Ugly football but win keeps Bluebirds in mix

Mar 31 2008 South Wales Echo

Cardiff City 1-0 Southampton

FAR from whetting the appetite for potentially the biggest week in Cardiff City’s recent history, this was unfulfilling fare from City.

But the proof of the pudding lies in the league table, and having narrowed the gap to sixth place to six points with a game or two in hand, the Bluebirds remain firmly in the mix.

City cannot afford to drop many more points with just eight games left, so winning ugly is a must when failing to fire on all cylinders.

There was certainly little attractive about Cardiff’s play and at times, especially when they insisted on hoofing the ball aimlessly out of defence, it was kinder to look away.

Manager Dave Jones admitted it was not his side’s greatest display of the season.

“We knew we needed maximum points,” he said, “and we needed them by hook or by crook.

“We weren’t as fluid as we would have liked, but we did the right things well.”

Jones did not cut such a satisfied figure for large parts of the second half.The back four, who had one of their less inspiring days at the office, were the target of his frustration.

The way run-of-the-mill balls into the box were allowed to create panic hardly inspired confidence ahead of the visit of the division’s top scorers tomorrow night.

And a team less haunted by the spectre of relegation than Southampton would certainly have left Ninian Park with at least a share of the spoils.

The way the Saints exploded out of the blocks suggested City were in for a rough ride.

Mario Licka met Stern John’s backheel with a shot which curled just wide with less than 60 seconds on the clock, and John himself should have at least made Peter Enckelman work minutes later.

But, as is so often the case with sides near the foot of the table, City’s eventual winner in the sixth minute completely knocked the stuffing out of Southampton’s encouraging start.

The ease with which the goal came left you wondering how Cardiff failed to add to their tally.

Aaron Ramsey, deputising as an emergency right-back in the absence of Kevin McNaughton and Darcy Blake, cushioned a return from his own throw-in and in the blink of any eye threaded a perfectly weighted ball for Steve Thompson to chase to the byline. The Scot just managed to reach it in time, and in one movement found Paul Parry unmarked eight yards out. He clinically volleyed home for goal number 10 of the season.

Ramsey’s pass was hardly rocket science, but it underlined the teenager’s priceless ability to make things happen.

He is direct and unfussy, and clearly loves to play on the front foot, taking the game to the opposition.

As remarkable a job as he did here for one so inexperienced, it would be a real shame if Jones has to persist with him in defence at Wembley. Get well soon, Kevin.

Joe Ledley, continuing his comeback from injury, should have made it 2-0 in a move of rare quality from City.

Parry and Gavin Rae played the midfielder in just outside the box, but his first-time shot was well saved by the legs of Richard Wright. Remarkably, that moment on 26 minutes provided the last serious action for the former England keeper.

At the other end, Jhon Viafara’s corner managed to elude everyone as it ran across the goal four yards out, while a couple of clumsy aerial challenges left Tony Capaldi and Stephen McPhail prostrate on the ground.

After the break, Nigel Pearson’s side upped the ante and were first to the ball too often for City to fashion a second goal.

They were unlucky not to find the target after Enckelman could only flap at a corner, and on the hour, Glenn Loovens was forced to make a last-ditch tackle to deny the misfiring John.

There were times when the seagulls hovering over Ninian Park were under serious threat from City’s policy of launching the ball as high as possible out of defence, while Thompson huffed and puffed in pursuit.

Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink’s suspension has come at a time when he and Parry’s understanding had begun to flourish, and there were times when the Welshman played balls through the middle which would have been tailor-made for the veteran striker.

As the game drifted into mediocrity, the stadium clock played a cruel trick on the home fans, a missing digit giving the impression of one minute remaining rather than the actual 11.

At least it gave City the chance to earn their first corner of the half in the 89th minute, a statistic which summed up their impotency in the second 45.

Still, a fourth clean sheet in a six-game unbeaten run maintained the tantalising, if far-fetched, possibility of at least a second trip to Wembley.

In reality, given the gap between fifth and sixth position, City are one of half a dozen teams chasing the final play-off spot, and will need to remain unbeaten and rely on others falling away to do so.

Jones is at pains to point out that the players’ focus will not be on Barnsley and the FA Cup semi-final until after West Brom’s visit tomorrow, but even if it is only happening subconsciously, there were some distracted players out there.

But they weren’t the only ones with their minds elsewhere.

The 12,955 attendance was City’s lowest for a 3pm kick-off since they entertained Sheffield United on December 22, so where were the extra 20,000 or so who have been clamouring for tickets for Sunday’s showdown?

How the players rated - page 2

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