... grabbed a fighting precious point from a 1-1 draw in the sun at Plymouth's Home Park.
Although under the cosh, Richard Langley's opener midway through the first half gave City a deserved interval lead for their enterprise but City were forced to face a torrid one-way 2nd half battering and succumbed to an Aljofree equaliser on the hour but showed character and will to hold on.
A fortnight's break due to international football should herald a quiet period but life's never that way at CCFC, especially right now. As our problems continue to rumble along, news remains varied.
Good news was that nobody was sold and the latest wages have apparently been paid. Even better news came with surprise that two new players were signed, albeit initially short-term until the end of the season. Midfield wideman Neil Ardley from Watford and striker Michael Boulding from Barnsley were very welcome in our present state.
Nothing good, however, happens currently without there being stings in the tail and, boy, we had those also. When clubs are in financial crisis, needing inspiration and a responsible role model, who do you call on? With a mix of concern from City fans and complete laughter from the rest of football, Sam Hammam turned to Peter Risdale, the man who did to Leeds United what Sam may well replicate in South Wales. It's not the first time Sam has looked towards a poacher as a game keeper.
The other major minus is that wages are only being paid until the end of the season due to PFA loans and directors, once again, putting their hands in their pockets. Sam trying to assure fans that City are experiencing a short-term cashflow problem, with no monies owed to any financial institution is, to most, as reassuring as Michael Jackson trying to convince everyone that his behaviour is normal and innocent. These problems just won't go away and, even if we stay up which is so important, there are still genuine, entirely realistic fears of a black and blue summer to follow.
However whilst supporters are pretty helpless and clueless about City's depressed state of affairs, the team still need support and 2,000 of us set off to Devon to do exactly that on a glorious spring day with sun beating down and unending blue skies. The drive down the M5 to Exeter is bland but the final 40 mile stretch along the A38 is wonderfully scenic, the weather made it look even better. Traffic was light and there were no problems. Did anyone else notice that mountainous stick scarecrow in Zumerzet? The A1 gets The Angel of the North, The M5 has the Wurzel of the West!
Ninian Park to Home Park is 153 miles. Thankfully, on a day when those who went by coach were persecuted to extremes, I chose to take the shorter than usual journey by car - besides 3 days in Vienna following Wales had curbed my natural desire for another drinking session. It was 2 drive time both ways.
City fans who have visited Plymouth before will know that both the town and the reasonably sized home youth troublesome element never offer us a warm welcome to their town so, en route, we pulled into two villages for a bevvy and a bite to eat. The second pub sold home-made headbanging farmhouse beer and scrumpy, one pint was plenty enough.
Once I proved to Mike Morris and Lloydey that I remain the Undisputed Pool Champion, (editors intervention - not true, I can't allow him to get away with that one) we headed to the packed ground. We got there 45 minutes before kick-off but the car parks and surrounding streets were jam-packed so by the time we found a space, walked to the stadium and got in, the game was just starting.
Whilst Sam's sole and immediate ambition, and where all our problems lie, is delivering a new stadium with retail park and housing to help pay for it, Home Park is a good example of how an existing stadium can be adapted and improved. Three sides of the ground, including the away end behind one goal, have been modernised into one all-seated mass. Just one side, the original grandstand with large pitch length terraces in front of it, remains pretty much as it has always been.
Seeing so many Plymouth fans packing the terrace so close immediately to our left is a sight so rare in football grounds these days. The packed crowd of 18,045 was their 4th best this term, bettered only by games against the "glamour" sides - Leeds, Wolves and West Ham. City's following was the largest away support to Home Park this season.
City fans arriving late experienced more problems inside as we all entered inside the ground at the front of the stand and it appeared jam-packed. There were empty seats behind but they were not visible which left walkways jammed. Stewards and police told fans to move or be thrown out but were no help whatsoever in telling us where seats could be found. The atmosphere inside was fantastic. City fans soon entering into "ooh aaah, it's Ambro-sia", Plymouth fans retaliating with "where's your money gone?" and doing the Soccer AM handclap above heads chanting "easy, easy".
