Cardiff 2 Ipswich 3. Match Report

Both were mere consolations, each of them closing a two-goal deficit at the time, on a day when The Bluebirds were trampled on by The Horses. The final scoreline of City 2 Tractor Boys 3 flatters Cardiff, they were given a comprehensive working over by the visitors. Let’s just be big enough to accept the gulf, first-half especially was huge, and we were never really in it. Hopefully it is a blip but it certainly confirmed we’ve still a long way to go if we want to be a Premiership challenging side, any other result than ‘away win’ would have been a travesty.

There was a sense of great anticipation and confidence with pre-game with City’s bandwagon gathering great momentum. Kicking-off in the a play-off spot, unbeaten in eight and after a midweek home game against West Brom hyped as the best quality match seen at Ninian Park for two or three decades, there was a huge swell heading towards Ninian Park at 2:45. Ipswich, to their immense credit, had 1,700 or so fans making the 500 mile round trip. There didn’t appear to be an empty seat and the only spaces appeared to be on the fairly packed Bob Bank terrace yet the crowd was 17,833 but looked far greater. Anyone know where they managed to put the extra 2,000 who watched the West Ham game?

Despite the team’s run, Lennie made the one change everyone expected and few would disagree with - starting with Peter Thorne with Gavin Gordon on the bench. GG started every game during City’s unbeaten spell whilst Alan Lee and Thorney were injured but was a marginal hit.. He needs to work on his mobility, ability to run the channels and show greater presence in and around the penalty box to prosper at this level of football. So it was Alexander, Croft (relishing the chance against his previous club)-Vidmar(Capt)-Gabbidon-Barker, Robinson-Bonner-Langley-Gray plus Earnie-Thorne.

Ipswich started the season disastrously with just 2 points from their opening 6 games but have averaged 2 points per game ever since. They may have therefore started the game one place below City but it was undoubtedly a false position, last week’s 3-0 trouncing of Sheffield United underling their credentials as the form team of the Division. Goals were to be expected as Ipswich ahead of kick-off, Ipswich were Division One’s leading scorers with 37 goals, five ahead of the next best - Cardiff City.

Managed by Joe Royle and assisted by Willie Donachie, their side was undoubtedly strong. In goals was Kelvin Davis, secured on a Bosman, but previously Wimbledon’s £600k goalkeeper when they were in the Premier Division. The back four read the Dutchman Wilnis-Naylor (a local boy)-George Santos (an imposing French centre-back returning from injury)-Matt Richards(another youth player). Midfield were Westlake (another youth player)-Jim Magilton (playmaker of the highest calibre)-Chris Bart Williams (on loan from Charlton)-and Jermaine Wright. Forwards were Darren Bent and Kuqi (on loan from Sheff Weds and making his second appearance in Cardiff this season, his previous was for Finland against Wales).

They had Alan Mahon (on loan from Blackburn and who had a so-so spell at City last season) out injured and with flu as were Martiin Reseur and Pablo Counago. It still meant they started with more than half with side having played recently in the Premiership at Ipswich or other clubs compared to Cardiff’s three so maybe what was to follow was a dose of cold reality even if we didn’t expect it at all.

The game was won and lost in the opening half. Ipswich turned on a display being hailed as their best performance anywhere this year and Cardiff were made to look silly, if ever a game had a ’men against boys’ look about it, it was the opening 45 minutes. The big screen and clock weren’t working but nor were Cardiff City right from the very first kick.

Ipswich sent over their first cross in 30 seconds, their first corner inside two minutes and before 10 minutes had elapsed, they had won another three corners, sent over another half dozen balls, Bonner blocked one shot and Kuqi fired over. City’s response were tow limited breaks over halfway as Ipswich took the game to us making them look like the home side. Most City fans will debate whether Ipswich’s staggeringly fast passing and movement was simply stunning or whether City were way below their best and off the pace, I think the answer lies between the two.

Defensively, we started slowly and struggled to get any better. Danny Gabbidon and Tony Vidmar had their most uncomfortable afternoon of the season, Bent and Kuqi ran them ragged and never allowed them to play but I bet both accept they were too casual also and not as sharp as usual. Our midfield, particularly in the centre, were never in the game. Jim Magilton, Ipswich’s version of Kav, ran the show early on and later, Chris Bart-Williams did exactly the same. Bonns and Langley were never in it. They played too deep, too apart and never closed down Ipswich’s runners or playmakers but give credit to the visitors.

