Well, the banker of the season 1-1 draw ended up…..as a 1-1 draw. Cardiff City stretched their unbeaten run to two games since the appointment of Mick McCarthy as manager as they followed up their 2-2 draw at Barnsley with an oh so predictable one pointer with Millwall at Cardiff City Stadium this afternoon.
Now, that may come across as a bit sarcastic, but, when you’re on the sort of losing run that we were until Wednesday and when you own a home record as dreadful as ours is, a draw doesn’t strike me as too bad an outcome.
Besides the negative elements mentioned above, this had me thinking that it was a game that a bang in form City team would have struggled to win because of the history of the fixture. The previous six meetings between us and Millwall had finished all square, as, indeed, had thirteen out of the last eighteen meetings between of two sides that sit beside each other in lower mid table of the Championship with the same number of points from the same number of games.
So, a draw was always a likely outcome and with neither side’s record suggesting that they were going to keep a clean sheet or provide plenty of goals, 1-1 was the score I would have lumped my money on if I were a betting man even though it could, and should, have been about 10/1 on!
Before getting on to the match, there’s one other thing I’d like to mention. It’s bad enough your team losing six matches on the trot, so why do some people, who are either City fans or have the club’s interest at heart, want to try to convince the world that we had suffered seven straight losses?
My reaction was to laugh when I first saw it reported on a City supporting website that it was seven, but it’s becoming mildly irritating now that Wales Online and our manager have started doing it as well – only at Cardiff eh!
Anyway,on to the game. Having switched to a three at the back formation which brought about an improvement both on the scoresheet and in quality of performance on Wednesday, Mick McCarthy stuck with it today as Sean Morrison returned to the team to play on the right of a defensive trio that had Aden Flint in the middle and Curtis Nelson on the left, while the fit again Joe Bennett played as a left wing back in place of Joel Bagan, with Perry Ng (whose Crewe upbringing can be seen in the calm and assured way he has settled into Championship football) on the other side.
McCarthy opted for the same midfield three of Joe Ralls, Will Vaulks and Leandro Bacuna and with Junior Hoilett dropping out with an injury, City were left with only two what I would call natural attacking players in Sheyi Ojo and top scorer Keiffer Moore.
Harry Wilson and Josh Murphy, who both must have been the most likely candidates to fill the void left by Hoilett in most supporters’ minds, were instead consigned to the substitutes bench where they were joined by Rubin Colwill, who was very impressive in the Under 23 team’s recent win over Swansea, as he became the latest in a growing number of youngsters at the club to get their first experience of the match day squad.
This has to be a welcome development, but the cynic in me says that this has much more to do with the fact that teams are allowed nine substitutes this season than any serious consideration that any of them will see any game time (to balance that a little, our manager did sound very impressed by what he’d seen from Colwill since he has come to the club in his post match interviews).
Of course, one of the givens for this season is that, no matter how we set up, we concede the first goal of the game and, especially when we’re at home, that goal can come very early on in the game and it duly did again today.
As is so often the case these days, it was a very soft goal to concede – in fact, I’m struggling to remember the last time an opposing team scored a goal against us that did not involve considerable help from our players or their general lack of organization (Forest in the Cup?). This time, it was captain Morrison, who never really looked comfortable having to come out of central areas to wide positions on the right, but grew into the role somewhat after the break, who had to carry the can really as, instead of heading a high ball on the touchline out for a throw in, he tried to head inside and keep it in play. Jed Wallace, easily Millwall’s most creative player, intercepted and burst past Ng and Vaulks as Morrison gave chase. There wasn’t a great deal on for the wide man as he got to the bye line and xo he opted more to play the ball into a dangerous area, rather than look to pick out a team mate and his decision turned out to be a right one – albeit aided by a generous slice of good fortune, as the ball glanced off the covering Flint and past the wrong footed Alex Smithies at his near post for an own goal.
I mentioned earlier that the City starting eleven only had two natural attacking players in it and so I assumed that Ralls would be asked again to fill what was the Tomlin role last season – that’s what happened on Wednesday, but this time, it was Bacuna who was used in that position and, for the first quarter of the game at least, he was comfortably City’s best player.
Mick McCarthy had deemed Bacuna a “creative midfielder” when he said in his pre game media briefing yesterday that he did not see the former Villa and Reading man as a right back. This caused some comment among some City fans, but, for a while, Bacuna was the only man in blue causing Millwall problems with his driving runs and there were one or two nice passes as well.
However, Bacuna faded to the extent that, just as at Barnsley where he was virtually anonymous, he was withdrawn quite early on in the second half.
