About half an hour into the game between Portsmouth and Cardiff City tonight at Fratton Park the commentary on the stream I was watching said that Cardiff had “weathered the storm’. Nothing could have been further from the truth – the fact was that they’d already lost the game courtesy of the sort of start that has become a habit in away league games lately and it’s a habit that will probably get us relegated if it continues through to May.
Portsmouth scored the goals which gave them a priceless 2-1 win in the first seventeen minutes as Cardiff once again started the game in wake us up in twenty minutes mode.
If you go back to the Middlesbrough match in early January, we conceded there in eleven minutes, the game was little over a minute old at Millwall when we went one down and that lead was doubled in nineteen minutes. Then at Leeds, we were one down on six minutes and two behind on thirteen and now tonight goals in nine and seventeen minutes did for us.
So that’s seven conceded in four away games within the first twenty minutes – under those circumstances, we’ve done well to get a couple of draws out of these games.
Omer Riza and his coaching staff did well with their selection, tactical switches and substitutions at Stoke in the cup on Saturday, but tonight was another of those occasions where it looked to me as if they got things wrong and provided a bit more evidence to those who think we need to be looking for a new manager again come the end of the season or maybe even earlier.
For me, Rubin Colwill was never going to start after playing the whole of the two hours on Saturday and with Alex Robertson not in the squad, presumably due to injury, it looked like something of a cautious selection by Riza as Sivert Mannsverk started as the furthest forward of a midfield three that also featured Joe Ralls and Callum Chambers. Joel Bagan was at left back with Callum O’Dowda and Cian Ashford on the wings supporting Callum Robinson.
Portsmouth scored twice in the opening minutes of a recent home win over Stoke and, no doubt were aware of City’s slow starts to recent away games, so you’d expect them to come flying out of the traps using the direct style they’ve been favouring recently.
So, City really should have known what was coming and their selection rather suggested that they did, yet I’m not exaggerating when I say Portsmouth could have been five up in twenty minutes as City were simply swept aside like a rag doll on a beach in a strong tide
I’d say that in those opening stages, all ten individual battles between outfield players were won by Portsmouth as, once again, you had to wonder about City’s stomach for the fight -.
The first goal stemmed directly from Ashford losing possession cheaply inside his own half, but others had to question whether they could have done better as Josh Murphy worked his way infield past two defenders to set up Colby Bishop who finished really well by taking a touch and then jabbing past Jak Alnwick from twelve yards.
City creaked and groaned like a rusty gate after that – Portsmouth were clearly up for the game whereas you had to wonder about us as we were being bullied all over the pitch.
We were struggling physically, but also mentally. For example, Murphy was left completely unmarked on the edge of the area from a corner and he drew Alnwick’s best save of the night (overall though, it was the keeper’s most jittery game of the season as the inferiority complex we’ve seen at the start of recent away games spread to our usually implacable keeper) when he turned the ball around for another in the series of corners the home side had during their aggressive start.
City couldn’t hold out though and it was so disappointing to see them undone, as they have been too many times this season, by a straightforward dead ball routine – this time a near post deliverty from another corner that was glanced in. by Connor Shaughnessy.
Honestly, at that stage it looked like City could be on for another Leeds type hiding, but Portsmouth, for all of their excellent recent home form are no Leeds even if they were well worth their win here.
City’s cause was helped by them scoring from their first worthwhile attack on twenty two minutes, neat footwork by Ashford set up the chance for Rinomhota to cross to the far post where O’Dowda rose above his marker to direct a firm header into the corner of the net.
From here until half time, City had their best spell of the game as their more precise passing game helped establish the closest we got to a period of dominance, but there weren’t really that many times when we looked like scoring – Bagan had a close range shot scrambled clear, Ashford couldn’t get a shot away when found in space by O’Dowda and there were two goals rightly disallowed.
However, there were reasons for hope at half time, City hadn’t weathered the storm, but they were troubling the home defence and they had the draw they got at Millwall under similar circumstances to give them heart.
