Gavin Gordon heads in the equaliser
www.bbc.co.uk
Barnsley came to Ninian Park in uncompromising mood and with the simplest of game plans. Defend in numbers, stop Cardiff playing, spoil, niggle, push, grab, time waste and even feign injury at every opportunity. It mirrored the style of their boss, ex-Wimbledon and Wales player, Glyn Hodges. He constantly barked touchline orders and lead by example as he was seen showing his players to stick their foot in when he felt they didn't challenge strongly enough.
Barnsley also found an unlikely friend in referee, Fraser Stretton, who not only awarded a contentious Tykes penalty but was close to losing control at times. The Nottingham-based offical only seemed interested in time wasting rather than discipline, players got away with challenges with barely being spoken to. It all directly contributed to the poor spectacle that unfolded.
It was no different to how Barnsley played against City at Oakwell last November when another Groundhog Day experience saw City lose disastrously to three innocuous, matching set pieces. More significantly, they also lost Danny Gabbidon and Gareth Whalley to injuries that neither have yet recovered from. City hardly learned from that day, they failed to adapt to the physical game, lost their fluency, then shape and got in a mess. They will be glad to see the back of Barnsley both on and off the pitch.
Cardiff kicked-off in great heart, the feeling that we had turned a corner. If we have, we seem to have found a dead end! Unchanged for the third successive game, City were seeking back-to-back victories for the first time since last November. It was an outstanding opportunity, a revenge mission against a Barnsley side with no form and just 2 points taken from the 15 available in 2003.
City started well without threatening, fans unsure whether to watch the on-pitch action or the novelty of the 'jumbotron' screen working for the first time between the Grange End and Bob Bank. It is a good addition but someone forgot to start the digital stopwatch as the game started, the on-screen action stopped when fouls were committed and occasional replays shown become frustrating as they seemed to taken off at critical points to display messages either congratulating someone from the ticket office for having a baby, in the club shop for being 18 or a youth player for passing his driving test!
Barnsley's tactics were immediately obvious, City had the armoury to fight it with Mahon and Bows giving flair wide, Weston striving on, Kav and Boland combative in midfield (Kav with his left wrist bandaged) but it never quite happened. They struggled to create, Barnsley didn't allow them any time and City let themselves down too often with slow play, over-play and a host of inaccurate passes. Nobody took responsibility for shooting either. At times, it resembled the Chuckle Brothers approach - "to you, to me, to you, to me" - there was always one pass or touch too many.
City's first opening on 11 minutes, saw Marriott (worst time waster of all, ref stopped the watch several times but never spoke once to him, should have been carded) save at the second time from Thorne meeting a great Weston far post cross. I'm afraid to say until our last gasp equaliser, that was the only time we gave Marriott work to do.
Cardiff carved only a couple more chances in the half, the best as Earnie met a Thorne cushioned back header, swivelled with an overhead kick that went a foot wide from close range. Bowen was through but shot wide, a goal kick was given even though it was deflected but it was missing anyway. Mahon wasted the first of several set piece opportunities when his effort was deflected over but it wasn't that special anyway.
Barnsley didn't create a single chance. They got forward a few times, Bruce Dyer needed to be looked after, but The Bluebirds seemed competent enough in those nervy moments.
Overall though, a game that started average, got poor then poorer. City were bogged down by Barnsley's approach, poor officialdom but mostly by their own play, better should be expected from players of our quality. City's shape and pattern quickly dissolved. Mahon and Bowen both got sucked in, or were instructed to, which negated having two wingers on the pitch.
Half-time couldn't have come quickly enough so it could, hopefully, be sorted out. Not even Stretton finally showing some authority with a double-booking of Barnsley players and 4 minutes added time, all for their time wasting made it better and it was about to get worse.
Half-Time: CITY 0 BARNSLEY 0
The second half was an awful 45 minutes of a viewing spectacle, lower division football at its lowest. The clock was now working but City had broken down this time.
Continued possession and territory did not convert to threats and chances. City must be more incisive and ruthless especially in the final third, it has let them down all season and is why we hardly ever get a convincing score-line win.
