Warnock: If only we’d had Emiliano
IF RELEGATION does come Cardiff’s way they will join fellow Championship-bound side Fulham in wondering what might have been when they look back on this season.
For Fulham, this was their third win and clean sheet on the bounce since their demotion was confirmed. It was sealed with a rare moment of Premier League quality from Ryan Babel that left Cardiff boss Neil Warnock thinking poignantly back to the tragic January plane crash that claimed the life of Emiliano Sala days after he had signed for the Welsh side.
Dutch winger Babel’s late winner, that edged Cardiff closer to the drop, was totally out of keeping with what had gone before. It was a brilliantly-taken firsttime shot from 25 yards whipped into the top corner.
The Cardiff manager said: ‘It is probably only Babel on the pitch who could have scored it. Maybe Victor Camarasa on a good day. It was a great finish. That’s the Premier League for you.
‘You get what you pay for. It just brings it home to me how disappointing [it was] with the Emiliano tragedy. I felt he could score 10 goals between Christmas and the end of the season. So it is blow after blow really the things we have had to put up with since Christmas.’
FULHAM (4-3-3): Rico 8; Odoi 6 (Christie 28min, 6.5), Le Marchand 5.5, Ream 6.5, Bryan 6.5; Anguissa 6, Chambers 7, Cairney 6; Babel 8 (Ayite 89), Mitrovic 6, Sessegnon 5.5 (Mawson 84). Subs (not used): Fabri, Seri, Elliott, Kebano. CARDIFF (4-2-3-1): Etheridge 6; Peltier 6, Morrison 7.5, Manga 7.5, Bennett 6; Gunnarsson 6 (Decordova-Reid 87), Bacuna 6; Camarasa 6.5 (Healey 72, 5), MendezLaing 6, Niasse 4 (Ward 61, 6); Hoilett 6.5. Subs (not used): Murphy, Richards, Cunningham, Harris. Referee: C Kavanagh 6.