Lennie made both one tactical and two personnel change with debutant Ardley starting on the left and Langley tucked into the central midfield engine room (replacing the departed Inamoto) whilst (half?) fit again Peter Thorne replaced Alan Lee up front. Otherwise it was as you were with Alexander, Weston-Collins-Gabbidon-Barker, Ardley-Ledley-Langley-McAnuff, Thorne-Jerome. Subs were Margetson-Boulding-Koskela-Lee-Vidmar. Darren Williams fell out of the 16 ironically on a day he was needed.
The Pilgrims have largely mirrored City's debt season at this level last term. They started life very well and were realistic Premiership play-off chasers before realities and home truths set in. With just 12 points from their previous 14 games - nine of those amassed from winning their previous three home games - but going into this clash with heavy 5-1 and 3-0 away defeats, they started and finished the day in 18th, 2 points off relegation and 2 points ahead of City who have a game in hand. Their display on the day however suggests that they are equipped and likely to survive.
Their side were McCormick, Connolly-Coughlan-Wotton-Dodd, Norris-Aljofree-Buzacki-Capaldi, Evans-Chadwick. Jason Dodd was making his Pilgrims debut on loan from Southampton after 16 years and almost 500 games with the Saints. Promising teenage forward Dexter Blackstock also came on-loan from Southampton but took a place on the bench but the home side's stand out player would prove to be Hungarian international and Andy Legg lookielikie Akos Buzaky who is currently on-loan from Porto of Portugal.
The game started in an unbelievable high tempo and whilst that could never be maintained, the intensity, commitment and fight by both sides was 110% throughout. City started strongly winning a 1st minute corner and Peter Thorne really should have scored in the opening 5 minutes as the ball fell kindly for him from a Rhys Weston punt upfield. Thorney lost his marker and hooked his effort over the advancing keeper McCormick but narrowly cleared the bar too. Ardley showed up from early on too, sending in early long balls which Thorne and City could not capitalise on.
Back came the 'green and white army', one effort scuffed wide of Alexander's post from a good position before the ball was lost in a defensive lapse and Buzaky had Alexander at full-stretch to push wide.
City had a major setback on the quarter hour when Rhys Weston, covering on the left, went for a 50/50 challenge on the edge of the box with a full blooded challenge. It looked fair and reasonable but Plymouth were awarded an edge of area free-kick, Weston was banging the ground in agony bringing a doctor and stretcher straight onto the pitch and, adding insult to literal injury, found himself booked too.
Rhys' injury almost became worse as the stretcher bearers almost dropped him in a comedic moment before he was bizarrely taken out of the ground through the City fans in the away end, presumably to an outside ambulance. Knee ligament damage may see him out for his season, and who knows, that may be his last bow for City. With Williams, the ideal replacement, dropped from the bench, Tony Vidmar took over playing on the right and had an instant introduction to this hard encounter when Aljofree pole-axed him with a crude challenge to be yellow carded.
Midway through the half, it was mayhem in the City end as the Bluebirds took the lead. Having won another corner, Ardley sent over an inviting ball with McCormick punched out weakly under pressure. RICHARD LANGLEY took one touch to control but still mishit his return effort into the ground but, thankfully, wide of the covering defender, off the near post and ricocheting over the line and into the side netting on the opposite side. It started a mass orgy in the City end, so little to celebrate recently that it caused an explosion of emotions ... oh and hands banging above heads whilst chanting "easy, easy" to to home support staring at us in complete silence on both opposite sides of the ground. Those of us at the front of the stand were starting to feel so baked in the sun that we were more interested in factor 15 at half-time instead of a pasty and a cuppa.
The rest of the half saw the start of an incessant barrage towards City's goal but one in which our defending and commitment was admirable. In fact, Plymouth's only threats for all their possession, territory and domination for the remainder of the half came through some dubious and inconsistent refereeing from Plymouth's 12th man, referee Richard Beeby.