Bacuna gradually became one of the twenty two players in two evenly matched teams that, by virtually any criteria you wish to use, essentially cancelled each other out for most of the game. The stats show that City had fifty nine per cent of the ball, had seventeen goal attempts compared to their opponents five, with three to one on target in their favour, so I daresay there will be claims that they deserved to win.
However. in essence, the ninety minutes boiled down to both sides scored and they each missed two great chances – apart from a Moore header from a Vaulks corner that was cleared off the line by Mikael Kieftenbeld during City’s best spell in the first half, that was all that happened in terms of real goal threats.
Millwall will be cursing that it was late period at Cardiff Kenneth Zohore who turned up today rather than the very good 16/17 incarnation. The Dane, on loan from West Brom, developed an unfortunate habit of taking air shots at some great chances as he tried to regain his previous sharpness after a period out with injury during our promotion season and while it didn’t quite turn out to be one of those at the end of a rapid Wallace inspired first half counter attack, it may as well have been as his scuffed contact from an unmarked position twelve yards out dribbled harmlessly wide.
That would have put the visitors 2-0 up and probably out of sight as would have conversion of the other opportunity Zohore had early in a second half that City started carelessly- Vaulks lost possession deep in his own half and Zohore got himself a yard on Flint. From here, the former City man didn’t do a great deal wrong apart from perhaps taking one touch too many to allow Alex Smithies the opportunity to make a fine save as he diverted the shot out for a corner with his foot.
Up the other end, Moore missed the sort of chance you’d expect him to score eight or nine times out of ten when he nodded a Bennett cross over late in the first half and then Bennett himself, who has not scored in over three years, wasted a gilt edged second half chance by heading a good Vaulks cross over.
Neither half contained a great deal of good football, but the second one was generally scrappier and it began to look like that Bennett miss was going to be the only time that Millwall came close to conceding after the break, but the introduction of Harry Wilson provided the attacking shot in the arm that City so badly needed.
There had been a lot of discussion in the press briefing I mentioned earlier about Mick McCarthy’s decision to leave Wilson on the bench, and then keep him there, at Barnsley, but, given the chance to show the manager what he could do here, he responded in exactly the manner McCarthy must have hoped he would.
Wilson immediately added some dynamism to City’s attacking play and on seventy one minutes, he spun away from his marker and advanced towards the Millwall goal. It seemed to me that he was looking to get a shot away, but, instead, he spotted Moore’s intelligent run and played a lovely slipped pass to the centre forward who calmly shot home to level the scores – Moore now has ten goals this season with January not yet finished, that’s an incredible figure by modern day Cardiff City striking standards!
It was a piece of number ten play reminiscent of 19/20 Lee Tomlin and, frankly, the sort of thing City fans were hoping and expecting to see more of from Wilson in that part of the pitch when he signed for us, so, in a way, it invoked mixed feelings in me, but, clearly, it was the best piece of football from Cardiff all afternoon by some distance.
Just as at Barnsley, City showed little or no sign that they could win the game after they’d drawn level and it was the visitors who presented what threat of a winner there was with one or two promising looking counter attacks which came to nothing.
So, it was another draw as City look to steady the ship, but, while I’d say two points from two games is a satisfactory start for Mick McCarthy considering where we were when he took over, we still look very brittle defensively and there is definitely still a long way to go before it can be said that City were back on track.
Just to add, the Under 18s finally got around to playing their first match since the Christmas break this afternoon when they won 1-0 at Watford thanks to an early Caleb Hughes goal. It was good to see Taz Mayembe starting for the Under 18s, because the youngster, who had created quite a stir with an impressive showing in one of our pre season matches with Taffs Well a couple of years ago was the subject of some confusing comments from Neil Harris just before he left the club.
Asked about Mayembe’s progress, Harris replied that a decision had been taken to take him out of the Under 23 team and put back into the youth side to give him regular football, but his appearances for either of those two sides this season could probably be counted on the fingers of one hand before yesterday – presumably, injuries have been responsible for his lack of game time, but he was back in action as a team captained by Eli King gained what was only a fourth league win of the season.
The Under 18s’ best victory so far came in the Youth Cup when they beat Derby 3-2 away in the Third Round in early December. Normally, the Fourth Round would have been played by now, but the fact that the draw paired us with Basford United or West Brom away rather tells the story that, unsurprisingly given the way the world is at the moment, matches have not been able to be played and so the decision has been taken on 12 January to suspend the competition temporarily.
Thanks, Paul.
When was the last time we were in front in a game? Seems like a long time ago.
