The win was deserved but City so nearly blew it. The man to thank - yet again - was Robert Earnshaw. Last week, he uncharacteristically missed easy chances against the Wurzels, this week he showed that form is temporary but class is permanent with two goals created out of nothing and a stunning winner that will be long remembered by those dedicated Bluebirds supporters at Layer Road.
The reason why this game was switched to a Friday night was never publicised and angered the Cardiff support particularly as there have never been any problems at Layer Road - apart from upsetting the local M.P. but that's very easy to do. The journey and (un)attractiveness of the opposition usually means this is a trip where the genuine, hardcore supporter only attends the game anyway. It is a situation however that Cardiff fans should be used to, the last time we played away on the Saturday prior to Xmas was in 1988!!
The City fans who attended this game will have cursed the switch even more after a horrendous journey. Driving conditions were poor - rain, fog patches, it went dark very early in the gloom - and whether you travelled clockwise or anti-clockwise on the M25 (Colchester is 60 miles on the opposite of London to Cardiff if you're unfamiliar, a near 500 mile round trip), you encountered accidents and delays. We chose anti-clockwise having heard about accidents clockwise only to run into worse. At one stage, we genuinely feared missing the game but, after 6 hours on the road by car, we just managed a couple of fast pints and games of pool before very luckily finding a parking space right outside the ground when traffic was parked up to a mile away in the restricted residential area around the ground.
Those City fans who will sit down to watch Chicken Run on Christmas Day probably felt like they were on its set inside the ground. Layer Road is a decrepit stadium, quite possibly made from the remants of Meccano sets thrown away after Xmas in years gone by. If you have a fetish for corrugated iron and rusting metal, Layer Road is your Mecca.
Standing City fans were housed under a cowshed, sorry narrow small terrace, behind one goal and at the opposite end with the most stunning toilets in Britain - a breezeblock contraption with no air vents and don't you know it. At least this time, the Block Hole of Colchester had lights, a very welcome addition.
Thos who sat were diagonally opposite us in a small plastic seated stand which doubled up as the Family Stand, the only signs of new life at the ground in the past 50 years. The Colchester boys - whose main protagonist was again a 50 something balding man who should know better and who probably can't wait to get into his new slippers and dressing gown and listen to Val Doonican on Xmas Day - were housed in another cowshed to one side of the pitch whilst the main stand on the opposite side looks so old that it probably still has the home fans throwing their flat caps in the air shouting "hurrah" and "bravo" whenever the U's score a goal.
Colchester are a homely club without great support, tonight's attendance of was average. It was however boosted by the first recorded sighting of Fan's fans at a Cardiff City game as 50 or so Chinese turned en masse just before kick-off and then sat within the home support. It could, of course, have been Fan's immediate family!
The home side trade on the cast offs of other teams, journeymen and the occasional star find. With Ipswich, a recent Premiership side, only 20 miles away and an unremarkable history that roughly consists of beating Leeds in a '70's FA Cup game, winning the Division Three play offs but losing the Auto Windscreens final 5 years ago but, most of all, bringing home football's ultimate silverware - The Watney Cup in 1971 - their current standing of mid-table in Division Two is about as good as life gets.
It is in these type of surroundings however that City really have to show their mettle and show their attitude and bottle. Fan Zhiyi took the call to arms a little too literally - more later. Fifteenth placed at kick-off, the U's had won 3 and lost 3 of their opening 10 home leagues games with only 8 scored, and 7 conceded, easily the lowest aggregate in Division Two. Significantly for City though, they had beaten Wigan and drawn with Bristol City at home and were on a 4 game unbeaten league run, their best of the season.
Cardiff went into the game with some problems - Gabbidon and Hamilton injured, Maxwell having lost all form and confidence - but Rhys "I'll run the right side on my own" Weston was back after being badly missed with suspension last week. Nobody though would have predicted Lennie's line up.
It was a basic 4-4-2 with the congested three man midfield and lopsided winger which City generally adopt. Croft was expected to revert to his left back role in which he has excelled all season after a mini-disaster on the right in an emergency last weekend but was amazingly (amazingly to the fans anyway) dropped to the bench in favour of Chris Barker. In midfield, Leggy was pulled into a central role with Kav and Boland but, instead of Bowen in the 'hole' or on the wing, Lennie opted for Andy Campbell in the Leggy role on the left too. In the mist and gloom, it took most of us 20 minutes or so to work out what was going on. With Lennie effectively giving another chance to his two big signings so far, it also infers that Jason Bowen has a bit part, if any, in Lennie's plans as he turns to just about anyone except him.
The result of this team engineering was certainly a brighter start for City in a blistering opening few minutes that swung end to end with City having the better of it as they had and wasted openings but were also lucky not to go behind too.
In the opening 5 minutes, Andy Campbell fired wide, Earnie brought a save from Brown, a couple of crosses and a corner was cut out before a great missed chance as Colchester's defenders fell asleep to a looping Weston cross which Earnie met unmarked on the 6 yard box. He didn't seem to expect it and harmlessly headed over the bar when he had the time to do whatever he wanted.