Jason Bowen could have been the hero on 50 minutes but captured City's problems in a single moment as a Mahon cross came to him on the far side of the area, a perfect shooting opportunity, but he overplayed, took touches to cut back and get the ball on his right foot, then blazed horribly over the bar for 12,000 groans. 30 seconds later, he was the villain instead.
City were stunned from the goal-kick as the ball broke down the right, Barnsley hit their only cross of the afternoon, Neil Alexander was found wanting again as he fumbled under pressure and lost the ball under his bar, City failed to clear competently and in the resulting melee, the ball hit Jason Bowen on his arm. There was no doubt it was handball but, to me, it seemed harsh to judge it deliberate. Stretton almost apologetically kept pointing to his own arm to justify the decision but it is the type of decision that rarely gets given, particularly at the likes of Anfield and Old Trafford against the home team.
Neil Alexander failed to atone for his shocking error and kept his perfect record of never having saved a penalty for Cardiff City but, for the first time that I can recall, he actually went the right way. BRUCE DYER's penalty was too good though and Barnsley scored with their only shot of the afternoon.
With that, the visitors shut up shop, defended deeper and did everything they could to disrupt the game even more. City had no answer, not even when Stretton awarded Kav an edge of area free-kick after it appeared that Kav himself had fouled, it seemed that he was trying to make up for the penalty decision.
It was on Mahon's side but Kav wanted it and totally wasted it but putting no power on it and floating it over the bar anyway, he did exactly the same thing minutes later. Cardiff have been very poor in recent times with set pieces, they had numerous corners too but I don't recall a single one that created any danger.
It needed change as City had become shapeless and clueless. Nobody stood out at all, to win games, someone needs to. Peter Thorne got man of the match, some couldn't believe it but it was one of the games where we didn't really have any man of the match.
The back line had a comfortable afternoon with little to do. Young still doesn't quite look right, Barker did well against his old club but Croft was had a 'mare. His link play with Mahon has promised but his passing today was terrible, one of those days.
Midfield work hard but lacked creation, the wingers hardly played as wingers. Willie Boland's excellent work-rate and commitment is undone by woeful passing. Why does he seem unable to lift a ball in the air and past defenders/markers so regularly? Kav gave his all but let himself down in the final third, he was unlucky with a scissors shot that flashed wide.
In attack, Earnie was kept quiet, pulled around and bossed. He seemed to lack making runs wide and he never clicked with Peter Thorne. Thorney was off it too, no criticism of his work-rate but he did seem to be pushed off the ball too easily.
Mark Bonner replaced Jason Bowen with 25 minutes remaining, an acknowledgement that the two wingers just failed to happen today. Mahon was pushed up and was close with an effort that drifted wide then, the final gamble, on came GG (Gavin Gordon) and Leggy for Croft and Boland whose games weren't working.
The next action came from "Barnsley" fans. 360 came, 10% came to watch the game, the rest to tell stories when they get back home and on hooligan wbsites. The things some people get excited about.
Nearly half came by train storming the city centre before opening time with full intent to cause trouble. Reports that they caused trouble in and around St Mary Street chanting "Yorkshire" made you wonder if they were genuine Barnsley followers.
They were vociferous through the game needing than 50 riot police amongst them and separating them from the Grange End City fans and Lower Grandstand boys. Why was the netting between the away fans and Lower Grandstand missing today? They were organised troublemakers and it showed as they ran in different directions to get out of the ground, causing real problems. Some to the front, some to the Grange, some trying to get over the back wall, some for the gates and some towards the lower Grandstand.
Cardiff supporters, no angels and not all innocent again, showed commendable restraint and I sincerely hope that is reflected in media coverage that inevitably follows this type of incident (the type which doesn't follow when it involves rugby fans like the Munster v Neath game at Millennium Stadium last weekend for example).
It soon settled and eyes were back on the match where City were failing to carve an opening or even supply crosses for all their possession and were so nearly finished off as Mulligan met a break and put a excellent chance about a foot wide with Alexander beaten from 15 yards..
Well over a quarter of City's support had exited (don't these people ever learn to stay til the bitter end?), the 90 minutes had elapsed and there were 4 more minutes of added time which sent up a huge roar.
