City lost 2-0 to high flying Premiership chasers Wigan with Captain Kav in front of almost 17,000 fans thanks to second half strikes from Jason Roberts shortly after the restart and ex-Bluebird Alan Mahon killing the game late on.
Defeat was harsh. Cardiff played well and deserved a point at least but it's a game of goals and that's where the difference was stark. City gave Wigan far more problems than they received but failed to convert their few chances when they came. Meantime, the visitors had less chances but were clinical with them. Wigan's two forwards have scored 43 between them whilst City, having long lost and never having replaced our goalscoring talisman, have managed 43 goals from everyone. Enough said.
Eternal optimists - great to have them but they are barking mad - have to accept that Cardiff's and Lennie's start of season Premiership play-off ambitions (minimum) are over and finally mathematically impossible. Pessimists will say we're doomed. Realists will know City are right back in a Championship relegation struggle and probably in a three way battle with Brighton, Crewe and Watford for the final team to drop out. Cynics, however, will continue to wonder if there's any point to any of this anyway as the club appear no nearer to sorting out any stadium/financial problems or avoiding meltdown.
It was a big day at the club but one which spelled out our problems and helped explained why they happened. The club, after two years of ignoring promotions and fan ideas, finally consented to a price promotion whereby season ticket holders could buy any number of additional tickets in pairs at £10 each. The response was excellent. The club hoped for a 12,000 crowd, upped it to 15,000 with this promotion and sold 16,787 including 500 Latics fans from the North West.
Well done to Cardiff City Supporters Club and Valley Rams for persevering with suggestions for these promotions, long after the club had ignored them before. However bearing in mind the large scale Commercial Staff the club has employed in recent times, why on earth did it take fans to finally instigate something like this?
The club additionally were selling shirts for £10 each and reduced bar prices to a level only a little more than local pubs instead of massively so and saw great returns on these too. You can't however help thinking it's a measure of how desperate City have become for money. Some suggested, albeit even in nervy humour, how it felt like a closing down sale. Indeed, one fan quipped how he bought a shirt and found Willie Boland inside it. No doubt, anyone who bought a mug also got Andy Campbell.
There was a good pre-game buzz with local pubs busy from early on. The weather was sunny but it turned grey with some rain by kick-off time. It was a good sight to see the roads so busy walking to the ground and even better to see every seat taken and both the Grange End and Bob Bank terrace pretty full too.
Both sides came out together but all eyes were on Graham Kavanagh. Our Captain and most influential figure sold overnight without warning by Sam Hammam who also didn't feel it worthy or significant to inform fellow directors either. It was an action that saw the last flickers of his God-like flame extinguished with supporters. If it was done purely to send a rather desperate message that council, property developers and retail groups had to pull together to make the stadium happen instantly or else, as many believe, then it failed in that respect too.
Kav had an outstanding reception as he ran out amongst his new team-mates but made a point of applauding the Bob Bank, Grange, Family Stand and Grandstand as he jogged from side to side then up and down the field. His feelings would have been mixed and torn but he knew Wigan's task was win or else.
Having been Top Two all season, their form has been patchy as nerves have jittered in recent times. In February, The Latics lost at home to Stoke and away at Gillingham. March was better but April started disastrously with successive home defeats to West Ham and then Sunderland in midweek. It saw them dumped into 3rd and 3 points behind automatic promotion.
Paul Jewell responded by introducing a more attack-minded 4-3-3 selection but they played more like 4-4-2 with Brett Ormerod added to attack with 23 goal leading scorer Nathan Ellington pushed to a wider, slightly withdrawn role. Kav, meantime, was in a familiar deep, holding role he liked to play at City. It looked more effective with a Premiership challenging side like Wigan than strugglers like us. Their starting line-up was Filan, McMillan-Jackson-Breckin-Eaden, Kavanagh-Jarrett-Bullard, Ormerod-Ellington-Roberts.
Lennie surprised nobody by naming the same line-up and 16 that defeated Stoke in midweek pushing City to 17th, a position only bettered by The Bluebirds back last August in the 2nd week of this miserable season. So it was Alexander, Vidmar-Collins-Gabbidon-Vidmar, Ardley-Langley-Ledley-McAnuff, Jerome-Thorne. Subs were again Boland-Boulding-Lee-Margetson, Williams.