First he booked Ginge who ran the ball away after the ref had blown his whistle for a Gabbidon foul. He hadn't gone far and hadn't booted the ball away. When he protested, Beeby booked him and advanced the free-kick to the edge of the area, Wotton's effort was blocked. A couple of minutes later, Gabbs was booked. Micky Evans had backed into him all afternoon but never penalised, Gabbs got penalised, his protests seeing the ref take it forward another 10 yards but the free-kick was put side.
Moments after that, Gabbidon contested another ball into the area which he won fairly but the ref penalised him again. Incredibly, he awarded a free-kick outside the area. His inconsistencies bordered on shocking. Thorne and Jerome were never afforded identical protection and often penalised, three times City's players were fouled but carried on with advantage but stopped and called back but, worst of all, Beeby seemed to be whistle happy never needing too much of an excuse to award decisions.
Both sides suffered but, without doubt, City were treated harsher and rarely equally. Stats show that Plymouth had more players booked (3 to 2) but with 37 free-kick awards, 23 went against City.
In the 5 minutes added time resulting from Weston's injury and Beeby's whistling, City nearly made it 2-0, a position from which I feel they would have closed the game. First, Langers fired over but, in the final action, Thorney played a clever ball behind Plymouth's defence that sent Jerome racing away on the right, he placed his shot wide of McCormick but it also rolled past his far post by inches. So close, so far away.
Half-time: Plymouth 0 City 1
The interval talk amongst City fans was spot on. We were in for a second half onslaught on our goal, there was no possible way that the game would finish 1-0 and the only way we would win was by netting a second goal. What we didn't appreciate was just how torrid the final 45 minutes would become.
City, through Jerome, had another great opportunity in the opening 30 seconds when a cute Ardley cross was met by Jerome but he couldn't get power or direction on his header which went straight at McCormick. From that point onwards, it was a siege on City's goal.
Vidmar blocked, Collins blocked, Gabbidon got in a great tackle, Barker got his body in the way and Alexander made a good save as pressure became relentless and Cardiff had no answer to Pilgrims firing in corners, crosses, trying to break behind us with neat football and even sending in long throws.
Of greatest concern was that The Pilgrims midfield were in total control of the park. Buzaky was running the show almost uncontested, City's central midfield were nowhere to be seen. When the ball came out, Thorne or Jerome were isolated and lost possession almost the very moment that they had it. Fans were screaming at City to get out but they couldn't or they wouldn't.
By a certain amount of luck, a fair amount of judgement and some steely defending however, City appeared to be riding the storm and somehow surviving but, on the hour, it was 1-1 and the worst was feared. The goal said much about how the half had opened.
Plymouth won another corner, a City head got it well clear but with everyone back, the ball was fed back in once more without challenge. As it did, Mickey Evans found space, nodded back across goal and ALJOFREE hooked the ball home low past Alexander from close range. There was a suggestion that Alexander's reactions were a little slow but you also have to question how Plymouth's players were unmarked when every City player was back.
Cardiff responded and rallied, managing to get themselves going again but with no end product. They won a corner straight from the restart but failed to make it count. Jerome was booked for a ludicrous dive for a penalty. Thorne was out through after a great Ledley run but in a match when he was well off the pace, he let the ball run and held it up. Jerome almost burst through, the ball ran from him and almost caught McCormick out too as he dived over it and was relieved it went for a corner. Thorney, finally, got involved in the action sending a far post header across goal but nobody could turn it home. Langley tried a 35 yarder which only troubled kite fliers in Devon. Right at the death, McAnuff burst through, his forced shot from an angle was deflected but straight to McCormick.
Plymouth still enjoyed the lion's share of possession and looked the more likely winners but for all City's deficiencies, our defence are good enough that they either keep clean sheets or let in one (just once in the last 16 games have we conceded more than one) and that's how it stayed. Crosses, corners, throws and dangerous moments were aplenty but whilst Alexander was busy, he was never called on to make another save. City's defensive effort and commitment was heroic. There was little doubt we deserved no more than a point and felt mighty relieved to get away with that. In 21 visits to Home Park, City have drawn 12 and only won twice so perhaps it was the expected result too.
