Away-day joy... now let’s sort the home form
IT was hard-fought, but ultimately well deserved for Cardiff City.
A rock solid defensive foundation, combined with a moment of counterattacking brilliance was enough to see off Preston North End at Deepdale, handing the Bluebirds a welcome return to winning ways, while also rounding off a superb end to the transfer window.
It was a thoroughly satisfying afternoon, made better by seeing new signing Harry WIlson make his City debut.
Many fans will be excited about what the Liverpool loanee will bring to the table over the coming weeks, but there were several other notable talking points outside of what was a solid showing from the winger.
Another great win on the road, but the home form now needs to be sorted
Mehmet Dalman admitted that with the capture of Wilson, Cardiff now have one of the best frontlines in the Championship, adding that the board would be disappointed if City were not in the top six by the new year. No pressure then Neil.
But he has a point.
Wilson, Kieffer Moore, Lee Tomlin. Most clubs in this division would crawl through broken glass to have that kind of trio to call upon. Harris is under no illusions about that. He knows all the tools are there, and the stunning form on the road is certainly a great foundation on which to build a top-six challenge.
But for one reason or another, an empty Cardiff City Stadium has so far failed to stir something in Bluebirds – and that could prove costly if not addressed.
There’s no ‘big-hitter’ in the division this year.
There’s isn’t a Leeds United or a West Brom that’s going to go and dominate the top two spots.
This season could be much more open, meaning every point could be precious in the race for promotion.
The cause of Cardiff’s indifferent home form remains up for debate, but the longer it goes on, the harder it may become to solve.
Some will perhaps point out that City don’t have their loud and proud fanbase roaring them on, but it’s not like Cardiff are the only side in this division missing out on a ferocious home support.
The climate is what it is, and Harris, who clearly has his own theories, now has a great opportunity to get the monkey off his side’s back with a double-header of games this week, albeit a tough one in the form of Bournemouth and Neil Warnock’s Middlesbrough.
“During the international break I watched the first couple of games and I watched a couple of 45 minutes from last season to look at why we perhaps lack a little creativity at home,” Harris said.
“Ultimately, since lockdown and when we beat Leeds, every team that’s come to the Cardiff City Stadium has paid us the utmost respect in playing a back five or sticking 10 men behind the ball.
“In that case we have to be better in breaking that down. We have to find different ways of doing. Find a plan A, plan B, plan C. We have to play at a good tempo and ultimately we can’t just expect to turn up and win games. “When we’re away from home, we’re happy to grind down, we’re happy to have a clean sheet mentality, and we have to have that at home.”
The full-back dilemma – and the youngster that could now be called upon
One of the first items of business for Harris heading into midweek will be a potential injury crisis at full-back.
Both Greg Cunningham and Jordi Osei-Tutu limped out of the win at Deepdale, forcing Leandro Bacuna and Sol Bamba, respectively, to fill in from the bench.
“With Greg Cunningham. It’s a real shame,” Harris revealed after the game. “It looks like a small hamstring strain. So we have to see how he progresses over the coming days. He felt it straight away when he chased the ball into the corner.
“Then Jordi. I think it’s just tight, so we’re hoping he’s going to be okay and it’s going to be a quick turnaround for him. We’re hoping for a bit of fortune on that one.
“When we’re asking the full-backs to bomb on and be explosive in getting forward. Jordi might be a little more explosive than GC, but we want the full-backs in those high positions. We want them crossing balls from the corner flag and we’re going to have to accept that we’re pushing them hard and we are going to pick up niggles as we go on.”
Hamstring injuries certainly are a running theme in terms of full-back options, with anxiety over these latest injuries arguably heightened by Joe Bennett’s absence from the matchday squad, with the former Aston Villa man suffering from, yes, you guessed it, a hamstring strain.
Harris is hopeful of receiving some good news on that front, but insists he still has options should the worst
happen, including one of his most highly-rated youngsters.
“Fingers crossed, Joe will be back this week. How quick? We’ll have to see. I won’t risk Joe Bennett again, but if he’s right then great.
“Leandro [Bacuna] was excellent at left-back today, and we’ve got young Joel Bagan, who without putting too much pressure on him, is going to be a very, very good player for this football club for a long time.
“We have options in those areas, but we have to take it one day at a time. I don’t want to rule out anybody at this stage.”
Benkovic faces uphill task to get into this team
One area of the defence that certainly isn’t a concern is at centre-back.
The Morrison-Nelson partnership is seemingly one of the best in the Championship at the moment, and it’s difficult to see it breaking up any time soon.
“He was excellent,” Harris added when questioned specifically on Morrison’s performance. “I thought maybe he should have scored in the first half if I’m being critical of him.
“But his covering position, reading of the game and then slide tackles to win the ball back were excellent.
“Him and Curtis have been a great pair for some time now. Ultimately that’s why we let Aden Flint go to play some football because as good as we think he is and as good of a lad as he is, he’s just got fed up of waiting and not playing.”
What that means for new arrival Filip Benkovic remains to be seen.
The Croatian watched on from the bench as an unused substitute at Deepdale, although the City boss has hinted that the Leicester City loanee is likely to be a part of first team conversation going forward.
“We just felt Benko was a little bit further behind Harry Wilson in particular,” he explained. “So, we just need to get him up to speed. With 15 minutes to go, Sol was probably the right person to bring on,” he added.
Nevertheless, unless Cardiff change their system, Benkovic has a big task on his hands if he’s to usurp either Morrison or Nelson any time soon.