Harris admits Cardiff had targeted Rooney
CARDIFF City boss Neil Harris has revealed he told his players before the match to target Wayne Rooney while in possession – and that message proved decisive in the win over Derby County.
The Bluebirds took a huge step forward in their bid to secure a topsix spot on Tuesday night, downing the Rams 2-1 at Cardiff City Stadium to give them some breathing space over the chasing pack, albeit perhaps temporarily.
And it was one crucial moment in the second half which put paid to the visitors’ chances and it came by virtue of a mistake from a player from whom you would least expect it.
Just before the hour, Derby captain Wayne Rooney gathered possession in his own half, but City smelt blood.
Lee Tomlin sprinted towards Rooney and sought to dispossess him, doing so easily, before hurtling towards the Derby goal on a brilliant, direct run.
Tomlin pulled the trigger and rifled his effort into the bottom corner, leaving Rooney trailing in his wake as the Rams skipper looked to the heavens following his huge error.
But this was not by accident, this, Harris said, was by design. It was an area in which City had identified they could get at Derby and that is exactly what happened.
When asked whether targeting Rooney in possession was something Cardiff had spoken about before the game, Harris replied: “Yes, we had.
“We can say that we gave the ball away a couple of times tonight, unopposed, and we will keep doing that while we transition and improve. I accept that. I don’t berate them on the sideline for giving the ball away cheaply.
“But any team that’s going to try and dominate the ball like Derby did tonight and Fulham did on Friday night, there are going to be moments where we can get the ball back.
“But if you’re patient and you’re disciplined and you stick to the that game plan then you will get chances.
“Once you get the ball back, though, you have to take those chances and Lee Tomlin did tonight.”
Derby dominated possession against City, but that was to be expected.
Harris planned for that to happen and knew Rooney’s importance in Derby’s game plan, but he is pleased with how they executed their plans to stop a player of his calibre.
“We wanted the players to be organised,” he added. “The players knew the team yesterday, they knew the set plays, they knew how we were going to play and how we were going to press the ball.
“We knew we had to stop Wayne Rooney having time and space on the ball. It’s very difficult at times, and there were times we didn’t get close enough, but we also knew when we had the ball we would have time and space to play.”
Tomlin certainly did have time and space, but it was that lethal finishing which proved the difference and handed the Bluebirds a muchneeded win, having come off backto-back defeats, to bolster their playoff hopes.