As it did, Legg hurled a long throw which Barnsley scrambled away for a corner. City took a short corner, Mahon centred and GAVIN GORDON rose above all in the crowded area, nodded downwards and sent the ball hurtling inside Marriott's far left corner, the same spot where Earnie got his 90th minute equaliser against Swindon and Campbell did likewise against Coventry at the turn of the year. Lightning doesn't strike twice at Ninian, it strikes three times!!
Gordon's celebration was one of the maddest seen at City for a long time as he set off, passed through every player, nobody could stop him and kept going and going to the other end of the pitch. All that was missing was the Chariots of Fire theme tune to accompany him. The reason later explained as GG wanting to celebrate in front of his son who was sitting in the Canton (Family) Stand. It probably used up the rest of added time but no where were City going to go on and win this one.
Other results came through which made it a priceless point in many ways because Oldham and Bristol City, both having more slip ups than City, suffered unexpected home losses, Wigan mustered a home draw too but Crewe came from behind to snatch 2nd half victory at Brentford.
It is looking more and more like a straight race between Crewe and City for 2nd spot and it does look like whoever cocks it up least will get it, neither are showing promotion style form. And that is the shame, Cardiff should have pulled away, have a comfort margin. Instead, we are hanging on in there primarily because others are doing as bad or worse than us. The play-offs and/or a final day of the season winner takes all showdown between Crewe and City has been our biggest fear for a long time and it worryingly gets more and more on schedule for those things to happen.
As fans went home or found solace in local pubs, they wondered if this was a point gained or two points dropped. The answer is that it was both but it is undoubtedly the points dropped which are keeping City's promotion drive barely in 1st gear.
Only 12 points from the last 27 on offer is, very simply, not good enough. especially considering some of the teams that we have played. Grabbing just a single point from two matches against Barnsley, who were within moments of completing a double, is a massive blow. Taking a measly 9 points from the last 6 games is no better than mid-table from. And if City don't get promotion this season, many reasons will be offered but none will be bigger than the realisation that we have dropped a massive 13 points to the current bottom four teams in this division and lost to three of them, that is disastrous.
The positive is that we are 3 games undefeated, the new system hasn't always fired but does promise more and has made us look harder to beat but we still don't look complete. Sam and Lennie still need to consider if the resources are right or, as I feel, we still need one or two big, experienced Premier-type signings to help the cause. City's rollercoaster season needs mementum again and quickly.
Report from FootyMad
A goal in the 90th minute by Gavin Gordon rescued a point for the promotion-chasing Bluebirds after Barnsley had looked like gaining a shock success.
The cash-strapped visitors went ahead in the 51st minute when referee Fraser Streeton pointed to the spot after Jason Bowen had handled.
Bruce Dyer gave the Tykes the lead with what turned out to be their only shot on target.
Cardiff rarely showed their promotion credentials against a side whose uncompromising tactics had already proved successful in the earlier meeting which they won 3-2.
"The players are devastated and we felt a few decisions went against us but we will settle for a point," said Barnsley manager Glyn Hodges.
"I thought it was definitely a penalty as the ball hit his hand and felt we should have had another one when Dyer was pulled back.
You don't get much out of Cardiff or the officials when you play at Ninian Park.
But if we carry on like that in our remaining games we will have a good chance of staying up. City's goalscoring hero Gordon was delighted that he was on hand to net the vital goal.
"They are fighting for their lives and defended deeper and deeper as the game went on, he said.
It was very good on a personal note to score and as some of the results went our way it was not too bad, but we need to hit the net when we are on top. Under-pressure Bluebirds manager Lennie Lawrence was very relieved to get that equaliser.
"We lacked quality in and around the box and failed to create any clear-cut chances, he said.
I accept that penalty decision as I think it was a penalty but we had plenty of chances to clear the ball.
We have a quality side and have made scoring opportunities in our last few games but today we just couldn't do that and around their penalty area we were very poor.
Gordon's goal should have been the winner and another promotion-chasing team would have achieved that. It seems that every time we make a mistake we are penalised.
We are a nearly team both in our own box and in the opposition area. I am pleased to say we kept going to the end and grabbed the equaliser after almost shooting ourselves in the foot.
We gifted them their goal and must remove that type of thing from our game but at least we have ended up with a point.
External reports.
The Football Echo
BBC
Wales On Sunday
The Western Mail