Cardiff City made it through to the Second Round of what will always be called the League Cup on this blog (the older I get the less the name of any sponsor registers with me) with a home win over League Two side Colchester United tonight.
I say win, and the fact that they are in the draw for the next round to be held shortly (we’re away to Birmingham in the tie of the round), confirms that City did win, but it’s hard to think how they could have progressed with less honour than they did. Granted, this was nowhere near a first choice side, but there’s the strong likelihood that it wasn’t Colchester’s either.
Having gone 2-0 up on Sunday at Leeds before having to settle for what I still think was an honourable draw, City again hit the front with a couple of goals, but had been pegged back for a second time by half time and a goalless second period meant that it went to penalties.
The shoot out was dominated by Jak Alnwick who continued his fine start to the campaign by saving all three Colchester penalties (a shoot out between them and last season’s City team would have lasted weeks!). In true 22/23 style, Rubin Colwill had the first City penalty saved, but Mahlon Romeo, Sheyi Ojo and Ike Ugbo all scored to give us a 3-0 win – I think I recall a time when we used to win 3-0 over ninety minutes, but the memory does start playing tricks once you reach pension age.
The last two named were on as subs with only Alnwick a starter in both of our first two games as Erol Bullit made a maximum ten outfield changes.
Romeo was at right back in a defence that also contained Jack Simpson and debutant Xavier Benjamin at centreback with Jamilu Collins, feeling his way back after his ACL injury, on the left. Romaine Sawyers was seen for the first time this season in a City shirt alongside Andy Rinomhota in midfield with what might have been the club’s youngest ever front four for a first team game with Keiron Evans, Rubin Colwill and Ollie Tanner lining up behind Kion Etete.
It was Colwill who was to the fore early on as he drew a fine save out of visiting goalkeeper Owen Goodman after he eased his way past a defender. A few minutes later, Rinomhota crossed, Colwill took the ball in his stride on the edge of the penalty area and burst between a couple of opponents before shooting home from about twelve yards out.
A goal up after twenty minutes, City looked comfortable for a while as Tanner grew into the game to become an influential figure and it was the winger who was instrumental in the creation of the second goal on thirty five minutes when he took on and beat three opponents before shooting from twenty yards, Goodman saved, but will have been disappointed to let the ball get away from him and Etete, still not able to repeat his form from the closing weeks of last season, was able to tap in from close range.
Colchester must have feared they were on for a thrashing, but City aren’t that sort of team, or maybe I should say they certainly aren’t that sort of team in cup ties and within less than ten minutes the visitors were level.
The left side of City’s defence was exposed badly in the build up to both goals. Collins was beaten too easily as Jayden Fevrier got to the bye line to put over a low cross which was half cleared to veteran striker John Akinde who was left with a simple finish.
That was a bad goal to concede, but the second was even worse as Simpson was left for dead this time and with Revrier again to the fore, Joe Taylor’s task in putting the ball into the net was simpler that Akinde’s had been.
In between those goals, Tanner created a great chance for Etete who hit the crossbar when he should have done better and for the rest of the evening it was Tanner and Colwill who looked like they may create something as City laboured through a tighter and more disjointed second half.
In fact, the second period was more about a red card in the ninetieth minute for Colchester’s Samson Tovide who kicked Collins in the head – it was one of those accidental moments where one player raises his foot too high as the other stoops to make a header, but it looked awful and there could be no argument about the ref’s decision.
Also, besides Benjamin, there were first team debuts for some of City’s best locally produced youngsters. Joel Colwill played the last half an hour as a replacement for Sawyers as he and Rubin became the first brothers to play for the first team together since the Bennett’s I believe it was in the early eighties.
Cian Ashford also came on for the last ten minutes or so, but, by then, a shoot out was looking very likely as players tired after the hectic early pace.
Will Bulut be tempted to include any of the younger players in his squad for QPR on Saturday? Rubin Colwill must have a choice, but maybe it’ll be Tanner who I see was named as City man of the match in the local press.
Cardiff City: Alnwick ©, Romeo, Benjamin (Bagan 76’), Simpson, Collins, Sawyers (J Colwill 60’), Rinomhota, Evans (Ojo 76’), Tanner (Ashford 87'), R Colwill, Etete (Ugbo 76’). Subs not used: Luthra, Semenyo, Adams, Wigley.
Colchester United: Goodman, Greenidge, Hall ©, Dallison (Iandolo 46’), Bandeira, Chilvers (Kazeem 76’), Read (Tovide 46’), Tchamadeu, Akinde (Hopper 46’), Taylor (Lawrence 46’), Fevrier. Subs not used: Hornby, Jay, Nelson, Cooper.