Kick-off was preceded by yet another one minute silence but for once (thankfully), it was to honour and recognise a football servant. To my mind, the only time these things should happen. This was for a great servant of City too, Ronnie Bird who served the club man and boy firstly as a player in our outstanding Jimmy Scoular sides of the late '60's/early 70's and then in his various guises as bar manager, hospitality host, welfare of the players during the week and internet match summariser. A great man, always smiling, the ground stood silent.
City came out of their now familiar pre-match huddle, an initiative started by Kav who looked on and then swapped ends, most shaking Kav's hand on the way before City started facing the Grange End. The first half saw Wigan in the ascendency for the opening 20 minutes without creating a stitch before City battered them for the closing 25 minutes but, fatally, missing outstanding chances to score - all too familiar a story and just too costly against opponents like today.
The huge crowd started in great voice and were backing Cardiff to the hilt but went subdued and quiet as Wigan took the game to us. They spent the opening 20 minutes camped in City's half but playing slow, controlled football, it was never effective. In fact, they didn't carve a single opportunity and nor did they ever look like doing it. All they had to show for that passage of play was a Jimmy Bullard shot onto the Canton Stand roof, two easily blocked efforts and a rather pathetic handball claim.
The turning point arrived as Cameron Jerome started running at defenders and directly at goal. Wigan's defenders had the same 'rabbits in headlights' panic look about them as he did. His first run was pushed for a corner just as he was about to clear the final defender and from Ardley's set-piece, Peter Thorne's downward header was cleared off the line by a combo of keeper Filan and a defender's boot.
A minute later, Jerome was terrorising them again and winning another corner, this time cutting in from the touchline. Langley met the corner this time but headed wide and then came another major let off for Wigan as Jerome hit them a third time meeting Thorney's incisive through ball, put one defender on his arse, rounding Filan but going slightly wide and then agonisingly rolling the ball across two defenders but inches wide of the far post.
On the half hour, with manic support roaring on City, came another glaring, costly miss. An early ball in by Ardley found Thorney at the far post 6 yards out in a position that is so often 'food and drink' to him but he incredibly nodded over the bar when it looked easier to hit the target.
City won a handful more corners before the interval but never produced from those, there were efforts blocked whilst Langley and Ledley were showing up very well indeed in the engine room against Kav, Bullard and Jarrett. All momentum was with City, it was never better shown than when Kav took out Richard Langley with one of those late, dangerous, lunging challenges we've regularly seen him do over the years.
The crowd were baying "off, off, off", Langers refused to shake hands with him, Kav was yellow carded and, mostly in jest, booed for the rest of the afternoon. In fact, Kav was very lucky not to be sent off in the second half as he took out Joe Ledley in mid-air. The referee, yet another frustratingly inconsistent one, lectured him rather than show him a second yellow which would have been merited without a doubt.
Half-time: CITY 0 WIGAN 0
Cardiff paid a heavy price for those glorious missed chances in the period of domination. It's cost us a fair few points this season and it cost us yet again today. Against a leading side at this level, nobody can afford that luxury. Their failings magnified as City found themselves behind within 5 minutes of the restart. The goal was simplicity itself but clinical in the extreme.
Wigan, through the ever dangerous Ormerod, advanced down City's right. A ball laid back to McMillan who whipped in an early ball that saw JASON ROBERTS ghost ahead of Chris Barker 10 yards out and, centre of goal, glance a header across Alexander high into the far corner. It was his 20th of the season.
The second half petered out with that. It took the wind slightly out of City's sails whilst Wigan, with their three pronged dangerous attack, were more than happy to keep things tight, soak up whatever we offered and try to hit us with counter-attacking football. As City followers know, we generally always struggle to break teams down under those conditions this season.
Cardiff, to their credit, were not without heart and effort but with the game now changed, they couldn't break down Wigan yet they were denied when a glance put Cameron Jerome in with Thorney coming back from offside. The move was stopped for offside, but it can only have been against Thorney who was not interfering, as Jerome fired across Filan and in off his post. It was unlucky, refereeing inconstancies also seeing City pulled back twice for a free-kick award in their favour instead of the officials allowing fast, dangerous moves to continue. Ginge made Filan save with a header across goal from distance.
Wigan also looked dangerous with Ormerod in particular starting to toy with us now he found more time and space on the break but we always got a tackle or body in the way.
For the final 20 minutes, Lennie swapped Thorne and McAnuff for Boulding and Lee but almost went like-for-like. City continued to push and press but couldn't find any way through. Play often became stifled once they got to 30 yards out. Players on the ball and looking up were seeing all the bases covered and very little movement from those ahead of them. In the final few minutes, Ginge was pressed into attack and City pushed everyone up for one final onslaught but it wasn't to be and, instead, handed Wigan the second, killer goal.