With Kav being sorely missed on this occasion, I kept praying for John Robinson to be switched inside just for his leadership and no nonsense attitude but it never happened. With things so ragged behind them,. Earnie and Thorne hardly saw the ball, Earnie’s first touch several minutes into the game was a defensive clearance as he came back to help.

On thirteen minutes, City finally made an impression with what would have been one of the most unbelievable goals of all time. Ipswich passed inside City’s half but Richard Langley intercepted and spotted Davies strolling on the edge of the area and showed amazing instinct to fire at goal from 55 yards. A shocked Davies was in nowhere near it chasing back as the ball dropped from on high and appeared to be curling at goal. It dropped and bounced just a couple of feet high. It would have been better than Beckham’s or anyone else’s had that got in.

It was a temporary distraction as back came Ipswich and Magilton working the ball left, right and centre with City players doing nothing more than hanging in. Magilton sent over a cross a minute and a couple of corners too but Julian Gray produced the first full blooded tackle of the afternoon. He won the ball but for going in two-footed, he was yellow carded adding to the crowd’s frustration. For Magilton, it was the end of his afternoon as he hobbled away to be replaced by Tommy Miller.

Any thoughts that the game would change without their playmaker was temporary as the next wave of attacks were immediately launched. A neat three pass move sent Westlake clear in the area where Mark Bonner coming from behind made the perfect sliding tackle. Referee Hall, giving an unacceptable and inept display but at least he was pathetic for both sides, decided that football is no longer a contact sport and awarded a penalty that never was.

You know what happens next, the same as always happens when Neil Alexander faces a penalty. Neil bounced up and down, trying to make the goal look smaller and decided where to dive. In front of the Grange End, he went to his right. As has happened in all bar two penalties he has faced for City, the ball was safely dispatched in the exact opposite direction by TOMMY MILLER, Magilton’s replacement, with his first touch of the game seconds after coming on. 1-0 on 27 minutes, Ipswich fans go bonkers, City fans wonder if any keeper in football dives the wrong way more than Alexander.

For the only time in the half, City weren’t chasing shadows ... but it was only because of a power cut! A local power surge blew the generator losing all power to the floodlights and after all the ground and stand lighting flashed on and off getting the Grange bouncing up and down singing “let’s all have a disco”, that was gone too. As a huge plume of smoke across the Canton Stand, only sunlight kept the game going. A darker half and it might have been different. City fixed the fault, unfortunately.

Moments light, it was truly lights out for City as Ipswich, completely working us over, made it 2-0 and you had to start fearing the worst for City, a right pasting was certainly on the cards. Another corner, the count probably now into double-figures, swung over, Gabbi and Vidmar had their men covered but Peter Thorne let Santos peel off him and charge away to meet the inswinger unmarked on the six yard box which he easily swept past Alexander. Poor defensive work as City were now buckling under the heaviest pressure imaginable. Ipswich’s ‘pile on each other in front of our own fans for ages’ was over-the-top but Hall let it go. Annoying inconsistency when you consider Earnie‘s midweek booking for his standard celebration.

Cardiff somehow got to half-time without further damage and even managing to finally get into the Ipswich half and fire over crosses and corners of their own. Thorne sent a couple of headers wide and Earnie found the roof of the Canton Stand for one shot. Ref Hall peed off everyone again for fouling Barker pinching two yards on a throw in near halfway, as if that gave us any advantage, then doing nothing to the Ipswich player who ran five yards the other way before throwing it. What an arse you are Mr Hall - and he still wasn’t finished - luckily, his antics never affected the result.

I cannot remember the last time City were so comprehensively outplayed in 45 minutes of football at home. I was so shocked and stunned, I never even made it to the bar! Plenty did though to recover from what they had seen.

H/T: CITY 0 IPSWICH 2

Debate that Lennie would make immediate changes were redundant as all five subs spent the entire half-time on the pitch, Spencer Prior struggling to pass accurately to one of his team mates, even during a warm up. As the game restarted, it was business as usual as Ipswich tore through us almost at will in the opening exchanges, Kuqi testing Alexander from 20 yards and a linesman saving us from more harm disallowing a Bent goal for offside although his flag was up before the shot.

