The game tied 1-1 in normal time, extra-time failing to separate the sides before a highly dramatic shoot out saw City triumph 5-4 on penalties and meant we could finally head home at about 10.40pm.
The game was entertaining, full of drama, twists and turns. City triumphed – just - Kiddy will certainly count themselves as unlucky. Even playing a side two divisions lower, it was still a familiar story in many respects for Bluebird watchers. Cardiff enjoyed the majority of possession and domination but rarely made clear cut chances. Their opponents defended strongly in numbers and relied on breaks but had City in trouble most times they got forward. Once more, City scored a good goal and conceded a stupid one, another simple set piece allowing a forward a free, unchallenged header. How many more times?
Those goals came in the first half and City certainly rode their luck in the second period. They got to extra-time after seeing their own woodwork hit threes times and also surviving an incredible miss. City became stronger late on and stronger again in extra-time, despite now being reduced to 10 men after Tony Vidmar was sent off for a second yellow card offence. And so it needed those penalties to send us home happy, it could so easily have gone the other way.
Ninian Park to Kidderminster’s Aggborough home ground is 99 miles – a trip up the M4/M50/M5 north for a couple of junctions before heading along an ‘A’ road for 15 miles into the town. Plenty of cars made the journey. All things considered, City’s support of nearly 500 fans in a 1,897 crowd was excellent.
Four of us went for a pre-match pint in a pub opposite the railway station bordering the ground and found it packed with Kidderminster’s equivalent of the soul crew. Nice clothes boys! One of them, probably mid-50’s, with slicked back white hair looked exactly like half the Crimewatch photofits! They were no problem though, even as we walked behind them through narrow lanes and new housing (where the market used to be) to get to the stadium. We ran them to the ground – right!
Aggborough is exactly how Subbutteo stadiums used to look. Although modernised, it was two small pitch length stands and two equally small covered terraces behind either goal. Not sure of capacity but that 1,897 crowd made the ground appear more than half full. Surely the crowd was bigger than that?
Lennie has undoubtedly failed to get the best out of his talented but small-sized squad and, for a man often criticised for his loyalty to certain players, he is now going through more ch-ch-ch-ch-changes than David Bowie in desperation to find a better balance and a winning formula.
The Ipswich debacle last weekend came despite three starting and two positional changes.- a new Lennie World Record considering that none of those alterations were enforced. This game, admittedly with rotation and some players with slight knocks rested, brought about another five changes.
It meant that the only players Lennie did not use in the past 72 hours under the microscope were first year pros (Lee Barrett and Anthony although the latter was on the bench), the injured (Thorne and Croft) and the ignored (with Barker on-loan at Crewe despite the severe loss of from by Tony Vidmar and Croft’s injury and Whalley training with Wigan. Neil Alexander also appeared on the bench for this game however).
The starting line-up was therefore Warner, Weston-Gabbidon-Collins-Vidmar, McAnuff-Bullock-Boland-Parry with Earnie and Campbell in attack. The bench were Alexander-Anthony-Fleetwood-Kavanagh-Robinson. Good to see Willie Boland fit and available again, he celebrated his return with a fearsome Midnight Express style crew cut but sod’s law that City finally start with two wide men on a night when no big strikers were available and our strike duo have just never been able to play together.
Opponents Kidderminster, like City, have started the season meekly and weakly. Predicted by many to be relegation and Conference material, they are currently mid-table with a win, two draws and a loss in League Two so far – that loss coming on the weekend at Mansfield despite taking a 1st minute lead. With Jan Molby in charge however and Stuart Roberts, scorer of their weekend goal, playing in attack and another ex-Swansea player in defence, at least it gave us good opportunity to air the now rarely heard “you Jack B******” chant for the first time in ages, although not with as much gusto as previous years since Swansea are not currently someone to worry about anymore.
Their only other known name was Micky Mellon and he’s only known because he has such a stupid name! What was astounding about Kidderminster were that they must have been the smallest side I’ve ever seen. They had one tall Danish striker, Christensen, accompanied by 10 midgets. They looked like a team on Mini-Me’s, half of them looked like they should have been ball boys and mascots, their run out song should definitely be “heigh-ho, heigh-ho, it’s off to work we go”. Unbelievably, as they used their three subs during the night, the players who came on where smaller again than the ones who went off!
The game started in cup style, end to end, with City having two good chances in the opening minutes. Within the first minute, Earnie made the home keeper, Danby, save low but he bettered that on quarter hour as an Earnie overhead kick was superbly stopped.
Kidderminster however were dangerous too and in Simon Brown, a tricky pacy winger, on loan from West Brom, they easily had the best performer on the pitch. City’s defence, and Rhys Weston, in particular, had a torrid night against him. Warner stopped one effort of his, another ripped the side netting but the keeper seemed to have it covered.
