Barnsley 1-0 Cardiff

By: Oli | November 22nd, 2009

If scoring free-kicks is that easy, I think I’ll fancy a go. I’ve embedded two videos of it (when the extended Football League show highlights are stupidly taken down by the Football League, you an still watch the hugely entertaining version from the away end), and in both of them, especially the home made one, the shot takes a deflection that many mirrors would be proud of. If someone broke one when we came up, our seven games of bad luck seem to be over, as at the 8th time of asking we’ve beaten the Bluebirds. In the end.

There were two very good teams on Oakwell’s sodden pitch, both trying to pass it around. Parts of the Cardiff team were oozing class, people like Chopra. But, they had problems, and were clearly off form. It showed right from the start, as Colace produced his best performance this season to help Doyle take a strangle hold on the central midfield. They came up against little opposition, though, with McPhail absent, the Welsh side looked devoid of ideas in the middle. The game was broken up a lot, the conditions made a difference, but I think referee Kevin Wright did more to wreck the flow; his whistle blew more than the gale force wind howling around Barnsley.

There were few proper chances, and the extended highlights show how many of what there were came from set pieces. The side were good, but neither properly kicked off. Much of the game was very level, yet as the second half progressed, I thought we came out more and more on top. The 94th minute winner may have been lucky in the end, and the right result was probably a draw, but if one team had to win, the Reds were that team.

With Darren Moore out, there could be concerns over how organized we would be. There wasn’t, as Ryan Shotton moved into his less natural position in the center, but adapted perfectly. The mention in the highlights video is well deserved. I was scared when I heard the ambiguously selected Rob Kozluk was getting another start, because he’d be up against Peter Whittingham. I shouldn’t have been, he was solid all afternoon, and with the help of the winger’s recent Player of the Month award, the right flank was safe.

The attack was actually ineffective for large parts, having difficulty getting a proper passing move going. Colace actually did some play making, which was good to see. Anderson made little, and Hammill struggled with 3 or 4 markers all game. Bogdanovic had one of those games were he tries hard but doesn’t really get any where, while Macken played well, but was penalized every time he touched a Cardiff defender. Yet, without creating a clear chance we made enough half chances to justify the goal. While on the subject of chances, go to 4:00 in the extended highlights video. It’s a set piece, and the reverse angle quite clearly shows a man assaulting Foster’s shirt as our captain tries to reach the ball. There was no shout, but there could have been.

If you want to hear some thing from a Cardiff fan, what better place to go than Cardiff Offside.No doubt Martyn will write us something by the end of today, and I’ll get you a link as soon as possible. Talking of Cardiff fans, I’ve been only impressed with their attitude. On forums etc. they’ve all had a realistic and friendly attitude to the game, the performances and the result. They seem like a really good set of supporters.

Ratings
Kozluk: 8 – Really made a case for himself here, didn’t have to do a whole lot, but got it all right.
Shotton: 8 – Another high rating for him (sign him up).
Dickinson: 8 – First career goal, doesn’t mean your taking any more free-kicks though. He could do for us what Roberto Carlos did in Turkey, take a free-kick when no-one else wants them. (sign him up)
Colace: MOTM 9 – Different to his best performances under Davey, but still effective. More passing, less marking.
Bogdanovic: 6 – If I have to pick a worst player, Boggy might marginally get it, but it’s a close run thing. Not really bad, just not really good.
Chopra: He’d been about five yards from everyone of our free-kicks all game, charging out before it was taken. Glad to see the deflection come off him.

I said earlier about Stephen McPhail not playing. He’s been diagnosed with stage one malt lymphoma, a type of cancer. This will hand him a lengthy spell on the side-lines. There’s been anger against him because of the way he left, but in this case I’m prepared to acquiesce. Talking of acquiescence, Oasis may now be split up (that wasn’t part of the Masterplan, eh, Noel), but I’d encourage other Reds fans to follow in the Gallagher’s 1996 footstep as they suggest ‘Don’t look back in anger, at least, not today’.

Last minute winners always feel good when they go for you, and awful when they don’t. Cardiff are a good side, but we would never have kept ourselves in the game under Davey, and would never have got the chance to get lucky. Davey got 1 point from 5, Robins has got 23 points from 13. Decisive, non?