There are question marks, as ever, over our central midfield. Langley scored but, once again, disappointed but this time in the role he wants to play. Peter Thorne struggled badly in attack and it was a huge surprise to see Jerome withdrawn instead of him for Boulding. Boulding came on too late to make any impression. He won a corner or two but never got past anyone. Neil Ardley looks a useful acquisition though and definitely gives City more stability and balance on the right, an area where we have previously lacked.
It was a day which continued recent trends. Teams below us are catching up, teams above us are coming back to us. Coventry leap-frogged City by winning, Leicester pulled away by doing likewise, Forest and Crewe drew, Brighton and Watford lost.
It all meant City dropped a place to 21st, only out of the relegation zone thanks to a vastly superior goal difference over Gillingham. Win their game in hand and City jump to 15th but scoring goals and winning games is City's major problem. Cardiff have only lost 4 times in 15 games since mid-December but, on the converse, won just one of the last 7. With the toughest run-in, it looks set to go to the wire and test our nerves to their absolute limits.
The day hadn't ended. We were held inside for a while and when we came out, the young chavs of Plymouth were hovering around - as always - looking for trouble and confrontation. This has gone on every time we go down there, why can't the local police sort it out? Fans were kept apart but it took a huge effort to ensure that. Luckily, I got to my car and away from Plymouth swiftly. Those on coaches were treated abysmally, cars and traffic caught up behind them were held up too.
For reason only known to police, they provided a heavy escorted involving at least three different forces and probably over 100 officers from Plymouth to Newport. Traffic was stopped and held up at various motorway points to allow them though as if it was a high security prisoner convoy. I do not know what their justification was but it seems totally over the top and absolutely ridiculous.
What I do know is that by the time they finally got back to Cardiff, I had been home to Barry, washed and changed, been for a drink down the Bay, into Cardiff City Centre and the Pope had died. It cannot be right for the boys to be messed about that badly.
The problem for Devon police is that if both sides stay up, no way will a large proportion of our fans travel there by coach again next season. And whilst I sincerely hope there are no problems, if the police find their work infinitely harder with a couple of thousand City fans going by car or train instead, then they will only have themselves to blame.
Report from FootyMad
Honours finished even in a nervy Championship relegation battle at Home Park.
Typically, in an anxious game, both goals came as the result of uncertain defending.
Cardiff opened the scoring midway through the first half after Argyle goalkeeper Luke McCormick failed to deal with a corner from new Bluebirds signing Neal Ardley.
His weak punch fell to Richard Langley on the edge of the box and the Cardiff midfielder's shot bounced up off the turf and squeezed past Argyle captain Paul Wotton on the line and in off the post.
The visitors could nearly doubled their lead in first-half injury-time when rookie striker Cameron Jerome broke free of the Argyle defence, but his shot across McCormick went wide of the far post.
Argyle won five corners in the opening ten minutes of the second half, but were repelled by Cardiff, whose resistance was finally ended by Hasney Aljofree.
The Argyle centre-back was in the right place at the right time after Cardiff failed to clear Wotton's flag-kick, smashing home the ball after latching on to Mickey Evans' nod down.
Cardiff abandoned their negative approach, and the game opened up as Argyle introduced Dexter Blackstock, and switched to 4-3-3.
For their part, Cardiff tried to snatch the points on the counter-attack by replacing both strikers with substitutes Alan Lee and Michael Boulding, on loan from Barnsley.
The draw benefited neither team, who still need a win or two to ensure they will remain in the Championship next season.
Cardiff's point also came at some cost. Welsh international defender Rhys Weston left the ground on crutches after being stretchered from the field with a painful ankle injury.
External reports
Wales on Sunday
South Wales Echo
Western Mail
Plymouth Evening Herald