CARDIFF CITY (0) 0 
BARNET (0) 2
Kandol 32, 55
THE ATTENDANCE:
There were 3,305 sufferers … sorry 3,205 suffered
THE AWAY SUPPORT:
Just 100 enjoyed the night - good support midweek in Cardiff for the Narf Londoners who rarely get 2,000 at home. It must be the Theatre of Screams that pulls them in..
THE WEATHER:
Grey, drab, mild – matching our football all the way.
THE ‘You're The Man' AWARD for:
Willo Flood or Roger Johnson - take your pick..
THE “You're Not Very Good” BOOT goes to:
Mark Howard - Peter Zois reincarnated?
Luigi Glombardi - we prefer him to Ferretti?
Mark McKoy - looks the part … looks are deceiving.
THE GROUND:
The Bob Bank was shut but there was some “old skool” activity as a handful of kids jumped over a back wall and stayed there. The Family Stand may as well have been shut too, so few were there. Those of us who paid a “bargain“ £6-£7 for kids and £12-£14 for ourselves realised it was still a waste of our time and money.
THE ATMOSPHERE:
Whilst most of us snoozed or seethed, there was banter between the Barnet and City fans on the Grange End for a while, then they got bored of it. Barnet enjoyed the night most of course.
CHANT of the DAY:
“17th in the League Two, you're ‘aving a laugh” sang City to Barnet when they looked donkey poor early on only for us to end up looking worse and giving them the laughs.
THE PROGRAMME:
A £1.50 28 page special - better than the efforts usually produced for this type of game but, sadly, too glossy to be used as toilet paper
THE TEAMS:
CARDIFF- City's best start to the season, we are top of the league, our highest league placing for 35 years and a huge top v top home clash with Birmingham in 4 days time, a Darren Purse suspension and a couple of injuries were the backdrop to how we‘d treat the game.
I think we all expected 5 or 6 changes but 10!!! The only starter from Leeds was Malvin Kamara who's not a first teamer anyway, so many kids were out there that the game had to be decided in 90 minutes so they could get home for bed before it was too dark..
Many will be unhappy with the club and manager's approach to this one. Lennie Lawrence would have been slaughtered for it but we'll just have a mild moan as Dave Jones treated the competition and opposition with a dose of contempt by going with Howard, Jacobsen-Weston-Johnson-Gunter, Flood-Cooper-McKoy-Kamara, Campbell-Glombard. Subs: Blake-Chopra-Cocoran-Ledley-Parry.
BARNET– It seems a lifetime ago, but wasn't, when Leeds were feared by the mightiest and Barnet were regular opponents. Remember Willie Boland playing at Underhill not knowing he had a broken leg or Earnie's late double there for a fighting comeback draw? That was then, this is now.
City look down on the rest in the Championship whilst Barnet have concerns about leaving again for the Conference. They opened with three successive defeats including allowing Accrington Stanley their only league goals and points so far in the process but confidence will have returned after the weekend's 3-0 pasting of Hereford. A heady 17th in League Two (that's one place higher than last season's finish), they stand 63 berths behind the Bluebirds but can point to a better head-to-head record - City have won a paltry 3 of 17 clashes which tells you everything about the 80's and 90's with our club. They also have a manager in Paul Fairclough with a giant-killing c.v. - mostly with Stevenage so I guess the omens were there beforehand.
The Bees went with their usual first team Flitney, Devera-Warhurst-Gross-Charles, , Cogan-Sinclair-Bailey-Viera, Puncheon-Kandol. Viera was the only name in their side but only because he shared it with another famous footballer. Paul Warhurst, as ‘young' as Kevin Campbell, their best known player.
THE MATCH:
There was nothing hair-raising about this one as City‘s fringe players were comfortably scalped by Barnet. It was more like gnat-swatting than giant-killing with the side we put out - a combo of kids, misfits and subs.
Two terrible goals conceded to Kandol 10 minutes either side of half-time did the damage with Barnet's only two efforts on goal. That matched City who gave Barnet's keeper only two saves of note. This was unacceptable and yet again made fools of those of us who bother supporting the club in these games when City treat them with little more than contempt.
The game started quietly and stayed that way. At times, I am sure Pidgeon‘s Funeral Home would have been noisier. Our fans were patient and applauded when we put two or more passes together, we didn‘t have to do it often.
City should have wrapped the game up inside 12 minutes but missed three sitters. The first when Kevin Cooper sent Glombardi clear in prime position who shot wide of the Barnet keeper and goal alike from inside the box then Roger Johnson twice headed wide of an open goal at the far post. The first was point blank and harder to miss than score but the other did deflect before reaching him.
After that, entertainment was confined to laughter as a Barnet clearance sent a flag spinning 10 yards out of the linesman's hand, Paul Warhurst suffered a cut nose and returned with a numberless shirt (kids around me believed that he had been hit so hard that the numbers fell off his back) and the worst shot of the season when a Barnet player attempting a 30 yard screaming sent it 30 yards high and 30 yards wide. Something else funny was their centre-half's George Berry-style mop perm. Was Gross his name or a description of his hair? There was also a battle of the suits with Dave Jones and Fairclough looking as if they had come straight to the game from a Moss Bros photoshoot.
Johnson and Flood, the only players who will be involved this weekend, were a class apart from the rest of their team but some of the kids were doing well, 17 year old Joe Jacobsen stood out but incurred Dave Jones' feedback as he seemed a tad fond of drilling cross field balls instead of simple balls around him or down the line. As the game progressed, Chris Gunter - still 16 years old - was noticed too and not just because he had hastily been allocated a ridiculous squad number (44) to take part in the game.
