boys were in clover on the return journey to Plymouth. And to use their expression for ‘mad rejoicing’ as each goal went in…”there were proper LIMBS on show”*
Can Burton be so poor tonight? Let us hope so.
Incidentally, using my Google Maps, I note that their favourite pub in Burton is literally NEXT DOOR to a Wetherspoon… Tim Martin won’t be chuffed.
*a new expression on me… but very effective in it conjuring up images of mad movement of legs and arms in the jumping mass of supporters.
TTFN,
Dai
PS …apols… here is the link to their Burton trip. Note the boy in the halftime shootout dressed in all red, is Pie himself.
https://tinyurl.com/y9f9z3aa