A second consecutive 1-1 away draw to leave supporters feeling frustrated. At Wycombe, my frustration stemmed from us being so much on top, but not being able to find the winning goal our overall performance merited.Â
However, this afternoon at Leyton Orient it was different. There have never been more statistics available for games even when they’re played in the EFL’s lower leagues, but one that is fairly common in other sports, but not in football, is unforced errors. For me, City made a lot more unforced errors today than they normally do – add this to careless periods in the first and last twenty minutes of the game and I’d say it all added up to our worst league performance since our defeat at Blackpool in early November.
The BBC’s stats confirm, to an extent, our sub par display. Against one of the few teams to win the possession battle against us this season, we were dominant this time to the tune of 61/39. However, all of this led to the home side having sixteen goal attempts to our eleven, five of Orient’s efforts were on target compared to our four and they had eighteen touches in the opposition penalty area to our sixteen.
Those figures are suggestive of a City team that were not as effective at making something of having the majority of possession as they normally are. We lacked our usual fluency and a big reason for this was a combination of misplaced passes and poor technique- as mentioned before, it all seemed to be somewhat careless.
Although it was a reduced programme of League One matches today, most of the sides at the top of the table had games scheduled. However, the cold, frosty and, in some places, snowy weather led to a number of postponements. Most relevant for us was that Bradford’s easy looking home game against Rotherham fell victim to the weather and, with Lincoln not playing, the opportunity was there for us to stretch six and eight points clear of the teams in second and third. As it is, we’re four and six points clear with Bradford in third having a game in hand on us, but we do still have the best goal difference in the division on our side as well.
All of the other three matches had a relevance to the fight for top six places. Luton continued their improved home form with a 2-1 win over a fading Stevenage, while I suppose the best outcome in the match between Stockport and Huddersfield would have been a draw, but a lone goal, scored in the ninety sixth minute gave the home team the points and, finally, Bolton’s poor spell continued with a 3-1 loss at Peterborough.
As always, there were plenty of changes in the City team which lined up
Trott, Ng, Fish, Osho, Bagan, Tanner, Wintle, Kellyman, Robertson, Willock and Salech
and they were forced back by a motivated and energetic Leyton Orient team. It’s only fair to point out that my criticisms of our performance also include an acknowledgment that our sub par showing was partly down to the home team not playing like a side that had lost three on the trot and found themselves only one place off the bottom four. Just as they had done at Cardiff City Stadium, Orient struck me as one of the better teams we’ve faced this season.
It was notable today that we played more long balls than normal and, despite the home team being on top in the opening stages, one of them created the best chance of the first ten minutes when Fish sent Salech clear of the last man, but home goalkeeper, Killian Cahill, who had a good game I thought, was very quickly off his line to block our top scorer’s attempted lob.
Apart from that though, City were shoddy early on and the goal they conceded on twelve minutes exemplified this. Trott played the ball short to one of our centrebacks like he has done hundreds of times this season without a problem, but, this time it didn’t look right as Fish’s ball back to him put him under pressure, the keeper then quickly found Osho who played a ball back to the goalkeeper with Orient striker Dom Ballard bearing down on him. Some have said that Fish and Osho did Trott no favours with their passes to him and there’s probably something to that, but Trott had enough time to put his foot through the ball twice and clear it on both occasions and he has to be held mostly responsible for what happened next as he attempted to beat Ballard and instead gave the striker the chance to tap in what must have been his easiest goal of the season.
In saying that, Trott was always going to cost us goals this season given the way he plays – I make it two now he’s been directly responsible for (the other one being at Burnley), but his form over the past five months or so still leaves him with plenty of credit in the bank so to speak as far as I’m concerned.
Indeed, Trott was making some amends for his mistake within a few more minutes as he pushed a close range header from the lively Alfie Lloyd over the bar – it was a good save, but Lloyd really shouldn’t have given him the chance to make it as poor defending left him unmarked about ten yards out.
Orient were really fancying their chances now and, clearly, if and when the game’s second goal arrived it would be them who scored it, except it didn’t work out that way as, in this season of fine City goals, Salech came up with a superb one to equalise!
There was little build up to the goal to speak of as City were under more pressure when Osho I think it was knocked the ball up to Salech stood ten yards inside his own half. It was a clearance meant to relieve pressure more than a ball played in the hope of being credited with an assist, but Salech went on to make something out of nothing.
It started with the sort of physical challenge that Salech invariably gets penalised for, but this time referee Scott Oldham indicated he was playing a City advantage as home defender Will Forrester fell to the floor. Salech then burst past the last defender and was faced with a forty yard run in on goal. The Dane had sufficient pace to stay clear of the chasing defenders and was then faced by Cahill as he entered the penalty area. Electing to take the ball around the keeper, Salech was left with not the easiest finish as the ball was in danger of getting away from him as he smacked a right foot shot high into the net from about fifteen yards – it may not be our goal of the season so far, but it was Salech’s best for us.
Shortly after the equaliser Kellyman picked up a groin injury which forced him off and the replacement of him with David Turnbull helped gave us a bit more control in the middle of the park which meant we finished the first half the stronger with Tanner establishing a superiority over his marker which saw him forcing Cahill into another save after he’d left home captain Theo Archibald floundering.
Tanner and Archibald were involved in one of the second half’s two main incidents as City extended their late first half superiority into the game’s third quarter. Tanner picked Archibald’s pocket to win possession level with the edge of Orient’s penalty area and then found himself being held on to by the home player for a good five seconds. This led to the inevitable pushing and shoving and as another Orient man came in to push Tanner towards Archibald, the home captain and the two players’ heads did make contact. This resulted in Archibald falling to the floor as if he’d been shot as he rolled about holding his head trying to indicate he been butted. It was all pretty pathetic on Alexander’s part, but there was always the chance the ref would be taken in by it and Tanner could have seen a red card. As it was, both players were cautioned and, although it was a little harsh on Tanner, it was probably the right decision on balance.
For all that City had doused Orient’s early fire and were now on top, they only had another run by Salech after being sent clear by Robertson which could be called an authentic chance. This time, having got past Cahill, Salech opted to square the ball to Robertson whose goal bound shot was blocked by former City player Tom James.
City were now looking the more likely winners, but the last twenty minutes were a disappointed as the careless habits from early in the game returned – this time none of BBM’s substitutions around hour the hour mark really worked and, in truth, Orient came closer to winning it late on as Trott had to make a couple of saves.
Off the pitch, it was announced that City were, once again, under a transfer embargo which prompted a response from the club and this e-mail message from the Supporters’ Trust.
For me, it’s now a question of wait and see – I suspect it will all be sorted out in the next few days as the club say it will be, but the whole thing does seem a bit typical of Vincent Tan’s Cardiff City to me.
In local football, Treherbert Boys and Girls club were able to beat the freeze, but will probably be wishing they hadn’t as they went down 2-0 to Cefn Cribwr to remain bottom of the Ardal League South West. In the Highadmit South Wales Alliance Championship Ton Pentre were thrashed 6-0 by Cardiff Cosmos, while Treorchy Boys and Girls club drew 3-3 at Splott FC in Division One East.
