Whitts finds perfect timing to be a City winner

Mar 24 2008 South Wales Echo

PETER Whittingham’s final contribution to Cardiff City’s home win against Bristol City was the winning goal.

The former Aston Villa player earned the Bluebirds a first League win against the Robins at Ninian Park for well over 30 years and was immediately substituted.

“I had already made up my mind to make the change before we were awarded the penalty,” said Dave Jones. “Maybe he was a lucky so-and-so that the penalty was awarded then.

“We had decided before the game that ‘Whitts’ would take it if we had one.

“His shot wasn’t the best, but he stayed sharp and reacted first to put in the rebound.”

Bristol City fans, of course, will point to Steve Brooker’s disallowed effort just before Whittingham’s winner.

Personally, I have no sympathy at all.

Brooker looked offside – it was tight, but Brooker’s bald head picked him out – and Bristol City should think back to their 1-0 Coca-Cola Championship win against the Bluebirds at Ashton Gate in December.

Cardiff deserved to win that day even after having Steve Thompson sent off.

I would also argue that Cardiff were good value for the win at Ninian Park. It was a tough, hard-fought match and the home team showed they are certainly not saving themselves for the FA Cup semi-final against Barnsley.

The players must believe the play-offs are still within reach and they can underline that in successive home games against Southampton and West Bromwich Albion before they travel to Wembley .

“Nobody has their mind on Wembley,” said manager Dave Jones. “We still have a chance of a play-off spot and we’ll go flat out to grab it.”

Cardiff are now seven points behind Plymouth Argyle, who are sixth, with two games in hand. They also have to play teams above them including West Brom, Ipswich, Burnley and Wolves.

The Bluebirds have, in goalkeeper Peter Enckelman and the four in front of him, a defensive unit who look solid. Even the loss of Kevin McNaughton through injury has not produced a wobble, with Darcy Blake slotting in well.

Steve Thompson added his own style of aggression and power in attack, bringing a couple of outstanding saves from goalkeeper Adriano Basso.

And it’s that mix available in midfield which really picks Cardiff out as a team who can achieve big success this season.

Whittingham is producing some memorable moments and growing in confidence. He will be a key player during the run-in towards cup and League success.

Stephen McPhail and Gavin Rae are a more than useful partnership and on the left Joe Ledley was back to his best.

Then teenager Aaron Ramsey took over from Whittingham and showed, in only 10 minutes, a vast range of running, passing and shooting.

Bristol City were, by then, chasing the game and Ramsey was brilliant during that brief appearance, almost scoring with a blast from 25 yards which had Basso beaten and only just skipped past the post.

Trevor Sinclair and Riccy Scimeca are also awaiting their chance, showing City have a rich pool to select from in that area.

In their last two home League matches, Cardiff have beaten Hull, who are in third place, and Bristol City, who lie second.

That suggests again that Cardiff have vastly under-achieved as a team this season. The good news, though, is that they still have time and matches to remedy the situation.

Yesterday, a queue of between 4,000 and 5,000 people developed at Ninian Park when FA Cup tickets went on sale for the first time.

And with the court case now firmly out of the way, for now at least, the Bluebirds are on a high.

They scored first against Bristol City with a goal directly from the training ground.

Whittingham’s free-kick from wide on the left dropped at the far post and defender Roger Johnson made a late run, met the ball at full pelt and headed firmly home.

Bristol City hit back with a goal which will be dissected move by move on video replay. Jamie McAllister lifted the ball into the penalty area and Dele Adebola was unmarked when he headed in.

Glenn Loovens and Tony Capaldi were the closest players to Adebola, but neither troubled him as the big man buried his header after 73 minutes.

Then came two minutes which decided the outcome of the match.

First there was Bristol City delight when celebrations of Brooker’s header after 77 minutes were cut short by an offside flag.

Then Capaldi sparked the move which ended in Cardiff’s winner. He swapped passes with McPhail and then swept past a defender with some neat footwork before sliding in a low pass in for the midfielder.

His run into the penalty area was cut short by a lunging challenge from Marvin Elliott. McPhail was sent sprawling and it was Whittingham who stepped up to score from the spot, albeit after Basso had saved his first effort.

It’s still possible Cardiff City could play at Wembley Stadium three times this season – twice in the FA Cup and once in the play-off final.

They’ve booked one trip, and the other two are tantalisingly within reach.

Cardiff City are still in the bottom half, standing 13th, but none of the teams from below sixth will feel at ease that the Bluebirds are out of it.

terry.phillips@mediawales.co.uk