The game went through a lull, I went for a pee, quite a few others had the same idea. As happens, City scored! First goal I’ve missed this season, I’m sure it won’t be the last. It was a goal and move out of nothing, EARNIE playing quick passes with McAnuff and then a one-two with Parry before quick feet lost a defender and he was able to slot a low shot home. I missed his somersault too and was wound up that Parry scored – I only knew it was Earnie at full-time!
Thoughts City would settle, show their superiority and carve out a comfortable win were quickly forgotten as the lead last just four minutes as Kiddy equalised on 32. Brown was caught by Weston and failed to get advantage so play was pulled back. A simple ball was swung into the area where BROWN was unmarked in the centre of goal, 10 yards out, he headed the ball on and it beat Warner’s outstretched hand. Weston’s reaction made it clear that he had somehow lost his man, Warner seemed a little slow with his dive to stop the ball. Yet another sloppy, poorly defended goal – on and on it goes.
Just before half-time, more Weston and Warner hesitancy saw Brown sneak in again, this time his low shot just prevented the Harriers jumping into the lead as it cannoned off Warner’s legs. The keeper also looked uncertain as he elected to slap a cross that you would expect to be taken with ease, fortune favoured him though.
Half-time: KIDDERMINSTER 1 CITY 1
City fans were given one side of the end behind the goals but the interval saw both ends opened so we could use their snack bar with the strangest pies ever sold in a football ground. They were Sheperd’s pies served in takeaway style trays that proved to be four inches of potato covering a layer of meat and gravy. All that for £3.40. Richard Langley, not playing, was at the head of the queue, I think he settled for a £1.20 cup of tea.
The second half for City was very poor indeed. They demonstrated perfectly why they are having a poor start to the season and Lennie is starting the feel under pressure and earning some wrath from fans. City’s midfield looked disjointed, Parry faded as the game progressed, Bullock was anonymous and only McAnuff showed invention but he lacked incisiveness when he got near the penalty area as hesitant play and movement around him seemed to affect him.
City won a couple of corners around the hour but did nothing with them other than Gabbidon having a shot blocked and then found themselves under tremendous pressure from which they were so lucky to emerge unscathed. Brown was desperately as he cut inside Rhys and hit the outside of a post.
Moments later from a corner, a ball across goal by Brown was hit back on the half volley by Hatswell who had Warner beaten but the ball smacked off the inside his far post and came out. Next a free-kick was brilliantly curled around the wall but rebounded off the outside of Warner’s near post before Brown left Weston behind and put a ball across the face of goal when Christensen somehow shot back across goal and wide which was more difficult to do than scoring.
Lennie had seen enough and threw on Robbo and Kav for Bullock and Parry. Kav, thankfully, played an attacking role and looked so much better for it as did City. Cardiff took the upper hand but never looked like finishing the job in normal time although Danby denied Kav whose low 20 yard effort was goalbound. Earnie was only just denied getting on the end of a Kav threaded through ball too, possibly the first through ball he has seen all season.
Full-time: KIDDERMINSTER 1 CITY 1 extra-time required
Extra-time, as they nearly always do, never looked like separating the teams and the penalty shoot out always seemed inevitable. You get surreal thoughts as the game, particularly a Carling Cup 1st Round game, seems a little irrelevant and unimportant in the grand scheme of things.
Lennie Lawrence always looks like Monty Burns from The Simpsons, doesn’t he? Tonight we realised that if you painted Tony Warner’s head yellow, he would be Homer Simpson. Paul Parry, with his spikey hedgehog hair affair, could be Bart. I told you it was surreal.
One more surreal moment arrived as Willie Boland was forced to leave the pitch with, gasp horror, some blood on his shirt – the silly rule of the new season. Back he came after a couple of minutes wearing a shirt with no number and name, as now happens, but it still looked different to the others anyway. Two minutes later, Willie realised why – he’d put it on inside out..
City were dominant, Kidderminster were doing a Paula Radcliffe - their legs had gone. City’s superior fitness showed but they didn’t really convert that into shots on goal. One moment they should have scored arrived when Earnie broke clear, over-ran the ball but Andy Campbell latched onto it 15 yards out only to shoot straight at keeper Danby. Until that moment, I hadn’t realised Campbell was still on the field. The Kidderminster keeper was bizarrely awarded man of the match by home fans, he made a few saves but was completely over-shadowed by Brown.
Brown, thankfully, was finished, exhausted and replaced – from midget to leprechaun – early in the 2nd period of extra-time as the game dragged on and fans made calls to friends and families confirming that, yes – they were still in the West Midlands instead of halfway home.
Then drama – Tony Vidmar was passed quite easily by Foster but he clumsily challenged and brought the player down. Ref Curzon rightly awarded a free-kick and nothing else … until a few seconds later, home fans started chanting “off, off, off” realising Vids had been booked for a poor challenge earlier. The ref then, without apparent intention of doing so previously, called Vidmar back, showed him a second yellow then a red card. It was an appalling decision. The ref obviously swayed by the meagre home support into doing something he never looked like doing. Robbo and Kav went mental pointing it out to him but it was too late.
