Five weeks into the new season, just 4 Championship games played and then a fortnight's break - it almost felt as if the season was starting again. So, after no City games for 14 days, this was the first of 5 in 15 days and we're live on Sky, this and next weekend. The fixture list is difficult at times.
To accommodate the whims of Sky, this was a game starting at the odd time 5:20pm. I guess it meant an easy journey. For the first time this season, I gave a City game a miss. With all the hassle you get off Devon plod, the insistence on membership cards and the general hassle you get everytime in Plymouth, Sky was a blessing. So, instead of a 310 round trip journey down the M5, I had a haircut, went for a stroll around Cosmeston, popped into work (anything to avoid watching rugby!) and settled down for my shortest trip of the season - that 18 inch stretch for the remote control followed by a 24 inch reach to grab the first tinnie and a sandwich (prawn of course!).
Not that a fortnight's break seemed to have done City much good. Joe Ledley had only sufficiently recovered from a dead leg with Wales in Slovakia to be a City sub and miss his first Championship start for 92 games (a Sky stat!), Steve MacLean was out for three months with an injury in a reserve game, Ricky Scimeca is absent for longer still with an injury in the same game, Robbie Fowler was on the bench with a back problem, two of our three centre-halves - Loovens and Purse - were absent and Dave Jones and City had done nothing to bring in any loans during the break. So "our bigger better squad with 2 players in every position" - that's Dave Jones saying that, not me, set off to sunny Devon on a glorious mid-September day with temperatures in the 70's needing several rolls of paper to cover our cracks.
To compensate all that - sorry, I should really say that because of all that - there were shock returns for Kevin McNaughton (looking splendidly grey-haired on telly) who wasn't expected back for a couple more weeks but came straight in as an emergency centre-half and a bigger shock again seeing Thommo on the sub's bench as he wasn't expected back before Xmas.
It meant City went with Turnbull, Gunter-Johnson-McNaughton-Capaldi, Sinclair-Rae-McPhail-Whittingham, Hasselbaink-Parry, Subs were Oakes, Fowler, Thommo, Blake and Ledley.
Plymouth are your archetypal mid-table side and have started the season in that vein with a win, a loss and 2 draws, those draws in both their previous home games so today made it a hat-trick for them, lovely.
The opening phase of the game was Plymouth pressure but scrappy with little flow or quality on show and it really didn't get any better all half. The start was almost exclusively in Cardiff's half with some deep defending but it was 8 minutes before the game's first shot, Norris blazing well over from a difficult angle. City, playing in black but for no apparent reason, had their first attacking a couple of minutes later as Sinclair won the game's first corner but it came to nought. City had a better chance shortly after Parry got behind the defence but, in teeing up JFH, City couldn't get a shot away.
The atmosphere sounded good, Tony Capaldi getting boos and abuse any time he touched the ball visiting his previous club but City fans responded by chanting out his name which got a God Save The Queen anthem in response - yuck! It didn't change all game.
With the game getting no better past the mid-point of the half, it remained hustle and bustle but draw as real entertainment. Neither side were able to put more than two passes together and continually finding opposition players, Cardiff had no tempo and unable to move out of their gear, not helped by umpteen offsides going forward, I knew I could safely go to the bog - one with The Echo inside - far more civilised than Ninian Park but City were starting to show some more threat as a Sinclair cross went unchallenged across the face of goal, McPhail fired a rising drive wide and Gunter scuffed an effort straight at McCormack, the first on target from distance by either side and nothing to get excited about.
On the half-hour, disaster for City just as I cracked open another tinnie and sent a text to a mate saying, "it's not good but I think we'll do'em" - premature etextulation! Another soft goal from Plymouth's tactic of bombarding crosses to the City box. By hook or by crook, Cardiff had been clearing but a poor header out under pressure dropped in the box, the dangerous EBANKS-BLAKE probably couldn't believe how easy it was as he chested down, was able to take a stride or two forward unchallenged deep in the box and place home high past Turnbull, Poor defending. Who was supposed to have been marking their main man? Replays suggested McNaughton but coming back from a lay-off and playing out of position, mistakes were inevitable to some extent.
City had a chance 9 minutes before the break with a 20 yard free-kick in the centre of goal, JFH and his Power Boots lined it up but he opted for curl and direction, the only thing rattled was the plastic seats hit high in the stand behind. Five minutes later, Plymouth had a free-kick in an identical position which hit higher and wider into the opposite stand summing up what was a half of crap to be honest. So poor that all bar watching City and Argyle fans were probably turning over and watching You've Been Framed or re-runs of any old rubbish on UK Gold, anything had to better than this.
It was the usual story with Cardiff - quite a bit of possession and threat but nothing at all to show for it at one end and letting themselves down at the other as Argyle led with the only meaningful shot on goal by either side - enough said. At least I could pop to the garden for a bit more sun, there;'s a lot to be said for armchair supporting sometimes!
Half-time: PLYMOUTH 1 CARDIFF 0
Cardiff started the second half with more intent but were soon looking sloppy again and a mess at the back, Plymouth's first ball into the box saw another inadequate header and Cardiff players not reacting and Timor only just being denied with a blocked shot when he was 3rd or 4th favourite, at least, to get there. Back came City with, at last, a shot in earnest as a chance fell to Whittingham but on the right, his decent drive was blocked by McCormick . Moments later, City broke with purpose but Parry's ball to Whittingham in space was miscontrolled.