Colchester fought back with two chances of their own. Rapley fired a drive over the bar wide from 20 yards, Dean Morgan was giving Barker a torrid time early on and one of his crosses from a player free at the far post but, like Earnie, he seemed to lose belief as nodded into the ground and harmlessly wide when a goal looked inevitable.
City were buzzing, putting their foot in and winning most of the 50/50's, a welcome change. Unfortunately some of the problems easily became apparent as some great, fast passing football which pulled Colchester apart all too often broke down due to no real incisiveness through central midfield and most moves invariably went left where Andy Campbell flattered to deceive. He regularly cut inside, made space and found gaps but then didn't know what to do when shooting opportunities were on or players were available. After a while, he was finding the overlapping Barker whose crossing was poor before he eventually stopped overlapping altogether.
A couple of us at the back of the terrace enjoyed one Campbell shot though which fizzed wide and hit us. We tried to take the ball home before one of the London based fans threw it back only to hit the low roof and have the ball bounce back at him.
After such a frantic opening, things predictably settled. Colchester never showed much but City's defending looked uneasy, Fan showed good touches and interceptions and was often starting moves from the back. Going forward, City lacked real penetration. Crosses and corners were not good, a regular theme, just about all cut out by the home keeper. Thorne was in a physical battle but nearly nodded into the corner in winning one low header. Boland fired wide.
City however saved their best for the closing moments of the half as Kav fired straight at Brown before Andy Campbell, a near £1 Million striker, showed the finishing touches of a £1 striker following a superb one-two with Peter Thorne, he scuffed his shot wide with the goal gaping from 12 yards. Thirty seconds later however, City opened their account.
It was a goal from nothing as EARNIE received the ball outside the area, ran at defenders (an art Cardiff City badly lack) to cause panic then somehow managed to turn just inside the box before firing a low left foot shot past a startled Brown from 10 yards. Superb technique, Earnie somersaulted, City fans partied. The singing from the Cardiff section was excellent all night, the Colchester cowshed helped make for a reasonable atmosphere considering the crowd too.
Half-time: COLCHESTER 0 CARDIFF 0
At half-time, all of us had the feeling that City would show their authority, stay calm and composed and go onto an assured victory but when have we ever done things the easy way? Half-time entertainment consisted of checking the picture of the Colchester ladies team Xmas greeting in the programme decked out in shorts and scarves to cover their upper bits - a scary bunch of Essex girls who may have struggled passing quality control to be admitted to Kiwi's!! They should sign up that catering girl from the Margate game who wouldn't have looked out of place with them!!
Colchester replaced Morgan with Atangana, a 23 year old from Cameroon who, no doubt, the U's will hope can follow in the steps of Lua Lua. He has scored in 7 in the last 7 reserve games but although he showed flashes, Rhys Weston, leading by example on the right in all he does, had him in his pocket but we have other defenders very capable of letting us down.
In a week where Spencer Prior showed speed for the first time - a £500 fine and 5 points for driving way too fast - and pleaded with fans not to panic (funny from a player who gives us more cause than most to do exactly that), he had another personal nightmare.
Fan passed inside to him 35 yards out. I haven't a clue how a professional sporting adult can do it but Spencer Prior fell over his own feet (how many times has he done that this season?). MICKY STOCKWELL took advantage by bursting onto it, Prior as the last man and sprawled out desperately lunged across the pitch to bring Stockwell down but missed again and the former Ipswich player buried a low shot past the advancing Alexander. An absolute disaster which will only raise more questions about Prior, the hero in his native Essex when City last visited Colchester in April as he scored the only goal of the game.
City's response was almost immediate. The referee was Premiership referee Uriah Rennie, a showman who has/had an agent. He was annoyed both teams and their fans with strange and inconsistent decisions.
Colchester fans were infuriated by Rennie awarding a foul on Kav then booking Izzet (Muzzy's bro) who stood in the way as Boland attempted a quick free kick. The free-kick was brought forward 10 yards, Brown making an excellent stop as Kav's dipping set piece was dropping inside the far post.
On 59 minutes after a flashpoint, Rennie courted more controversy with a sensational double sending off. Fan Zhiyi was marshalling a ball out of play for a goal kick when Rapley, a pacy forward who had caused problems, ran into the back of him challenging. In the aftermath, Rapley said something, Fan reacted stupidly by pushing him in the chest (powderpuff stuff) before getting touched back. Fan lost it, flapping his arms about as if he wanted to kill Rapley. As one City fan remarked, for a Chinaman, his Kung Fu moves were crap, his motioning actually looked reminiscent of Hong Kong Phooey. Players moved in, Weston and Boland holding Fan.
It was out of context with the game, both players needed talking to, yellow cards if necessary but Rennie immediately showed red to both, most didn't know what was going on until the players trudged off. Rennie's decision was ludicrous but you cannot condone Fan's stupidity as an "experienced" pro. He proved what many say, he has a very suspect temperament. It was his 4th red card in his last 30 British games. The reasons are often senseless and include headbutting another player and laying hands on a referee.
