‘Magic man’ Tomlin opens box of tricks with worldie winner
LEE TOMLIN earned the label “magic man” from his manager Neil Harris after he conjured a stunning 95th-minute winner.
The Bluebirds midfielder – who divides opinion among managers but rarely among fans – had already produced something from his box of tricks when he sliced open Barnsley’s defence to set up Danny Ward for an equaliser.
It looked as if Harris and Cardiff might have to settle for a point until deep into stoppagetime when Tomlin volleyed a ball dropping from the sky into the bottom left-hand corner.
The turnaround – after Barnsley had led 2-1 – means Harris has racked up 10 points from four games since taking over from Neil Warnock, propelling
Cardiff to the edge of the play-off race with plenty of momentum behind them.
“When you’ve got a magic man like Lee Tomlin you stay in games and you’ve got a player who, in any moment, can win it,” said Harris.
“He’s got a big heart, he wants to play for me and wants to do well for Cardiff City.
“The fans love him and that goes a long way to give confidence to a player.
“He’s got the quality to open up a defence with a pass, like for Danny’s goal, or he’s got the quality to hit a ball dropping from high into the bottom corner.”
Harris is shrewd enough to know that Cardiff will need to play far better than they did here for a hesitant and half-paced first hour if their surge is to continue.
They may be bottom of the table but Barnsley were slicker and smarter and deserved their lead through goals from the impressive Conor Chaplin and Bambo Diaby.
The first came early on when Chaplin got behind Cardiff’s defence. And although Aden Flint got his toe to a cross from Junior Hoilett to make it 1-1, the Tykes went ahead again soon after the break.
This time Chaplin hit a cross too hard for any deliberate touches but it struck Diaby in the midriff and flew in.
Harris sent on Ward for the ineffective Gary Madine and the wisdom of that switch was clear when the striker latched on to Tomlin’s through-ball to clip home a second Cardiff leveller.
Then came Tomlin’s classiest moment with a composed finish in the sixth minute of added time to leave Barnsley boss Gerhard Struber still bottom of the table and distraught.
“The feeling now is like being hit in the head. I am very frustrated,” said Struber.
“I need to change the mindset so the players believe they can win – but now it’s only a mentality situation. The history of losing is in their minds.”
WATFORD may have looked like they have been on holiday for the last six months.
And they may have had their heads in the sand regarding their Premier League position too.
But not for much longer. Because on the evidence of this spirited display there is no way that no-nonsense Nigel Pearson is going to allow things to continue.
The ex-Leicester boss may not formally take over from Quique Sanchez Flores until tomorrow but his brief pre-match team talk before taking his place in the stands clearly worked.
Watford are still bottom of the pile although they were so much better against Palace than the side which was sleepwalking towards relegation under the Spaniard as they claimed a first clean sheet since October.
Caretaker boss Hayden Mullins said: “Nigel is a winner, we are in a fight at the moment and we need to get out of it.
“We most definitely have the stomach and heart. I’ve seen that.
“Nigel introduced himself just before the game and had some words to say. That was brilliant. He’s a leader, very much so. That was one of the reasons they appointed him, they know his pedigree. But it’s got to be me who takes the credit for this point!”
Pearson may be Mr Flexible but he is also Mr Great Escape as well.
In his first managerial gig, keeper Jimmy Glass kept his Carlisle United side in the Football League in 1999 with an injury-time goal.
And then he was assistant to Bryan Robson at West Brom who stayed up in the Premier League in 2005 before doing it again as Leicester boss in 2015, a year prior to their title win.
Pearson was given a rousing ovation as he was unveiled to the Vicarage Road crowd.
Despite their precarious position, Watford