If I ever doubted staying at home and not going to Plymouth, those doubts were further removed (at first anyway!) as Ebanks-Blake got his second and Plymouth doubled their lead. Three minutes before the hour, a superb home move starting deep in their home half swept forward but Hayles' header after a 6 man move was straight at Turnbull but seconds later, they broke forward again with City's defence standing off, BUZACKY shot unchallenged, Turnbull did well to get down and block but EBANKS-BLAKE swept home the rebound, yet again, with no challenge. Not getting a loan centre-half was now hurting and costing City.
The hour saw me starting to get ready to go out and Robbie Fowler come on for Whittingham to join JFH with Parry going wide. A half chance arrived as Johnson crossed, the keeper flapped but atoned by charging out to block Parry for another unproductive corner kick.
A couple of minutes later and our legendary hitmen looked as lethal as a goldfish as a mix up in the Pilgrims defence presented the ball to Fowler in the box but he failed to be alert enough to take the ball past or around the keeper then with the ball loose and the goal open, Hasselbaink swept wide of an inviting net. Gavin Rae's effort was so high and long that I stood outside my back door in Barry waiting to catch it.
From nowhere, with Cardiff pushing on but looking desperate, a lifeline and gaol, a good one too. Sinclair, switching sides with Parry, pushed the ball to JFH, he turned and played the ball across the box, Fowler skipped, Parry hit a superb low drive which was blocked by McCormick but GAVIN RAE was on hand to prod into the unguarded net from three yards for his first Bluebirds goal and second goal of any sort in three and a half years.
Cardiff were now pouring forward for the equaliser and taking chances, Hasslebaink's acrobatic thump was blocked, Fowler trying all sorts of flicks but few any good and a series of crosses but, compared to the home side, of much poorer quality. Ebanks-Blake was just denied by McNaughton as Plymouth got away on a rare break. City came within a whisker of equalising with 7 minutes to go as the next generation Sky Masters combined as Sinclair fed JFH, his turn and cross in the box beat the keeper but glanced \off Fowler's head,
For the final six minutes and final onslaught, on came Thommo as a third striker. Back with his beard, looking like someone out of Lost but infamous for his lack of goals, he must love Plymouth as he netted home and away against them last season and was back for more.
Within moments of his introduction, he turned and shot on the edge of the box but straight as McCormack but next attack, incredibly, he levelled the game and sent my can flying into space ... well until it came back down on me head anyway! A ball from the left broke right, was played back to McNaughton, he swept it back to the box, Hasselbaink flicked and THOMMO the PREDATOR was there at the back post to squeeze home between keeper and his post, a quality finish. For a moment, I thought I was dreaming.
There were three minutes left, with four added, and the momentum's was City's, Dave Jones even went for it throwing on Joe Ledley for Gunter but it was the Pasty Biters who almost stole it with their own sub, Chadwick, firing just over.
A point was acceptable at the start of the day and more acceptable given how the game panned out but you can't help feeling it was two lost overall as the looked the better and stringer team but were awful at the back and really started too slowly ... although not as slow as Devon's police getting City fans out of the ground, they could still be seen there long after final whistle on Sky. However, even they were happy and had bragging rights overt the home fans so even they wouldn't have minded too much.
Unfortunately for Sky viewers, Cardiff City are back on there next Saturday. It has to be better than this but I doubt they'll be in a hurry to find out.
Report from FootyMad
Plymouth Argyle striker Sylvan Ebanks-Blake outgunned Cardiff's quartet of international strikers, but could not quite inspire the Pilgrims to a first league win of the campaign.
The former Manchester United youngster put the Pilgrims 2-0 up before the hour mark, but Cardiff bounced back to gain a share of the spoils.
With Steve Thompson and Robbie Fowler off the bench to make a four-man forward line alongside Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink and Paul Parry, Cardiff equalised when Gavin Rae and fellow Scot Thompson scored in the final 20 minutes.
Ebanks-Blake lit up a dull first half just after the half-hour when Cardiff failed to clear a free-kick from teenage Argyle midfielder Dan Gosling. The ball broke to Ebanks-Blake, who steered it high into Ross Turnbull's goal.
It was not until Argyle manager Ina Holloway introduced Hungarians Akos Buzsaky and Peter Halmosi from the bench for the start of the second half that the Pilgrims hit top gear.
The two midfielders only returned from midweek international duty on Friday but looked fresh when they came on for Gosling and Serb Bojan Djordjic.
It was Buszaky's raking drive from outside the box that created Ebanks-Blake's second. Turnbull got down well to parry the ball, only for the Argyle man to notch his fifth goal of the season by whipping home the rebound.
Cardiff manager Dave Jones threw on Fowler and the ex-Liverpool legend gave the visitors momentum.
A sweet Cardiff move ended with Parry driving in a shot that home goalkeeper Luke McCormick could only push into the path of Rae, who walked the ball home.
Thompson came on from the Cardiff bench with less than ten minutes to go and had been on the pitch just a few minutes when he steered home Hasselbaink's flick-on.
Even then Argyle nearly stole the three points in stoppage time, but Trevor Sinclair deprived Nick Chadwick with a magnificent cover tackle to keep the scores even.
External Reports
Plymouth Herald
Wales On Sunday