Richard Langley, who had a very good game in central midfield and was otherwise a worthy shout for City's best man on the day, had the ball on halfway with no options either side and everyone loaded in front of him but not moving around for him.
He hesitated, that was all it needed, Kav dispossessed him with ease and a quick one-two saw the return pass and Kav behind City's stretched defence and through on Neil Alexander. Kav looked odds-on to score but very obviously didn't want to score against us so squared across the keeper to ALAN MAHON, on as a sub, an ex-Bluebird only to glad to score against us and he stroked the ball into an unguarded net.
With that, the extra thousands of new found and returning fans for the day with their £5 tickets seemed to up and leave en masse leaving the remaining half of City's support to watch the remaining few minutes. One side took their chances, the other didn't, it really was that simple at final analysis. The shame for City was that Wigan were undoubtedly there for the taking but we failed to take advantage.
There was good news for City in that Crewe lost (they haven't won for 16 games), Watford lost again (only 2 points collected from their last 27) and Brighton salvaged a late point at home (it was their first point for 7 games). They remain below us, we also have a game in hand and, realistically, it looks like one of us four to take the final relegation berth on a weekend where Forest losing at home has, miracle apart, sealed their fate with Rotherham for the drop. Wigan returned to 2nd and an automatic promotion spot ahead with 4 games left ahead of Ipswich who have a game in hand.
City were applauded at final whistle, their gave their best in their hardest remaining test this season (not that our remaining games are easy). Kav meantime took the plaudits again as he swapped shirts with James Collins and then walked to all parts of the ground holding his City shirt. The Bob Bank unveiled a huge "Thanx Kav" Irish flag at touchline and Kav could be seen wiping away a tear or two and he walked off.
Those of us watching the dugouts closely will also have noticed Sam Hammam on the pitch wanting to shake hands with City players as they came off, most passed up the opportunity before Sam himself turned away and headed down the tunnel just before Kav got there.
Five games to go, it's going to be hellish tight but the feeling remains that just four points to get to the magic 50 may be enough for survival with our goal difference worth another point against rivals. We have the look of a team who can do that but, please please please, just take our chances in the remaining games.
Report from FootyMad
Second-half goals by Jason Roberts and former Bluebird Alan Mahon gave Wigan victory to keep Cardiff City deep in relegation mire at the bottom of the table.
It was an emotional return for Graham Kavanagh who was skipper of the Bluebirds until being hurriedly sold to the Latics when Cardiff's huge financial problems first surfaced a few weeks ago.
Both sets of supporters gave him a warm reception as he came out onto the Ninian Park for the first time since his transfer on March 4.
Once the game was underway Kavanagh's love affair with the home fans ended and he was roundly jeered every time he touched the ball.
It was midway through the opening period before the Bluebirds caused the Wigan defence problems when a corner by Joe Ledley was met at the far post by Peter Thorne, but his downward header was hacked away by a Wigan defender.
Then Cameron Jerome went on a run beating two defenders, but his shot drifted wide of the far post with Wigan keeper John Filan beaten.
The pace of 19-year-old Jerome began causing Wigan problems and from another run by the Huddersfield-born youngster the ball was switched to Neal Ardley whose first-time cross was headed wide by Thorne.
The first half had been closely fought so it was no surprise when no changes were made during the interval.
Wigan took an undeserved lead six minutes after the restart when an unmarked Stephen McMillan was given time to cross into the area and Roberts rose high to head into the corner of the net.
The Bluebirds were forced to use Jerome's pace to bring respite to the rearguard and he had the ball in the net in the 65th minute only to be flagged offside.
Lennie Lawrence made a double switch in the 69th minute with Alan Lee and Mick Boulding replacing Thorne and Jobi McAnuff as City went for their own three-man frontline.
The change had an immediate effect with the Bluebirds pushing forward in search of an equaliser and a teasing cross from Ardley was tipped over the bar by Filan.
Paul Jewell responded by taking off Nathan Ellington and bolstering his midfield with the introduction of Mahon.
Five minutes from time a mistake by Richard Langley gave Kavanagh a clear shooting chance, but instead he threaded a pass across field to Mahon and the unmarked former Blackburn and Ipswich midfielder calmly slotted the ball into the net.
City huffed and puffed in the remaining few minutes, but their ninth home defeat of the season still keeps them dangerously close to the relegation trap door.
External reports
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