Sadly, the second period turned out to be a bit of a damp squib as it became bitty and edgy. Having prospered to an extent when they got the ball down and played a bit, City forgot that as too many long, high and hopeful balls were pumped forward – we aren’t built to play in that manner anymore. Portsmouth were comfortable faced with this flawed approach and, although not carrying their earlier attacking threat, were again winning the physical battle.
Tactically, it seemed to me that City fell into the trap of getting a lot of flair players on to the pitch without having the numbers and ball winning capacity in midfield to give them the service they needed. Essentially, we ended up with a midfield two of Chambers and Colwill as we tried to play with a 4-2-4, but the service to subs El Ghazi, Alvez. and Salech as well as Robinson was never good enough and so the number of touches they got was limited and they were all pretty ineffective.
Robinson had a late chance to equalise which was blocked by home keeper Nicolas Schmid, but it was a frustrating night for our top scorer as he was caught offside too often and nothing really came off for him. Unfortunately Robinson was not alone in having a rough night – this was the sort of performance that serves as a reminder that we are in a real dogfight and we often look too flakey and lightweight to come through the challenge with our Championship status intact.
Like all struggling teams, we do not have enough reliable players – performance levels of too many of them vary dramatically and it was concerning to see two of our more reliable players this season, Alnwick and Goutas, struggle so much (although the latter did manage to clear off the line twice in a frantic late scramble which also saw the home side hit the woodwork, all because we committed the so basic error of letting a long punt downfield by the keeper bounce). Only Bagan and, to a lesser degree, Rinomhota, maintained their standards. Will Fish, in for the injured Jesper Daland, did pretty well and his partnership with Bagan on Saturday looked the most secure we’ve had at centreback in recent games.
There was some good news as the under 21s got back to winning ways in the league again by beating Swansea 2-1 at Leckwith this afternoon. Ir was an even encounter in which the under 21s looked some way short of the sort of team they were pre the mid season break, but a better second half allied with the quality of the goal which won the game meant that I felt they just about deserved their win.
City made a great start when Tanatswa Nyakhuwa headed in at the far post in just two minutes. The assist came as a result of a strong run and good cross by Isaac Jefferies, but City did not kick on from this, instead becoming careless and clumssy in possession and the winger was at fault a quarter of an hour later when his misplaced pass left the jacks with a two on one which they exploited well through Maliq Cadogan.
Swansea went on to edge the rest of the first half, although there were a few signs of City beginning to assert themselves in the minutes leading up to the break and they carried that momentum into the second period to score the winner on fifty minutes. The goal was down to two players, Nyakhuwa for a fine finish and Dylan Lawlor for opening up the visitors’ defence completely with a magnificent pass played through the middle as he brought the ball ourt from the back.
There has been a backlash against the concept of playing out from the back lately and not before time I say because it does seem to me that the number of goals conceded through it outweighs the number scored from it at most clubs, but when it works like it did here for Lawlor, it looks great.
I thought Lawlor was excellent, he has the physical attributes you want from a centreback, but he aslo has a poise and ability on the ball which marks him out as something different from most other young central defenders we’ve had coming through in recent years. Yes, I realise that shining at this level is one thing and looking as comfortable at senior level another completely, but Lawlor looked like someone who is ready for first team football in this game.
Also impressive was Nyakhuwa who still had much to do when he received Lawlor’s pass as he ran fifteen yards in possession before placing his shot past Kit Margetson. Goalkeeper Luke Armstrong then preserved City’s lead with some fine saves and I thought Will Spiers did well at right back before another win over the jacks was confirmed.
This meant a season’s double over Swansea for the under 21s and if you tally up all of the results against the jacks this season for our under 21s, 18s and 16s, as well as the senior team and women’s side our record reads
p 7 W 5 D 1 L 1
with the sole loss coming for the ladies, a defeat they got revenge for ten days again with a 1-0 win at Leckwith.
