One of the multitude of League One podcasts said on a preview edition that they may as well present the winners trophy to Cardiff City if they emerged victorious from their game at Bradford City this weekend. Well, I wouldn’t go that far myself after our excellent 2-1 victory – Lincoln in second will fancy their title chances as I write this just as they’re beginning their tricky looking game at Luton even if they end up on the wrong end of the scoreline today.
However, if you’re third placed Bradford or any of the other teams still harbouring top two hopes they’re going to be looking at that minimum nine points (plus a better goal difference) gap as the main part of this afternoon’s programme begins and think they might well be realistically looking at just the one automatic promotion place left to fight for.
I recall that last season Walsall were eleven points clear I think it was at the top of League Two around this stage of the season and didn’t go up, but, for a few minutes in the first half today, we once again looked like a team that other sides at this level cannot live with. While we’re capable of putting together passages of play like we did between the ten and twenty five minute mark in such an important match as today’s it’s hard to see us suffering a Walsall like implosion unless a degree of complacency brought on by things like hand them the trophy already pronouncements creeps in.
BBM opted for experience today – in fact I’d guess his side had the highest average age of any he’s picked this season. The centreback selection was quite surprising, first because Calum Chambers, who was said to be doubtful after not training this week following the injury which kept him out last week at Leyton Orient, was captaining the side while, secondly, Gabriel Osho retained his place which means he’s started in our last three away matches now.
With Ronan Kpakio out injured, it was Perry Ng and Joel Bagan at full back and the midfield axis of Ryann Wintle and Alex Robertson is increasingly looking a first choice with this manager who loves to rotate his team. With Omari Kellyman missing after his withdrawal last weekend with a groin injury, David Turnbull was the pick in the advanced central midfield role.
Ollie Tanner got his second successive start on the right and Chris Willock was on the left again with Yousef Salech leading the line on a double personal anniversary – it was his twenty fourth birthday and a year to the day since he signed for us.
Interestingly, it was Matt Turner on the bench despite us having signed Everton goalkeeper Harry Tyrer on a contract until the summer of 2029 following the lifting of the transfer embargo yesterday that we’d been placed under after a delay in filing the club accounts for 24/25.
Twenty fourth year old Tyrer never played a first team game at Everton, but has clocked up over a hundred and twenty senior league appearances during loan spells at Chester, Chesterfield and Blackpool with him having played virtually a full season in goal for the Tangerines in 24/25. Therefore, given the length of the contract and his CV, you would guess that he’s here as a genuine first team contender- indeed, if we weren’t to go up and Nathan Trott didn’t sign permanently for us, I would definitely expect Tyrer to start next season as our first choice keeper.
When Bradford came to Cardiff City Stadium and won so impressively back in September, they did something that’s not been done much at all in recent seasons – turn us around, so we attack the Canton Stand in the first half.
City have tended to do the same thing when they win the toss in away games this season and so it was Bradford playing towards the end they love to attack after half time and us towards the two thousand plus City fans who’d travelled north for the lunchtime kick off.
Such was the quality of our performance through the large majority of the first half Bradford failed to have a goal attempt of any sort while attacking what’s called the Kop.
Turnbull signalled the start of our period of domination when his cross cum shot got a slight deflection which forced home keeper Sam Walker into a diving save and the Scot was very close to getting a decisive touch to Bagan’s cross a few seconds later.
Turnbull didn’t have to wait long for what was only his second league goal for City though – just two minutes in fact.
In a season full of fine City goals (there’s going to be some cracking goals missing out on the top five in any goal of the season competition!), this was another one to enjoy as Turnbull received a pass from Tanner following an incisive Robertson burst with the ball, beat a man to work himself some space and shot across Walker high into the net from twenty odd yards.
On a pitch which looked a little difficult, City now managed to pass the ball slickly and quickly to mount some fluent build ups, one of which ended with Robertson shooting not too far over from just outside the penalty area.
Cardiff sensed the opportunity to get what might prove to be a decisive lead against a home side that were, to be honest, chasing shadows at this stage and the second goal arrived ten minutes after the first one with the game’s first quarter only just having been completed.
Bradford would be disappointed to have conceded from a short corner as Ng and Tanner combined to allow the latter to fire over a low cross which was back heeled in from six yards by Chambers.
The second goal marked an end to our inspired spell. We stayed in control in the immediate aftermath of the goal, but our passing was not as accurate and crisp as it had been – was there also an inclination to sit back a bit thinking the job had already been done I wonder?
From the fortieth minutes onwards, Bradford started to present a goal threat, especially when centreback Curtis Tilt’s spectacular overhead kick flew a yard wide. Home manager Graham Alexander was annoyed after the game that his side weren’t awarded a penalty when Sarcevic went down as he ran into Chambers. Alexander insisted it was a definite penalty, I disagree with him. In fact, I think that there was more of a foul on Bagan in the build up to the corner we scored our second goal from, but, then again, I’m as biased as Alexander is I suppose.
Predictably, the Bradford manager had nothing to say about the shocker of a tackle by Joe White on City sub Cian Ashford as he threatened to get clear of the home defence just before the end of the game. It really should have been a red card, but referee David Rock decided on a caution instead.
Both sides made changes at the interval with City’s looking to be enforced as Joel Colwill replaced Ng at right back.
One of Bradford’s subs Humphrys blasted over from a good position, while, at the other end, Osho, City’s man of the match in my view, had a header cleared off the line.
However, the atmosphere changed as Bradford came up with a goal that was similar to and probably better than Turnbull’s as Jenson Metcalfe curled his twenty yarder in.
Now it was a case of City hanging on to their lead and, although it was certainly nerve wracking at times, they did this with some assurance (Trott only had the one on target effort at him all game) in added time especially to clinch what could be a season defining victory.
The results are all in now and it’s good news really. It took Lincoln less time to go 2-0 up at Luton than it did for us to do the same at Bradford, but the difference was that Luton came back to draw 2-2, so we’re six points clear now at the top with that better goal difference. Stockport are fourth after edging out struggling Rotherham 3-2 at home, Bolton were 1-0 winners at Wigan in the day’s other lunchtime kick off, but Huddersfield in sixth surprisingly went down 3-1 at Burton and have this evening sacked their manager Lee Grant, while Stevenage’s slide continues with a 3-0 loss at Exeter.
There was a thriller in the under 18s’ first game after their mid season break this lunchtime when they entertained QPR at Leckwith. After falling a goal behind, Jack Sykes brought things level just before the break and further goals by Sykes and Leeyon Phelan looked to have won the game for us going into the last quarter, but the visitors fought back to level the score, only for sub Lee Papirnyk to secure a City win with a winner two minutes into added time.
