It was reported that Sabri Lamouchi was not best pleased to be asked whether he’d be speaking to his assistant Sol Bamba about what to expect from a derby game against Bristol City today – apparently, his response was along the lines of I know all about derbies already.
Whether he knew what to expect from a Severnside derby or not, Lamouchi did what Mark Hudson and Steve Morison couldn’t today – he got a performance out of a Cardiff City side that has had a serious issue in games with Swansea and Bristol City lately. Mick McCarthy, Neil Harris and Neil Warnock knew what it was like to manage City to a win over the wurzels, but there were also lifeless defeats in such matches for the three of them during their time in charge.
I daresay that if Sabri Lamouchi stays as City manager beyond this season, there will be a chance that he’ll suffer a defeat against Bristol that will have supporters complaining about a lack of the sort of passion you expect in a derby (it could happen after our game with the jacks on April Fool‘s day of course), but, for now, Lamouchi can bask in the adulation of City fans following a third win in four and a performance which proved that City do get the significance of derby games.
2-0 is a thrashing by the standards of Cardiff City home games this season- it’s only our sixth victory on our own ground and the first one that was not by a score of 1-0.
Therefore, you’d have thought the closing minutes were played out with something of a relaxed attitude in the stands and on the pitch, but not a bit of it – goalkeeper Ryan Allsop got himself sent off and so, with all of the sub windows used, Perry Ng had to play in goal for the last ten minutes or so.
My earlier reference to a thrashing was made tongue in cheek if any Bristol fans are reading this, it’s just that when your team had only scored more than once in a home game on a single occasion (we lost that game!), a 2-0 win is riches indeed!
In truth, it was a close game that saw the visitors lose a couple of important players with injuries and end it with a back four consisting of a right winger, a centreback and two left backs. Bristol had not lost a league game in 2023 before today and could claim that they should have been ahead at half time – they certainly had the better of what few chances there were in a tight first period.
Nevertheless, I think the wurzels would have to concede that the outcome was about right in the end and, for just about the first time since the World Cup break, City put in a performance that had me thinking that we’ve no chance of going down if we can keep on playing like that.
Sabri Lamouchi finished his previous home game with a very attacking line up and it paid off with Romaine Sawyer’s ninetieth minute winner. Upon hearing our manager’s selection for this game, it sounded like he was going for an even more attacking team because the assumption was that Jaden Philogene and Sheyi Ojo would be the wing backs, supporting a front two of Sory Kaba and Connor Wickham, However, it didn’t take long to realise that captain Joe Ralls was playing on the left and Ojo was being used in a number ten role. So, in some ways, it was an even more attacking line up because it was only Romaine Sawyers and Ryan Wintle in midfield, not Sawyers, Wintle and Ralls.
In fact, Ralls was more in evidence in forward areas than defensive ones as City made a confident start which suggested that this was not going to be another derby no show from them. Wing backs Philogene and Ralls combined as the former’s deep cross was laid back by the latter into an area where the twin strikers were outnumbering a single central defender, but Kaba could only get a slight touch which, as it turned out, only succeeded in taking the ball out of the reach of Wickham.
City’s most impressive performer early on was Ojo (I thought he played as well as he has done all season) who forced visiting keeper Max O’Leary into a diving save with that rare thing, a well struck shot from distance by a Cardiff player – Ojo’s effort was from about twenty five yards..
However, having been second best early on, Bristol began to prosper as Ralls too often found himself facing overloads on his side. That said, it was a terribly mishit shot from Joe Williams (who would soon go off injured) from the wurzels’ left which turned into a great cross for Mark Sykes who headed wastefully over.
Sykes was seen to better effect as part of a swift counter attack as his cross to the far post was met by the visitors’ highly rated teenage linkman Alex Scott whose header beat Allsop, but Cedric Kipre had covered around behind the keeper to clear off the line – the danger was not over though as the ball rolled into the path of Anis Mehmeti whose shot was superbly kept out by Allsop, but it was worth noting that all three centrebacks were in positions where they could make a block themselves.
Defending like that explains why this relegation threatened team have now, astonishingly, kept a dozen league clean sheets – three more from their final eleven games and they will have reached Neil Warnock’s target for a promotion challenge!
The rest of the half saw Wickham (who again looked our best bet for striker – you can see why he was once so highly rated) spin well, but then sky his shot and Mark McGuinness saw his free header from a Ralls corner fly straight at O’Leary.
The second period began quietly – Scott rather lashed at a twenty yard opportunity presented to him by the superb Jaden Philogene’s only mistake, but, from nowhere really, the game’s first goal arrived on fifty one minutes in a very unlikely manner for the 22/23 City team!
For a side that finds it so hard to score a goal, this one was very simple in its execution as, after retaining possession well for a period, Wintle’s excellent cross from the right was firmly nodded in from ten yards by Kaba with O’Leary rooted to the spot.
I’ve been quite critical of Kaba this week following his poor showing after coming on as a sub at Norwich last weekend, but he now has two goals in six appearances for us and that’s prolific by our standards – his textbook scoring header also created something of a mystery as to why he often appears completely ineffective in the air in general play..
Kaba soon made way for Andy Rinomhota who supplied energy and defensive nous to a midfield in which Sawyers was again very good. However, Bristol’s response to going behind was one of a confident team as they pressed forward, but all they had to show for their attacking was a free kick from Mehmeti which drew a for the cameras type save from Allsop.
Ralls made way for the surprisingly left out Callum O’Dowda (Sabri Lamouchi said after the match that he has done no training in the week leading up to the game) around the hour mark as City switched to a back four with Ng moving to right back.
This freed Philogene to move forward a bit and, on seventy minutes, the Aston Villa loanee took a pass from Rinomhota, cut inside and from twenty yards hit a daisy cutter with his left foot which beat O’Leary on his near post.
City brought on Kion Etete and Rubin Colwill for Wickham and Ojo and the two of them combined well when Etete shot narrowly wide as it was looking like they were easing to victory, but a brainstorm on Allsop’s part as he came charging out for what was nothing more than a big boot down the middle changed all that.
McGuinness and Kipre would surely have sorted the situation out for themselves, but the ball ended up being played on to Allsop’s arm some twenty five yards from goal as the keeper’s presence caused confusion where there should have been no need for any.
I don’t think Allsop could have any complaints about his red card, but Ng seemed happy to take over between the sticks although he would have been pleased to see the resultant free kick from sub Nahki Wells deflected wide by a wall that appeared to have a hole in it.
The substitute keeper then held on to Matt James’ header and City had their win which temporarily took them seven points clear of the bottom three – that gap closed in the case of Blackpool who gained a very honourable home goalless draw with Champions elect Burnley and Wigan who relied on a missed penalty by Birmingham to get a 1-1 home draw. However, Warnock’s Huddersfield were thumped 4-0 on their own pitch by Coventry. Rotherham won, but it was against a free falling QPR side who are now just a point in front of us, as are Birmingham, while. Reading, who are widely reported to be docked six points this week, were beaten 5-0 at Middlesbrough