Bluebirds fly high as they swoop past Terry’s Villans
LONDON: Cardiff extended John Terry’s miserable start to life in the English Championship as a Nathaniel Mendez-Laing brace condemned Aston Villa to a dismal 3-0 defeat.
Villa are expected to challenge for promotion to the Premier League after signing former England defender Terry following his release by Chelsea at the end of last season.
But the 36-year-old’s glittering career with the Premier League champions has counted for nothing in the second tier and Villa, who were held by Hull in their season opener, remain winless after a chastening afternoon in south Wales.
Cardiff took the lead midway through the first half when MendezLaing rose to head home Junior Hoilett’s cross.
Hoilett turned goalscorer on the hour mark with a close-range header before Mendez-Laing cut in from the left before firing into the top corner in the 71st minute to leave Steve Bruce’s side in disarray.
“We made a bad mistake for the first goal and after that it was on the verge of embarrassing at times. It was a rude awakening for us,” Bruce said.
“We didn’t do the basics well and we looked fragile. Overall, it was a difficult afternoon.”
Nottingham Forest joined Cardiff on six points after a thrilling 4-3 win at Brentford.
John Egan’s header gave the Bees a deserved lead but two brilliant strikes from Andreas Bouchalakis, either side of Daryl Murphy’s tap in, pushed Forest into the ascendancy just after the restart.
Andreas Bjelland narrowed the deficit but Kieran Dowell restored Forest’s two-goal cushion, only for Neal Maupay to set up a tense finale.
Abel Hernandez’s hat- trick inspired Hull to a 4-1 victory over 10-man Burton.
Burton midfielder Jackson Irvine cancelled out Hernandez’s opener just after the half-hour mark but was then given his marching orders moments later. — AFP