South Wales Echo

Morison urges fans to back Bluebirds

- GLEN WILLIAMS Football Writer glen.williams@walesonlin­e.co.uk

CARDIFF City manager Steve Morison has urged the supporters to get behind the team after fans booed following both the half-time and fulltime whistles in the defeat by Hull City.

The Tigers scored the only goal of the game through Lewis Keane-Potter after quarter of an hour and the Bluebirds struggled to get into the match thereafter.

It led to disquiet being voiced among the City supporters as the players walked down the tunnel at half-time and those boos became louder at the full-time whistle.

From Morison’s perspectiv­e, it must have been disappoint­ing, given that it was his first home game as permanent manager of the club.

However, he urged City fans to get behind the team in order to help drag them out of this position at the bottom of the table.

“I don’t really understand it, if I’m honest,” Morison said after the match.

“It must be down to the fact of where we are in the league, because we had back-to-back wins.

“All I ask is, if we are going to get out of this, it is going to take absolutely everybody. Everyone who works at the football club and every fan who comes through the door and watches.

“You see the difference in performanc­e when the fans get up and get right behind us and try and suck the ball towards the goal with their energy and their noise.

“Unfortunat­ely when it goes the other way and we get the negative reaction, it has the opposite effect.

“So, I’d ask, if we are going to get out of this, we need them to be right behind us.

“Like the Huddersfie­ld game, we were losing and they were with us all the way and it was arguably not too dissimilar a performanc­e.”

Another moment in which the fans made themselves known was when Leandro Bacuna was substitute­d off in place of Rubin Colwill.

Bacuna had been at fault for giving away possession for the first goal and also missed a big opportunit­y at the front post minutes before his exit.

But Morison believes that Bacuna was unfortunat­e to be taken off and threw his backing behind the player.

“I didn’t notice that, I thought they were just clapping,” he said of the ironic cheers as Bacuna left the pitch.

“I picked Leo because Leo is a really, really good player. I thought he was playing well in the second half and it was harsh to take him off.

“I just wanted to change it and get Rubin [Colwill] in the game and that didn’t work either. I’m not going to get caught up in nonsense.”

Ultimately, it was another poor setpiece goal which was Cardiff’s undoing and Morison admitted it is indeed a concern moving forward.

“It’s a concern if we keep conceding,” he said. “If we don’t concede and go in at half-time with good control and possession then it’s a good place to be.

“You can then come out in the second-half and have a bit more intensity and put your stamp on the game.

“At the moment we keep conceding that goal in the first half and tonight that’s ultimately killed us.”

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 ?? ?? There were ironic cheers when Leandro Bacuna was substitute­d in Cardiff’s defeat against Hull
There were ironic cheers when Leandro Bacuna was substitute­d in Cardiff’s defeat against Hull
 ?? ?? Aden Flint makes a point on Wednesday
Aden Flint makes a point on Wednesday

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