Where Cardiff deserve credit is that they never gave up and tried. Over the years, we’ve seen so many City sides capitulate but even though they knew they were second best on the day, they tried to hit back and on 56 minutes, they did thanks to the most unlikely help of all, that incompetent referee. Awarding City a free-kick just outside the area, Langers swung a ball over which Ipswich headed away. Suddenly, the whistle happy Hall tooted for a penalty for a push on Vidmar that was so unobvious that nobody in the crowd saw it, Vidmar and no City player appealed for it.

It provided a moment of history as ROBERT EARNSHAW lined it up with 17,000 fans (according to the official announcement) knew he was also shooting for his 100th Cardiff goal. A far cry from the couple of hundred of us who saw him net his first in a FAW Premier game at Merthyr! The pressure was enormous but Earnie smacked it home high to the keeper‘s left giving him little chance. Earnie celebrated the century with a somersault on the penalty spot, a goal and circumstances that I bet he and nobody else had dreamed about in advance.

With the crowd now roaring City, they made a game of it. Unable to match Ipswich’s skill and passing game, they did however show commendable spirit and fight. Robinson fired narrowly wide meeting a cross from Julian Gray suddenly becoming influential but City need to work on crossing this week along with many other things, I lost count of the number of balls that we did not get past the first defender.

Ref Hall showed he was not up to the job again by missing the most blatant penalty of the afternoon and probably the only one that was a penalty. Another Ipswich smart move, a cross from the by-line was intercepted by Vidmar who had the ball fly at him admittedly from close range but he pushed it behind for a corner not with one, but both, hands in front of his legs.

Other Hall offences this half included more bookings. Five City players had yellow cards. Vidmar’s was deserved but Croft’s was very harsh and Robbo’s was for dissent after both a linesman missed a most blatant handball from all of six feet away. Hall also decided to ban ball boys throwing extra balls to players when one went out of play but only on the Grandstand side at first, later the Bob Bank. Sam Hammam was furious about it and bitterly complained to the 4th official as Ipswich were now happy to time waste at every opportunity so it played into their hands. That said, I have only one word for those City fans who throw the original ball into the crowd back onto the pitch and the game has carried on instead of just getting it back to the ball boys ... pilloocks! Three times it happened yesterday and at least twice in the midweek game. How brainless can you be?

Cardiff fought hard and pushed onto Ipswich who dropped back but held out well and stayed organised. Willie Boland replaced Mark Bonner, who never got started today, for the final 25 minutes and had more impact as City showed some belief. Langley tested Davis from 25 yards, Earnie fired another well over For the final 15 minutes, Gavin Gordon was thrown on too with Thorney in the hole and Langley removed, a strange choice coming moments after Langley got himself behind the Ipswich defence. He sent over the ball for Thorney to make Davis produce a stunning point-blank save when 2-2 looked on the cards until, that is, Hall ruled a foul by Thorne.

Earnie and Thorne got more efforts at goal, Thorne’s effort looking spectacular but it was probably 10 yards past the post with Davis diving at it, and there was growing belief that a point might be saved before we lost it on 82 minutes. Two more Ipswich corners came in quick succession, the second saw Neil Alexander cock up by flapping at a ball within reach and barely getting knuckles on it. The ball skidded across goal to the edge of the area where CHRIS BART-WILLIAMS kept his cool by taking the ball, side stepping a despairing Croft lunge and firing into the gaping gap at the near post with Alexander in a hopeless position. Ipswich fans went wild in celebration, one getting past the stewards and scaling a net suspended between home and away support.

With that, hundreds drifted away having given up on City. I’m therefore glad that they missed City’s second goal. Another corner kick goal as Boland’s ball was flicked on by Vidmar and met by PETER THORNE who powerfully nodded downwards and home at the far post to give us game on again with 5 minutes still remaining.

City tried. Gray fired over and Vidmar blasted wide after a thirty yard run when he seemed as surprised as anyone that the goal simply opened up in front of him. There were late corners too but it wasn’t to be and, to be fair to Ipswich, it would not have been deserved.

Ipswich climbed above us and into 4th spot with an exceptional display and performance, easily the best against Cardiff City this season. It was disappointing but not despairing. Cardiff showed commendable spirit to make a game out of a lost cause and almost succeeding. They have however still beat no side in the Top 11. The Bluebirds measly return of just 4 points in seven games so far against the leading sides confirms we are falling short of what it takes to be a true play-off side.