With 10 men, City ironically had the best shape, passing and domination of the evening. In fairness, even thought it didn’t always go their way, City kept at their passing game and worked to stop the hit and hope high balls which have wrongly been a feature of recent games.
In the closing moments,. City piled on pressure, McAnuff doing very well and Earnie a fraction away on three occasions from forcing a winner but it wasn’t to be. Penalties. Somehow you had to fancy City on penalties. Although some of us suggested Neil Alexander should be brought on for them, the fact was Tony Warner looked much more daunting from the spot their Kidderminster’s short keeper. Short by goalie standards that is - he was a giant compared to his team-mates!
After extra-time: KIDDERMINSTER 1 CITY 1
The drama started in the City end pre-penalties as some idiots seized the moment to start chanting “Lennie Out”. The vast majority gave it back to them with interest, John Robinson turned and started and the whole City end began chanting for the side, the atmosphere was raucous for the first time. The kids got off lightly, it could have turned nasty. We all have our own thoughts about Lennie and most of us felt disappointed that we couldn’t beat Kidderminster but there’s a time and place.
The penalties, to nobody’s surprise, were at the opposite end of the ground in front of home fans. Kav was first, the ref made him wait an eternity but his kick was perfection. Side-footed into the inside side netting. Keeper went the other way, it was to become a theme of his. Kiddy’s first pen was driven into the roof of the net, no chance for Warner.
Earnie was next, approached it in his lazy nonchalant style and almost looked silly again as Danby got a hand to it but it rolled home. However joy and delight as Kidderminster’s second kick, weak and low, was also too close to Warner who got down well and smothered the ball. City ahead and delirium on the terrace.
Stuart Fleetwood, on as an extra-time sub, was third man up and took a stupid penalty. Trying to look cool but failing miserably, the 17 year old rolled it almost straight at Danby who saved with considerable ease. Kiddy went wild, the ref signalled for the next kick but then noticed the linesman flagging for the keeper coming off his line. Fleetwood was the luckiest man in football last night to get a second chance. He learned his lesson quickly and stroked it home with more power and direction.
Kiddy’s third pen flew home too and so did Willie Boland with City’s fourth and Kiddy with their fifth and final kick. That made it 4-4 on penalties with John Robinson strutting forward to take City’s last effort knowing a score would get City through.
There was plenty of tension which then became a mockery as ref Curzon noticed that he wasn’t wearing shin-pads, another joke rule in the circumstances, and sent him back to halfway to put them on to take his penalty. What a nonsense.
Robbo stayed cool though, took his time, went back and sent the keeper the wrong way, his kick safely tucked away.
The City end went mad, the players celebrated with us, Lennie and Sam who were on the pitch during the extra time intervals and penalties waved over too. On such margins, fates can be decided.
Had City lost, Lennie would have been in severe trouble. In truth, it wasn’t a pretty performance, it was rarely effective, it was a struggle at times and needed a fair slice of luck. It was better but that’s all and that’s not saying much really. However it was a win and we needed one. It may lift morale and set the boys in better heart for the weekend league encounter which is far more important than nights like these.
Report from FootyMad
Cardiff City scraped through on penalties after making hard work of it against their lower division opponents.
A sparkling goal from Robert Earnshaw gave the Bluebirds a first-half lead but they allowed plucky Harriers to equalise within four minutes.
The Welshmen were lucky not to fall behind in the second half when the home side twice hit the woodwork.
When City made a late bid for victory, Kidderminster's young goalkeeper John Danby pulled of a series of brilliant saves to force the game into extra time.
The night got worse for City when skipper Tony Vidmar was sent of for a second booking in the second extra period, but they overcame the setback to go into a penalty shoot-out.
City then kept their eye on the ball and scored all five spot kicks while Harriers defender Steve Burton's spot kick missed as the home side slipped to a heartbreaking defeat.
Earnshaw looked a class act throughout and gave City a 28th minute lead with a crisp finish from 12 yards.
They may have expected the flood gates to open but Harriers were level in the 32nd minute when Simon Brown darted in to head home Burton's free-kick.
Brown, on loan from West Brom, proved a real danger and shot into the side netting soon after before bringing a good save from Tony Warner.
After the break City were fortunate when Wayne Hatswell volleyed against the right-hand post in the 63rd minute.
Four minutes later Burton rattled the other upright with a swerving free-kick.
But it was City who made a late bid for victory and only superb saves from Danby prevented Earnshaw and then Vidmar from winning it in normal time.
External reports
Western Mail
Jumpjet Journal
Kidderminster Official Website
South Wales Echo