Surprising team selection again. I tought it had been established that playing Morrison and Flint together didn’t work. Seems like McCarthy knew better!
And on we go. Jonny Williams to be our creative mid-fielder, when fit?
Good morning Paul – Nothing to get over excited about yet with MM, but at least we did not lose. Worried about the captain, he was so off the pace being played out of position and his distribution, sadly, poor. He needs a rest.
Thanks Paul.
Excellent summary as ever. All key points covered in describing a fairly even match.
We have a way to go but at least some better energy and willingness to try something different – back 3. Shame that as well as conceding sloppy goals in every game, but we do also seem to miss a couple of sitters every time as well – Moore and Bennett headers.
Impressed again with Ng. Seems we have landed a good’un there. Sure you are right with his solid Crewe upbringing and seems very comfortable and calm on the ball for a relative youngster.
We definitely perked up with the introduction of Wilson and Murphy and hope they both have earned the right to start next time.
Hoping also that newbie Jonny Williams can also add some spark and energy in midfield- assuming he can stay injury free.
Morning everyone and thanks for the replies which I see are briefer than usual. I find this completely understandable because, as I’ve found a lot over the last season and a half, there are only so many ways you can say the same thing. Since we got relegated, we’ve had three managers, none of whom would have paid too much attention to us when they weren’t employed here, yet us supporters have had to watch all of our games and so, in a way, it could be argued that we know more, or are more accustomed at least to our weaknesses than Messrs Warnock, Harris and McCarthy and we also can vouch that watching us play has been hard work for most of that time.
After the closure of the transfer window, the view on the messageboard appears to be bordering on the suicidal with the signing of Jonny Williams coming in for much criticism. I share some of the misgivings (e.g. his injury record and he has struggled to maintain a regular place in the starting line up at Charlton) and I would have been against the transfer if we had paid, say, £500k for him, but it seems to me that we’ve done something similar to when we just took Gareth Ainsworth’s contract over from Wimbledon for the end of the 02/03 season so that, in Williams’ case that would equate to twenty weeks or so at something like £10k a week, hence the talk of a £200k fee.
I think Williams is a gamble worth taking at that price – there is at least a 50/50 chance that I’ll be proved wrong in that view, but, even in the last two years, I’ve seen Williams play for Wales and thought he could add something to the City squad. I’ve always liked watching Jonny Williams play and, perhaps, I think back too much to this game;-
http://mauveandyellowarmy.net/cruel-youth-cup-exit-for-city/
from more than a decade ago (where di the years go!) where he ran us ragged in a Youth Cup tie with Palace – the player who was so quick and mobile that night has gone now, all of those injuries have seen to that, but you only have to watch us play for about fifteen minutes to realise we are a team that needs more “proper footballers”, as I call them, in our ranks and Jonny Williams is a proper footballer.
I’m must say that the squad as it looks now makes the downbeat mood on the messageboard easier to understand – we still only have one real right back (Osei Tutu may be back sometime within the next month, but we’ve rushed him back twice now and paid for it and we really need to be sure that he’s ready next time he starts playing again. On the striking front, we have to be weaker than we were and a repeat of the sort of injury Keiffer Moore suffered against the jacks would see a lot more concerned about us going down than I am now. Essentially, we’ve swapped Max Watters for Robert Glatzel – Watters is jumping two leagues, but my main concern with him is not that, but the fact that we signed him just after he missed a few matches with injury for Crawley and now he’s out again after playing just the once for us. Also, our pedestrian and misfunctioning central midfield remains in place – even if Mick McCarthy was minded to change the way we play, Neil Harris has already discovered that is a very hard task at Cardiff with the personnel we have, especially in the middle of the park.
Thank-you Paul once again for a fine summary of Saturday’s game. Sad to say when the reading of a match-report gives more pleasure than the watching the game reported on then the reader knows all he needs to know about the status of his team. In simple terms we seem to be that lumbering general purpose member of the merchant fleet commandeered by the British Government during WW2. Oh to be a sleek luxury liner!
Looking at the team selected before the game I was, shall we say, mystified. Three general purpose Div 3 North-type centre halves (each of them dogged markers) and three central midfielders, again of the dogged variety. Like you, Paul, I thought it ludicrous that, Moore apart, only Ojo would be classed as an attacker pure and simple, with the ability to beat a man. All this to combat the might of Millwall? Against Real Madrid or Man City this could possibly be understood but against Millwall? Never.
