SKIPPER’S ABSENCE IS A MASSIVE BLOW FOR MCCARTHY
WHEN Adam Armstrong struck in the final minute of Blackburn Rovers’ match with Cardiff City, it came as little surprise. The visitors had battered the door down for the second 45 minutes and it was something of a minor miracle that the Bluebirds hadn’t conceded a second before the 90th minute.
Bradley Johnson and Sam Gallagher had cracked shots against the post, while Barry Douglas rattled the crossbar with one venomous freekick. Tony Mowbray’s side looked like the only team likely to score.
It was only through tenacity and tremendous wherewithal that Joe Ralls struck against the run of play to put City in the lead late in the second half.
But Cardiff ’s defence, as it has done in the last three games, looked far too accommodating.
The Bluebirds have conceded eight goals in their last three matches, a period which has curtailed any lingering hopes of reaching the playoffs.
It is no coincidence that Cardiff’s defence has been less fortified in the absence of captain Sean Morrison, who has been excellent for the most part this season.
Ciaron Brown is still young and learning his trade, but he hasn’t set the world alight since coming into the side.
Aden Flint, who has been tremendous since Mick McCarthy took over, has looked less effective without his partner in crime beside him, too.
For whatever reason, Morrison still has his doubters. But even his most ardent detractors must recognise what a colossal loss he has been during such a crucial part of the season.
Before his calf strain, sustained at some point between the Swansea City game and Nottingham Forest clash, Morrison was up there as one of Cardiff’s most effective players.
He had found his attacking mojo and slotted into that right centreback role seamlessly.
Some might think it is over-egging the pudding to suggest that an injury to Morrison is the sole reason Cardiff are now incredibly unlikely to finish in the top six, but his importance to this side – and the way they play – has been made crystal clear for all to see over the last 10 days or so.
The Bluebirds skipper is, remarkably, Cardiff’s joint-second top scorer this season with five goals.
He is central to their set-piece threat, probably the biggest weapon in City’s arsenal, and takes some of the attention away from Kieffer Moore.
It is also probably no coincidence that Moore has not scored since his captain has been absent.
But defensively and organisationally Morrison has been so good all season, and statistics website WhoScored have him as Cardiff’s second-best player all season. Few would argue with that. An interesting note from Satur
day’s game was that there was not one player in City’s starting XI from that promotion-winning season. That is quite remarkable considering it happened only three years ago.
Morrison brings that nous, that know-how. When Flint was getting dragged up by Armstrong, or the striker drifted in between two of the centre-backs, they needed another experienced head in there to deal with the threat.
That is no slight on Flint, either, who has tried his utmost to cajole and organise. But the gaps between the midfield and defence are larger than before and players like Armstrong and Sheffield Wednesday’s Barry Bannan have been able to dictate proceedings, whereas before other teams were not getting a sniff.
Morrison’s coolness in possession has been missed, too. For all of Brown’s good points, his distribution leaves a lot to be desired, often just lumping it down the channels and hoping for the best.
The captain is usually far better at picking out Moore and affording City a steady launchpad from which to mount their attacks.
Cardiff are a limited side and McCarthy admitted as much, the manager saying they all have to be at it collectively to cause other teams problems, which they did at the start of his reign.
Morrison is the driving force behind that. He is the standard-setter and the voice of a calm but audibly constructive leader on the pitch.
“I know we had a great start with the draws and all the wins, everything was going particularly well,” McCarthy said after the draw with Blackburn.
“I was never fooled by it, that I thought we were suddenly one of the best teams in the league. We were having one of the best runs in the league.
“As well as having lost Joe Bennett, Joel Bagan, Sean Morrison, which doesn’t help, although the lads who have come in have acquitted themselves well.
“We definitely need our best team out and need to be fully at it.
“We are not the best football team in the league, but when we are fully at it we are a real handful, and that’s been proven with the results we’ve had.”
It is a blunt assessment, but one which cannot be argued with. Morrison is certainly part of City’s best team and he is invariably “fully at it”, which McCarthy alludes to.
There is hope that Morrison will be back for the game at Reading this Friday, but in truth the ship has sailed when it comes to edging into the play-off spots.
Whether any of the last three results would have changed if Morrison was fit is impossible to know. However it is more than fair to say that Cardiff would have stood a far better chance with their skipper in the side.
For many, though, Cardiff’s playoff dream crumbling before their very eyes in the absence of Morrison is no coincidence.