Relegation battle
Still, it was all City at Etihad Stadium and only some brilliant saves from Cardiff goalkeeper Neil Etheridge kept the score respectable for a visiting team that is in the relegation zone.
The relegation battle in the Premiership isn’t something that would interest fans in the Philippines, until Neil Etheridge’s Cardiff City got promoted this season.
I mean with Pinoy football fans rooting for Man City, Man United, Liverpool, Arsenal or Chelsea, who would pay attention to the bottom three? Those five giants wouldn’t figure in the relegation zone.
But this season, I’ve spent more time checking the bottom three teams than the top four. Cardiff City has hovered around the relegation zone all season long and for Neil’s team to stay in the top flight, it has to finish at least at 17th place, currently occupied by Burnley.
After 32 rounds, Burnley has 33 points, while Cardiff has 28. Both 19th place Fulham (17 points) and last place Huddersfield, which has only 14
points, are already relegated to the championship, leaving the battle to remain in the premiership down to Burnley and Cardiff.
Though Burnley has a five-point edge over Cardiff, on paper, it has a more difficult final stretch than Etheridge’s team. Burnley’s final six matches are against Bournemouth (12th place, 38 points), Cardiff (18, 28), Chelsea (5, 63), Manchester City (1, 80), Everton (10, 43) and Arsenalo (4, 63).
On the other hand, Cardiff’s final six games will be against Burnley (17, 33), Brighton (15, 33), Liverpool (2, 79), Fulham (19, 17) and Manchester United (6, 61). Cardiff has to beat Burnley on April 13 to kick off its final stretch on a positive note. And they can realistically earn three points too against Brighton, Fulham and Cyrstal Palace. Against Liverpool and Manchester United? Naah forget it.
Liverpool is chasing Man City for first place, while Man United is chasing the last Champions League spot and is two points away from both Chelsea and Arsenal. In their last game, Cardiff lost to City, 2-0, but I liked how the AP writer described Neil Etheridge’s performance.
He wrote: “Still, it was all City at Etihad Stadium and only some brilliant saves from Cardiff goalkeeper Neil Etheridge kept the score respectable for a visiting team that is in the relegation zone and five points from safety.”
In their final six games, Neil will have to be at his best and based on some of the posts on social media following Cardiff’s games, the rest of the Filipino fans will be going along for the ride, following the lone Pinoy in the Premiership.