Cardiff were keen to push on after the excellent win at the Brittania Stadium at the weekend, but were forced into team changes after Julian Gray returned to Selhurst Park after a two month loan spell. City wanted to take an extra month's loan, but Palace weren't keen and wanted us to stump up the cash immediately. Lawrence wasn't keen to pay £500k for the midfield man and so we are currently at stalemate. With Gray out of contract at the end of the season I fancy things might be different as the season goes on, and we may yet get our man.
Kavanagh is still out injured, along with Weston and Lee who are well on the way to recovery. There was a surprise inclusion of Gareth Whalley on the bench, who has been out for six weeks with tendonitis.
Before the game it was obvious this was never going to be the biggest crowd of the season. The pubs were quieter than usual, and Preston brought less than 100 fans with them for the long midweek trip south. The atmosphere was subdued from the off, nothing like the "cauldron of noise" predicted on the PNE official website in their match preview.
City kicked off attacking the Canton Stand, with Preston in all yellow. The first half was scrappy and of few chances. We did however discover that Preston are a good solid side. They work hard, play the ball down the channels to excellent front men Ricardo Fuller and Cresswell and they do create chances.
The game started slowly, City playing without the edge that has been a feature of home games this season. Missing Kavanagh and Gray, clear chances were far and few between and the Bluebirds were reduced to attempts from distance. Thorne hitting a snap shot from 30 yards well wide being the best of the chances early on.
Preston pressured well, with Fuller making life very difficult for our centre backs. Thorne nearly opened the scoring with an attempt from distance which deflected of a PNE player and nearly looped over the retreating Gould in the away team's goal. It took a fine save to stop the ball going over the line. That was on the half hour mark and seemed to spark the game into a little bit of life, with Preston going straight up the other end and testing Alexander with a couple of quick fire shots on goal. Alexander made one especially good save, tipping round the post after going down to his right hand side.
John Robinson had been looking a bit out of sorts and was taken off ten minutes before the break to be replaced by Gareth Whalley, making his first start since the Coventry away game in October.
Half time 0-0, and a disappointing first half, where Preston made it really difficult for us and it was hard to see where a goal would come from. I'm sure I wasn't the only one who thought at the break that one goal either way might win the game. Shows what I know...
The second half was in complete contrast to the first, with chances left, right and centre and goals flying in all over the place. Earnshaw was unlucky with an acrobatic effort shortly after the restart but it was the away side who broke the deadlock.
Preston took the lead in the 52nd minute. Preston's USA international left back Lewis firing in a shot which Alexander could only parry out, and the excellent Fuller was there to stroke home from 12 yards. Things looked grim after the goal went in as the North End central midfielder Etuhu was played in completely unmarked but somehow managed to hoof the ball onto the roof of the Canton Stand.
Lawrence was getting impatient by the time the hour mark came and was all ready to bring on Andy Campbell. One or two of the fans around me were slagging off Langley, wanting him to be subbed. They soon went quiet though. RICHARD LANGLEY picked up the ball on the right hand side, cut inside across the edge of the 18 yard box and picked a lovely left footed shot into the bottom corner of the Grange End goal. Fantastic stuff and City were well back in it.
This saw City have their best spell of the game. Gareth Whalley looked like he’d never been away, linking the midfield together well and looking like he might be the man to pick the pass to set one of the strikers free. He had an effort from range clip the post as the Bluebirds turned the screw. Earnshaw broke free, scuffed a left footed effort over Gould but a PNE defender slid back just in time to clear. Preston always looked dangerous on the break, and Vidmar and Gabbidon will know they’ve been in a game.
As time ran out, Lawrence threw on Campbell for Bonner as we went all out to win the game. Unfortunately a defensive mixup saw Fuller receive the ball in acres of space on the right hand side, and he was given all day to pick out Healy who passed the ball neatly past Alexander at his near post. The Preston fans had one of those classic “delayed reaction” celebrations, as the ball went in at the Canton end and they couldn’t tell if it was a goal or not. Six minutes to go and 1-2 down.
At this point a good number of people in the home end left. I’ve never understood this with only a one goal deficit, and in this case they missed a great fightback. Preston backed right off and made the usual error of sitting too deep, and City had two thirds of the pitch to themselves as all 11 PNE players sat back. Barker was instrumental in the last five minutes, the ball ending at his feet on numerous occasions to play balls into the box from out wide.
The clock was running down, only 20 seconds to go and Barker stood up a marvelous ball to the far post, the whole ground watched PETER THORNE hang in the air and get a classic striker’s header down, under and through the goalkeeper, into the net, and Ninian Park went mad. We’d salvaged a fantastic point when it really didn’t look on at all. With three minutes injury time we might even have won it with a tad more composure in front of goal, but a draw was a fair reflection of the match as a whole.
Nearly half the season gone and we are sitting just inside the playoff spots in 6th place. This Saturday sees City making the long trip east to Carrow Road to play Norwich. The Canaries have an excellent home record and it will be difficult for the Bluebirds. The next five league games after this see us play Millwall (h), Walsall (h), Watford (a), Rotherham (h) and Bradford (a). Lawrence will no doubt expect a good return from these games to keep City in the playoff hunt
Report from FootyMad
Peter Thorne's last minute header rescued a point for Cardiff City after they had looked set to lose their second successive match at Ninian Park against Preston North End.
"Overall it was a fair result" said Preston manager Craig Brown "but we had won the game twice and threw it away both times. But credit to Cardiff for fighting back."Ricardo Fuller put Preston ahead in the 51st minute when he pounced after Neil Alexander had failed to hold a cross shot from Eddie Lewis.
The Bluebirds equalised against the run of play in the 63 rd minute when Richard Langley cut in from the right before firing a crisp shot past the diving Jonathan Gould in the Preston goal.
Slack defensive work again let the visitors in and Fuller caused problems down the line before sub David Healy was left to drive into the corner of the net and put Preston back in front in the 83rd minute.
Just as it seemed Brown's side would take all three points up popped Thorne to head in a cross from Chris Barker for the equaliser.
City's Welsh international centre back Daniel Gabbidon believes his side have to get back to doing the basics defensively.
"We will have to sort out the defence as we have given away too many goals lately after being really good earlier in the season. But, I am sure we only need a little fine tuning as we have played some good footballing teams, so you have to give them credit as well."City boss Lennie Lawrence felt that it needed Preston to score in order to spark his own side.
He said: "We were delighted to get that late equaliser but, overall, we certainly deserved to draw.
"I'm very pleased with how the season has gone so far but we are still giving the opposition too many scoring chances and we are far too vulnerable on the counter attack." Cardiff lost John Robinson with a calf injury and Lawrence may now have to bring a midfield player in on loan before the visit to Norwich on Saturday.
External reports
Western Mail