When two teams near the the top of a table play each other, a variety of things can happen. Clearly, the Sky commentator was expecting a football classic between two teams that popped the ball about as they found it easy to create chances.
In my experience, matches between evenly matched sides in the same division tend to end with the sides canceling each other other out in a draw or a single goal win.
Cardiff went to Bolton today this lunchtime and did not impress their fan base.
It seems,that we’ve been good enough to be top of the league for most of what has been just about a quarter of a season.
For ninety minutes, we never looked like conceding today, apart from a moment in added time when Nathan Trott finally had something to do with a cross into a dangerous area.
That should have been that. City had their warning, but didn’t heed it. Instead, Tanetswa Nayakuhwa, who, ironically, was giving one of his better substitute City performances, opted for the sort of brainless cross field pass I used to specialize in when I was 14 , but I would have have had the football wherewithal even then not to have played such a dangerous pass towards the opposition ‘s most potent attacker.. However, Nyakhuwa attempted a forty yard low, cross field ball which, of course, fell into the path of Bolton’s most in form player Amario Cozier-Duberry and a few seconds later , the ball was in the net courtesy of a finish completely at odds with the sort of play we’d seen before then. It was a fine finish from about twenty yards
There was one positive and surprising selection for Cardiff as Alex Robertson was fit enough for his first league performance of the season. Robertson’s attitude in the pre season matches he played left a bit to be desired. However, I thought he was one of our better performers, today and, on an afternoon where so many were guilty of cheaply conceding possession, Robertson was one of noyot many who valued possession.
Unfortunately, for a squad that has a good level of individual ability, City had a shocking ball retention record and the indictment presented by the match stats say it all
So. Again, another short report because there’s so little to say about the game. I nmight not have thought it at the time, l but David Turnbull’s header we wide about about 25 minututes was about as ascloce as we came to scoring today and, belieeve me, it was was ‘t very close at all. As is too often the case, defenders were our best passers of the ball with Turnbull, again , not really doing the businesss in the middle of the park and Rubin Colwill g9iveing what I’d say was his sloppiest passing performance of the season so far.
This was like Port Vale and Stockport in that City did not really look like they were tryinmg to win the game. A 0-0 draw would have been a saitsactory outcome I suppose, bu7t we seem happy to settle for such a score very early into proceedings.
Away from the first team, the under 18s were beaten 3-0 by Bournemouth and the under 21s drew 2-2 at QPR with Dak Mafico and Troy Perrett scoring.
