BRISTOL CITY 0 BLUES CRUISE ...and Smithies fine after health scare
CARDIFF CITY 2
THE MICK McCARTHY revolution is up and running at Cardiff — although worries over the health of goalkeeper Alex Smithies were far more alarming than storming Bristol City’s flimsy barricades.
Smithies (below) slumped against a post after signalling he was in distress in the sixth minute and eventually was carted away on a stretcher.
He was able to sit up, but given that he needed eight minutes of treatment by Cardiff medics, there were clearly concerns.
“I have just been in to see him in the medical room and he seems OK,” said McCarthy.
“It could have been an allergy. He looked very ill at the time.
“We have no idea of the cause. He was sick but that’s all I know.” When the game restarted, goals from Curtis Nelson and Kieffer Moore earned McCarthy a precious but comfortable first victory as boss in his third attempt.
The Severnside derby was a contest the Robins simply did not turn up for and McCarthy is unlikely to get an easier win to flicker some hopes of a play-off revival.
“It was a nice way to get my first win in the Championship for three years,” added the former Republic of Ireland boss. “It feels fabulous to have won again because we could all see the bottom of the league, sniffing at us from below.”
Cardiff could have been forgiven for feeling bad vibes after Smithies’ worrying exit – especially when substitute keeper Dillon Phillips looked all at sea after being thrown in at the deep end.
That should have been the signal for the Robins to keep pecking away at Phillips, but instead it was the Bluebirds who ruled the roost as they built a two-goal lead.
Both were headers from crosses delivered wide on the right and on neither occasion did the home defence do anything more than wave the scorer through.
Firstly, a free-kick by Harry Wilson was nodded home by Nelson, with no defender near enough to offer a challenge.
Then, seven minutes later,
BRISTOL CITY CARDIFF CITY 1 ......... Shots on Target ......... 4 3 ........ Shots off Target ......... 7 3 ................ Corners ................ 11 12 ................. Fouls .................. 14 1 ................ Offsides ................. 2 72.1...Passing Success %...54.7 427 ....... Total Passes ........ 254 61.8 ..... Possession % ..... 38.2 38.3 .Territorial Adv % ... 61.7 the same distaste to get anywhere near Moore meant the big Wales striker could pick his spot after Sheyi Ojo delivered a cross to the far post.
The second half was a damp squib, with Cardiff content to keep Bristol at arm’s length.
City manager Dean Holden admitted: “I am not going to sugar-coat that performance. We were nowhere near good enough to get anything out of that game.
“We carried very little threat and it was very poor defending from us for both goals. It was a really poor performance.”