Unless someone gains fitness or a new player is brought in, it looks like Cardiff's central defence for the Xmas programme will be Barker and Prior, no other real option is available unless Lennie gambles with Collins but we know he won't.
There was some irony in the sending off as it was probably more beneficial to Cardiff in a must win game, Colchester lost a striker, City lost a defender - seemed a good swap to me - and The Bluebirds upped the tempo.
A powerful Leggy 25 yard drive brought a good save from Brown but that was bettered by two stunning stops as he showed superb reactions to deny Prior, trying to atone, as he met a Legg corner with a great close range flick and then got down to stop Kav as he chested a ball past a defender and hit a low drive that looked destined for his bottom corner. Unsurprisingly, Brown won Colchester's man of the match.
Colchester's response was very limited. Mostly long range shots that knocked some rust of the roof above our heads and Atangana showing great abilities to be caught offside. The game was drifting, it was getting increasingly hard to see how City could win. The most obvious shout was Bowen coming on for Campbell. With the game already stretched with the dismissals, it seemed made for him.
It needed a moment of magic and in Earnie, we are lucky to be blessed with someone who can conjure better than anything I've ever admired from David Blaine, David Copperfield and ... erm ... Paul Daniels combined!
76 minutes gone, Neil Alexander belted a ball downfield. Thorne and a defender jumped, it dropped over them with Earnie wide and the ball on his left. There was literally nothing on and it happened in a blink.
Only genius can make something of it and in EARNIE, what genius we have. With everyone expecting him to control the ball, he instinctively fired the ball from a wide angle on his left foot over Brown who was helpless as the ball flew over him, hit the inside of his far post as it dropped and went over the line, possibly via his other post. Goal of the season contest is already over, it was supreme, a goal so good that it would be shown time and again if it had taken place at a higher level.
Only special talents can produce something like that, you know a special goal when fans are still celebrating for ages after the restart and the look of awe and wonderment on the faces of all at the City end who celebrated and hugged each other said it all. A goal to grace any game in the world and it made every minute of the trip, those traffic jams, worthwhile.
It deserved to win the game and I'm pleased to say that it did. Colchester continued to pepper City's goal but only from distance. Alexander had to cut out crosses but never had to save, the only danger was us behind the goal getting hit. Colchester also brought a new dimension to the wall pass as one corner kick of theirs was caught by Alexander under pressure in the centre of goal as it bounced back into play hitting the low roof over us.
City for their part played out the remaining time well. Croft came on for Campbell, Leo replaced Earnie at the death. Kav brought another good save from Brown and although City had partial late openings, they preferred to run the ball into corners or pass around to kill time.
Rennie signalled 3 minutes added time but somehow made it last over 5 minutes. There were thoughts of Plymouth revisited as Colchester had a corner that was well over time but when it was cleared, the final whistle went, players and fans celebrated. Earnie taking a special ovation and he was the only player who purposely went to both ends of the ground to acknowledge City fans at either end. What a guy!!
The journey home was less fraught but it was still 2am, with stops, by the time we got back. The problems we all know with City's players and formations still exist but the results keep coming in and that is the most important thing of all. Make sure your Xmas drinks include raising a toast to City but, most of all, Earnie who gave many of us the best present of all.
Report from FootyMad
Robert Earnshaw's tremendous season continues as he almost single-handedly defeated hosts Colchester.
The red-hot Cardiff striker boosted his tally for the season to 21 goals in all competitions with a strike in each half.
Both goals came out of the blue. An even first half was nearing the end when Earnshaw surprised keeper Simon Brown with a slick strike on the stroke of half time.
Earnshaw controlled a pass from Willie Boland and turned to fire a left-footed shot in at the near post. Keeper Brown hardly moved a muscle.
Yet Colchester were rightly back on level terms thanks to Mick Stockwell's first goal of the season in the 52nd minute.
Stockwell capitalised on a slip by defender Spencer Prior following a backpass from Graham Kavanagh and Stockwell raced through to slip the ball beyond the reach of the keeper.
The U's would have been good value for a point, but Earnshaw denied them this with a great effort in the 77th minute.
There seemed little danger following Neil Alexander's huge kick forward but the alert Earnshaw was on hand to lob over keeper Brown and lift Cardiff back into the top two.
Cardiff manager Lennie Lawrence said: "I thought we were in control in the first half and deserved our lead. But the mistake led to Colchester getting an equaliser and that perked them up a bit.
"It needed a terrific solo goal from Earnshaw to win us the game," added Lawrence.
It was a disappointing night for Colchester who had managed to pull themselves clear of the relegation zone following recent away victories and Notts County and Luton.
They had their chances against Cardiff in the first half, teenage striker Dean Morgan spooned a header over the bar and then fellow striker Kevin Rapley blasted over from a good position.
Rapley was later sent off along with City’s Chinese defender Fan Zhiyi for a second-half clash.
External reports
The Western Mail
Cardiff's Official website
Colchester Utd view