At the other extreme, Luigi Glombardi looked as though he was seeing a football for the first time in his life. So poor, he had me pining for Nsungu at times. Ferretti - currently getting experience on loan at S#####horpe - but watching in the dugout must have wondered. Meantime, Fleetwood - a kid striker we released over summer scores hat-trick for Hereford to knock out Coventry and is already on 7 goals for the season. Glombardi must be French for horse glue?
Those who are fringe players once again did nothing to press their claims - a continuing theme at this club in these games. Cooper was finding his way back after his latest injury but in central midfield, Rhys Weston knows he isn't wanted and did ok at centre-half but his main passing method was still whacking it away, Kamara didn't threaten at any time I remember whilst McKoy looks big and imposing in central midfield but, on this showing, his futre name is likely to be Mark ‘the game passed him by' McKoy.
Then it was time for the grand entry of Mark Howard in goals. First time I'd seen him, must have pedigree coming from Arsenal and had good pre-season write-ups if only because he kept a host of clean sheets. In the opening half hour, he had very little to do but looked nervous anyway.
On 32 minutes, a back pass to him from the side towards the front corner of his area. Take your time, no pressure Mark. Howard's Way was to whack it, a horrible miscue sent it directly to Kandol some 35 yards out near the touchline with the goal gaping. He sent it back with interest, Howard hopelessly stranded as the shot - a Kandol in the Wind - sailed home. Barnet fans went berserk with the goal of their season, City fans stunned at our comedy goal giveaway of the season.
From offering nothing, Barnet suddenly tried two more shots within a minute of the restart after that goal. Howard incredibly scuffed another but got away with it, his next attempt flew 90 yards downfield way over everyone to arguably give us our only on-target effort of the half.
On half-time, Kevin Cooper was scythed from behind and looked in a bad way. McKoy and a couple of others were flapping around, if only they had shown as much movement during the game.
H/T: CITY 0 BARNET 1
The first half was bad, the second half was worse. Cooper was back but Rhys Weston was substituted for Darcy Blake, the 17 year old smallish rookie midfielder asked to play centre-half. I hope Rhys was injured or there was a problem as that change was instinctively ridiculous.
Cardiff came back a little more fired up and showed early tempo but it was mainly the huffing and puffing variety. On 55 minutes, it counted for little anyway as Barnet were inexplicably allowed to cross from the left where KANDOL was more inexplicably unmarked on the 6 yard box to power a header high past Howard who had stayed on his line.
I'll save you (and myself) the rest of the game as it was irrelevant. We had a few shots but it was always from the edge of the box or outside. If we managed to get one on target, their keeper seemed to spill it but we could never take advantage. Campbell had an effort disallowed for offside flagged long before the ball got to him, the impressive hard-working energetic Flood hit a post and got a yellow card for a crunching hit. Parry and Ledley came on for the final 25 minutes but I only remember seeing anything from Parry. Howard, his confidence looking so fragile that coach Margetson may be needed for Championship bench duties, caused another flutter or two but did take a cross well.
On 90 minutes, Joe Jacobsen won a brave tackle and tried to set up attack at the same time from halfway but suffered a knee/leg injury in the process. He was taken away with his head hanging off the edge of the stretcher, let's hope it's not too serious.
Then, to everyone's dismay, the officials found 6 added minutes so we had watch more of this gruelling affair. Sometimes, out of consideration for the crowd and the teams, you wished they didn‘t bother.
Dave Jones watched impassively all night, Sam Hammam watched with Scott Young just behind the dugout, Sam leaving to go home early. There were jokey rumours that we can now concentrate on the league and, of course, that is our priority.
But when a couple of thousand of us are willing to give up our night and spend what is still a fair chunk of money, even with prices reduces, you cannot help feeling cheated and angry by our pitiful efforts. It's even worse for those of us who then have to waste more time writing about such rubbish.
Still, well done to Barnet who will glorify in beating a team that were top of the Championship - the fact that none of that team were playing will not matter one iota to them and why should it?
THE COSTS:
Tickets (2): £22 inc booking fee and taking the boy
Programme: £1.50
Food/Drink: £16 with “tea” in Wetherspoon's
Total: £40
Report from FootyMad
Championship leaders Cardiff City were brought down to earth by lowly Barnet who dumped them out of the Carling Cup with a brace of goals, one in each half from striker Tresor Kandol.
Both sides were scarcely recognisable from the teams put out in the League last Saturday with the Bluebirds making 10 changes while even Barnet managed to bring in five newcomers.
City's skipper on the night Roger Johnson opened up the Bees in the seventh minute with a sliderule pass to Luigi Glombard but his angled shot drifted beyond the far post.
Johnson then missed a header when Kevin Cooper whipped over a free-kick as Cardiff piled on the early pressure.
But it was the visitors who shocked the home side with a freak goal on 31 minutes. Bluebirds keeper Mark Howard made a hash of a clearance which went straight to Kandol and he side-footed from 40 yards into an empty net.
Cardiff made one change at the interval with Darcy Blake replacing Rhys Weston.
Eight minutes into the second period Kandol made it two when he beat a slack home defence to head in at the far post.
City manager Dave Jones was forced to bring on Paul Parry and Joe Ledley in an effort to claw their way back into the game and immediately a snap-shot from Parry had Barnet keeper Ross Flitney scrambling low to save at the second attempt.
The changes had the desired effect of breaking City up but with veteran Paul Warhurst superbly marshalling his defence the Bluebirds rarely looked like pulling even one goal back.
City suffered a third blow two minutes from time when teenage full-back Joe Jacobson, one of the few successes in the home side on the night, was stretchered off to leave them to finish the game and the six minutes of added time with 10 men.
External reports
Western Mail
Echo