SUPER EIGHT
Warnock takes Cardiff to brink of victory record
Not even veteran neil Warnock can remember Cardiff’s run of nine league victories in a row — it happened in December of 1946, two years before he was born.
But victory at his old club Sheffield United on Monday will turn the clock back to equal the record achieved by that team in the days of rationing and national Service.
Goals by Kenneth Zohore, nathaniel Mendez-Laing and Callum Paterson helped Warnock’s side brush off the effects of 17 days without a game to keep their astonishing momentum rolling.
not that 69-year- old Warnock (below) is too worried by the landmark. He has his eyes on a bigger piece of history by taking Cardiff back into the Premier League. And they are well placed to go up — lying second in the table, seven points ahead of third-placed Fulham with a game in hand.
‘I would settle for a draw at Sheffield now,’ he said. ‘I think this run we are on is just amazing, but to be honest I’m not really bothered by those types of things. It isn’t my real target.
‘People normally only tell me those sort of facts when we are on the worst run ever!
‘I’m just going to enjoy where we are, what we’ve done, and I’ve told the lads to enjoy it too. I thought we played some good stuff at times.’
If the measure of a promotion team is to still win on the days when you do not play at your best then this ticked every box. After their enforced break Cardiff found it hard to get a rhythm and could easily have been two goals down before they had started playing. Sean Morrison cleared off the line from Liam Boyce after barely a minute and then northern Ireland international Boyce got to a James Allen cross just before goalkeeper neil etheridge but headed over. even when Zohore gave Cardiff the lead with his fourth goal in six games it was not convincing. Joe Bennett’s perfect ball down the line allowed Junior Hoilett to chest it down and go past Burton skipper John Brayford, and his low near-post cross picked out Zohore for the simplest of chances. Within seven minutes Burton were level. Lloyd Dyer took advantage of Cardiff’s lack of an orthodox right back to find some space and crossed to the back post, where Darren Bent slid in ahead of Sol Bamba. While Burton still looked the better side, Cardiff showed their resilience by snatching the lead just before the break. Zohore flicked on Morrison’s clearance into the path of Mendez-Laing and once he had outpaced full back tom Flanagan he rifled a shot inside Stephen Bywater’s near post. that changed the th tide tid and d with ith 61 minutes i t gone Craig Bryson hit a superb pass to free Hoilett then sprinted to get on the end of his cross — and though he could not control it the ball broke for Paterson to fire home.
‘We played well and didn’t take chances then gave up soft goals,’ admitted Burton manager nigel Clough, whose side stay deep in relegation trouble.
‘that’s been the story for the majority of the season and with seven games to go I don’t know how we can change that.’