Cardiff City kept up their good start to their season by making it ten points from four games to remain in second place with coming up to ten percent of the season played – if we keep this up, we’re on for a hundred points plus!
I’m not holding my breath on getting a century of points though because tonight’s 1-0 win at an AFC Wimbledon team widely tipped to finish bottom of the league by many before a ball was kicked presented a challenge which it looked like City would be unable to answer until a goal in added time swung the game our way.
I think the result was a fair one because we were the better side over the ninety minutes, but a Wimbledon team that owed their promotion through the Play Offs mostly to their excellent defensive record, clearly know how to stay in games when having to absorb pressure.
Evidence of this was provided in the first half as City, playing far better than they did in their only previous away game at Port Vale, enjoyed a domination of the ball and territory as complete as it was against Rotherham on Saturday. However, it produced very little in terms of chances to show for that domination. Some of this was down to us lacking a cutting edge or a good enough quality final ball, but Wimbledon’s defending was very good for much of the time and, on this showing, there are definitely worse teams than them in League One.
City were never as dominant or impressive in the second half and gradually Wimbledon, confident after two wins in three in the league and a League Cup win, came out from their defensive trenches to look the more likely to break the deadlock through the game’s last quarter as their more direct attacking play resulted in more near things than our more intricate approach could come up with.
It had reached the stage where, after thinking a goal had to come for City through the first half, I was happy to accept a second successive away goalless draw through the last ten minutes. However, as the match went into added time, the pendulum swung back somewhat and it was us who looked like we could win – as we duly did in the ninety second minute.
City made two changes, one of them very predictable as Joel Bagan came in for Dak Mafico at left back and the other less so as David Turnbull, many people’s man of the match on Saturday, made way for Joel Colwill.
The younger Colwill was in the action straight away as City made a forceful start by stamping the BBM approach on the game from the off. In the third minute, Joel drove deep into the Wimbledon penalty area in the inside right channel only to be felled by an impetuous challenge by Steve Seddon. It was as obvious a penalty as you could wish to see, but, referee David Rock began as he would go on by awarding a goal kick!
Mr Rock constantly gave fifty/fifties in the home team’s favour, he stopped a dangerous City attack because of a clash of heads, which was fair enough, but then he restarted play with a free kick to the home side. He spotted a handball that was hard to see on replays of the incident when Cian Ashford hit the post in the second half. He then ended the night with another howler of a decision when City cleared a corner deep into added time and when Isaak Davies played it forward, we had a two on one with the home goalkeeper Nathan Bishop, who had come up for the corner with his team trailing well into added time, out of position, but Mr Rock stopped play to award City a free kick for a foul on Davies.
There was also a penalty claim against a Wimbledon defender for handball which didn’t go our way (I must say mind it was nowhere near as obvious a penalty as the earlier one was).
Mr Rock was a homer, simple as that, and, if he had done his job properly and awarded us a penalty in the opening minutes, we could have maybe ended up with a much more comfortable night.
As it was though, despite all of our attractive and enjoyable approach play, there was only a Yousef Salech header from a Ronan Kpakio cross that flew just wide, a viciously struck Ollie Tanner shot that did not bend back round enough to be on target and a Tanner cross just out of Joel Colwell’s reach to really worry Wimbledon in the first half.
For their part, home captain Jake Reeves flashed a shot not too far over, but there was little else of note in attack from the Wombles until they got a few crosses in during added time when City were coming to terms with the loss of Ollie Tanner after he injured himself falling into an advertising hoarding which necessitated him being carried off on a stretcher.
Tanner was replaced by the less dynamic Chris Willock, but after his no show at Port Vale, Willock’s more deliberate style became more of a factor as the game moved into its final stages and, unlike some of our substitutes, he could be said to have made a positive impression.
For a spell after half time, City were still fluent and forceful, but the introduction of Turnbull, Davies and Callum Robinson for Joel Colwill, Ashford and Salech didn’t work for me – I know that sounds daft when you consider two of them combined for the goal, but the ball kept on coming back at us in the final quarter on a night when, more and more, you had to look at defenders when trying to find our best players.
I say that, but Rubin Colwill was bright and confident if a little careless at times with his passing, yet, rather like the team in the first half, it looked like there was a big threat there, but nothing really came of it.
All of the back four did some valuable defensive work when called upon on a night where a game that was always watchable produced just three on target efforts. The first came from Alistair Smith when his long range effort was easily held by Nathan Trott while the other two provided the late drama at either end of the pitch.
The home side came closest to breaking the deadlock when Smith I think it was shot just wide from the edge of the penalty area, but Willock’s cross caused problems and when the ball dropped to Robinson eight yards out it seemed we were finally going to get a goal, but his well struck shot was blocked with City players claiming a penalty for handball.
Home sub Omar Bugiel looked to be in on goal, but was robbed of possession just as he tried to shoot and then when Calum Chambers, on for Bagan, swung in a lovely cross from the right, Robinson headed over when he really should have scored.
That seemed to City’s last chance gone, but when Willock’s cross was half cleared to Turnbull, his shot looked to be going just wide until it was nudged in by Davies from six yards out.
Still there was drama as, just about for the first time on the night, some weak defending left another sub, Antwoine Hackford free to get in a cross shot which was going in until Trott produced his first great save for City as he turned the low shot around a post.
Finally, a quick note to record that the under 21’s won impressively by 3-0 at Crewe yesterday afternoon thanks a goal by Troy Perrett and two by young Rob Tankiewicz who I believe is still sixteen..