Now I actually quite like the sweeper system, but with the corollary only if you have the players to play it. Each of the three selected could play in the system but not when the system is made up of the three of them. Presumably our Manager went 3421 after the success of that formation in the last half hour at Barnsley. However Barnsley played 3421 and Millwall 3412. That extra Millwall attacker made all the difference, even if one of them was Kenneth Zahore. Add to that the matter that Moore had to try and keep the three central defenders busy. Two were spare throughout the match. How he needed help. Against our three at the back Millwall played two strikers. City, with SIX central midfielders and defenders selected, as you wrote Paul, we had absolutely no width at all. Moreover this formation was unchanged during the whole 90 minutes. And, this from a manager who has been in football all his life? We were crying out for Wilson AND Murphy. Forgive me if I’m wrong but the last thing a wing back, who needs to get up the pitch often, wants is a player out wide who will take him on and keep him hemmed in. Our two behind the striker (Ojo & Bacuna; then Murphy & Wilson) played narrowly all game.
If a team plays with three at the back surely the spare man must come into midfield and put pressure on the opposition. None of City’s three looked comfortable in doing that. For me the logical thing would have been to have selected Morrison and Nelson as markers with Bennett as the spare man coming into midfield. True that would have left either Murphy or the young Bagan to attack up the left flank but that would have altered the dynamics of the game.
If Bacuna is getting the nod over Wilson because of his training stints there is precious little evidence of it on match-days. I’ll be the first to say that Bacuna had a good opening 30 minutes but his performance tailed off before his substitution on the hour. He needs to up his game. And sorry Mr McC I don’t think he is a creative/attacking player.
Peter Sinfield (lyricist for King Crimson in the late 60’s and early 70’s), in a song on his solo album, ‘Still,’ wrote: “ ‘Change,’ sang the sea-goat, ‘is constant as the tides.’ ” Sadly, he was obviously unaware of this Cardiff City team some 50 years on. The only constancy about CCFC 2020-2021 is that nothing changes. Always conceding a poor first goal, before some of the missing fans would have taken their seats, we face an uphill task before each player has had a touch. The stats from Soccerbase contrasting our first and second half performances are truly startling.
So Wilson came on in the 62rd minute, in a double substitution with Murphy, and within nine minutes the Liverpool loanee’s lovely through ball found Moore who clinically beat the advancing keeper from 8 yds. Blushes were saved.
To return to our naval theme we appear to be that merchant vessel in for her refit in dry-dock; a number of draughtsmen’s plans tossed aside deemed not practical and will be heading seaward once more; a dog’s body of a vessel amid a fleet of liners, sleeker, quicker and much easier on the eye than the black angular structure of our cargo carrying craft. With every passing game we seem to be getting further adrift of where we need to be. Hope springs eternal but patching up a few holes here and there will not do. Radical change is necessary if this merchant vessel is ever to become an ocean going vessel.
Steve, I agree wholeheartedly with your views about three at he back. You mention the sweeper system which has, for as long as I can remember was based on the given that at least one of you back three could play, could bring the ball out and their passing ability would be sufficient to ensure that having an extra centreback need not be a defensive move if you’ve got someone whose passing is good enough to provide a kind of launching pad for attacks. Clearly, not every team is lucky enough to have a Beckenbauer and the lower you go down the leagues the more the ideal three at the back system is harder to find, but, even if I were able to go to watch Blaenrhondda play this weekend with three centrebacks, there’d be one there who would stand out as the one who could play a bit and look to be a bit constructive in their use of the ball – who is that player in the back three City played with on Saturday? If I had to pick one, I’d probably, just about, opt for Nelson, but not with any confidence.
As you correctly state, we have three players who could all fit into the a three at the back, but not all in the same team because it defeats the object if you want to do any more than pass the ball in the general direction of a team mate further upfield and hope it’s one of your better efforts (I can’t forget Steve Cooper’s comment after the game in December where he said that one side were playing to a definite plan and the other side were hoping that something would come off for them). Of course, all of this is only exacerbated by the fact that our central midfield is much the same if Pack is not playing. Whatever you may think of Pack, he is clearly the play maker among our midfield four, but his weaknesses mean that he isn’t ideal in the role. However, in his absence, who qualifies as the passer out of Ralls, Vaulks and Bacuna?
I do surveys for You Gov on a regular basis and you get used to question where you have to grade something between one and ten – if I was asked to grade City’s defence on Saturday on a scale where, say, Beckenbaeur was one and chopper Harris 10, I’d put our three in the five to six range where ideally, you’d want something like a two, a five and an eight. In midfield, if, say, Glenn Hoddle was a one and Vinnie Jones a ten, we were again stuck with five or sixes on Saturday.